WorldWideScience

Sample records for support decomposing property

  1. Decomposing the Current

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Tim

    The field of molecular electronics have been shown to span a huge range of properties. In an effort to extract the parameters of the system that governs these properties, a number of methods that decomposes the current have been developed. These methods function not just as tools for data...... extraction, but also serves as the foundation upon which to gain insights into the physics that governs the molecular properties. As such, the understanding of the applicability and the development of new methods to decompose the current may be a goal in it self. In this thesis we will explore some...... of these methods, and use the insights from this study to develop new methods. First, we will compare two methods that decompose the current into the transmission from a single conducting level of the molecular device, by extracting level position and broadening. In general we see that the method that relies on I...

  2. Supporting Knowledge Transfer through Decomposable Reasoning Artifacts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pike, William A.; May, Richard A.; Turner, Alan E.

    2007-01-03

    Technology to support knowledge transfer and cooperative inquiry must offer its users the ability to effectively interpret knowledge structures produced by collaborators. Communicating the reasoning processes that underlie a finding is one method for enhancing interpretation, and can result in more effective evaluation and application of shared knowledge. In knowledge management tools, interpretation is aided by creating knowledge artifacts that can expose their provenance to scrutiny and that can be transformed into diverse representations that suit their consumers’ perspectives and preferences. We outline the information management needs of inquiring communities characterized by hypothesis generation tasks, and propose a model for communication, based in theories of hermeneutics, semiotics, and abduction, in which knowledge structures can be decomposed into the lower-level reasoning artifacts that produced them. We then present a proof-of-concept implementation for an environment to support the capture and communication of analytic products, with emphasis on the domain of intelligence analysis.

  3. Decomposable log-linear models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Poul Svante

    can be characterized by a structured set of conditional independencies between some variables given some other variables. We term the new model class decomposable log-linear models, which is illustrated to be a much richer class than decomposable graphical models.It covers a wide range of non...... The present paper considers discrete probability models with exact computational properties. In relation to contingency tables this means closed form expressions of the maksimum likelihood estimate and its distribution. The model class includes what is known as decomposable graphicalmodels, which......-hierarchical models, models with structural zeroes, models described by quasi independence and models for level merging. Also, they have a very natural interpretation as they may be formulated by a structured set of conditional independencies between two events given some other event. In relation to contingency...

  4. On conditional decomposability

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Komenda, Jan; Masopust, Tomáš; van Schuppen, J. H.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 61, č. 12 (2012), s. 1260-1268 ISSN 0167-6911 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GPP202/11/P028; GA ČR(CZ) GAP103/11/0517 Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : discrete-event system * coordination control * conditional decomposability Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.667, year: 2012 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167691112001612

  5. Forensic entomology of decomposing humans and their decomposing pets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanford, Michelle R

    2015-02-01

    Domestic pets are commonly found in the homes of decedents whose deaths are investigated by a medical examiner or coroner. When these pets become trapped with a decomposing decedent they may resort to feeding on the body or succumb to starvation and/or dehydration and begin to decompose as well. In this case report photographic documentation of cases involving pets and decedents were examined from 2009 through the beginning of 2014. This photo review indicated that in many cases the pets were cats and dogs that were trapped with the decedent, died and were discovered in a moderate (bloat to active decay) state of decomposition. In addition three cases involving decomposing humans and their decomposing pets are described as they were processed for time of insect colonization by forensic entomological approach. Differences in timing and species colonizing the human and animal bodies were noted as was the potential for the human or animal derived specimens to contaminate one another at the scene. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Estimating biological elementary flux modes that decompose a flux distribution by the minimal branching property

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chan, Siu Hung Joshua; Solem, Christian; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal

    2014-01-01

    biologically feasible EFMs by considering their graphical properties. A previous study on the transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes found that distinct branches at a branch point metabolite usually belong to distinct metabolic pathways. This suggests an intuitive property of biologically feasible EFMs......, i.e. minimal branching. RESULTS: We developed the concept of minimal branching EFM and derived the minimal branching decomposition (MBD) to decompose flux distributions. Testing in the core Escherichia coli metabolic network indicated that MBD can distinguish branches at branch points and greatly...... knowledge, which facilitates interpretation. Comparison of the methods applied to a complex flux distribution in Lactococcus lactis similarly showed the advantages of MBD. The minimal branching EFM concept underlying MBD should be useful in other applications....

  7. Traits determining the digestibility-decomposability relationships in species from Mediterranean rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bumb, Iris; Garnier, Eric; Coq, Sylvain; Nahmani, Johanne; Del Rey Granado, Maria; Gimenez, Olivier; Kazakou, Elena

    2018-03-05

    Forage quality for herbivores and litter quality for decomposers are two key plant properties affecting ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Although there is a positive relationship between palatability and decomposition, very few studies have focused on larger vertebrate herbivores while considering links between the digestibility of living leaves and stems and the decomposability of litter and associated traits. The hypothesis tested is that some defences of living organs would reduce their digestibility and, as a consequence, their litter decomposability, through 'afterlife' effects. Additionally in high-fertility conditions the presence of intense herbivory would select for communities dominated by fast-growing plants, which are able to compensate for tissue loss by herbivory, producing both highly digestible organs and easily decomposable litter. Relationships between dry matter digestibility and decomposability were quantified in 16 dominant species from Mediterranean rangelands, which are subject to management regimes that differ in grazing intensity and fertilization. The digestibility and decomposability of leaves and stems were estimated at peak standing biomass, in plots that were either fertilized and intensively grazed or unfertilized and moderately grazed. Several traits were measured on living and senesced organs: fibre content, dry matter content and nitrogen, phosphorus and tannin concentrations. Digestibility was positively related to decomposability, both properties being influenced in the same direction by management regime, organ and growth forms. Digestibility of leaves and stems was negatively related to their fibre concentrations, and positively related to their nitrogen concentration. Decomposability was more strongly related to traits measured on living organs than on litter. Digestibility and decomposition were governed by similar structural traits, in particular fibre concentration, affecting both herbivores and micro

  8. Method of decomposing radioactive organic solvent wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uki, Kazuo; Ichihashi, Toshio; Hasegawa, Akira; Sato, Tatsuaki

    1986-01-01

    Purpose: To decompose radioactive organic solvent wastes or radioactive hydrocarbon solvents separated therefrom into organic materials under moderate conditions, as well as greatly decrease the amount of secondary wastes generated. Method: Radioactive organic solvent wastes comprising an organic phosphoric acid ester ingredient and a hydrocarbon ingredient as a diluent therefor, or radioactive hydrocarbon solvents separated therefrom are oxidatively decomposed by hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous phosphoric acid solution of phosphoric acid metal salts finally into organic materials to perform decomposing treatment for the radioactive organic solvent wastes. The decomposing reaction is carried out under relatively moderate conditions and cause less burden to facilities or the likes. Further, since the decomposed liquid after the treatment can be reused for the decomposing reaction as a catalyst solution secondary wastes can significantly be decreased. (Yoshihara, H.)

  9. Impact of agricultural practices on selected soil decomposers fauna

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdalatif, M. A.; Alrayah, A.; Azar, W. Z.

    2009-01-01

    Soil decomposers fauna i.e. collembolan, mites and nematodes were studied and compared between and within sites in relation to site, treatment and time of collection in Shambat arable and El Rwakeeb dry land. Comparison of results between sites showed that population density/volume of decomposers fauna sampled from Shambat site exceeded their assemblages sampled from El Rawakeeb site. Treatment application in form of cattle manure and neem leaves powder were observed to induce insignificant changes in the three faunal groups between the two sites. Temporal variations showed significant annual variations and insignificant seasonal variations between the two sites. Within each site, population density/volume of each of collembolan, mites and nematodes increased in response to cattle manure application in both sites. Whereas, neem leaves powder application induced a significant decrease in population density/volume of collembola in both sites. These results are generally attributed to variability of soil properties which may add to the suitability of Shambat soil to El Rawakeeb one for the survival of decomposers fauna. Within each site, increase in population density/volume of these fauna upon cattle manure application was attributed to ability of cattle manure to improve soil properties and to provide food. The negative effect of neem leaves powder on mites and nematodes was attributed to neem toxicity, whereas, its positive effects on collembolan was attributed to the ability of collembolan to withstand neem toxicity, collembolan probably physiologically resistant and the neem powder provided food, thus increasing its numbers compared to the central treatment.(Author)

  10. A novel decomposition technique of friable asbestos by CHClF2-decomposed acidic gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanagisawa, Kazumichi; Kozawa, Takahiro; Onda, Ayumu; Kanazawa, Masazumi; Shinohara, Junichi; Takanami, Tetsuro; Shiraishi, Masatsugu

    2009-01-01

    Asbestos was widely used in numerous materials and building products due to their desirable properties. It is, however, well known that asbestos inhalation causes health damage and its inexpensive decomposition technique is necessary to be developed for pollution prevention. We report here an innovative decomposition technique of friable asbestos by acidic gas (HF and HCl) generated from the decomposition of CHClF 2 by the reaction with superheated steam at 800 deg. C. Chrysotile-asbestos fibers were completely decomposed to sellaite and magnesium silicofluoride hexahydrate by the reaction with CHClF 2 -decomposed acidic gas at 150 deg. C for 30 min. At high temperatures beyond 400 deg. C, sellaite and hematite were detected in the decomposed product. In addition, crocidolite containing wastes and amosite containing wastes were decomposed at 500 deg. C and 600 deg. C for 30 min, respectively, by CHClF 2 -decomposed acidic gas. The observation of the reaction products by phase-contrast microscopy (PCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed that the resulting products did not contain any asbestos

  11. Decomposability queueing and computer system applications

    CERN Document Server

    Courtois, P J

    1977-01-01

    Decomposability: Queueing and Computer System Applications presents a set of powerful methods for systems analysis. This 10-chapter text covers the theory of nearly completely decomposable systems upon which specific analytic methods are based.The first chapters deal with some of the basic elements of a theory of nearly completely decomposable stochastic matrices, including the Simon-Ando theorems and the perturbation theory. The succeeding chapters are devoted to the analysis of stochastic queuing networks that appear as a type of key model. These chapters also discuss congestion problems in

  12. Thermally decomposed ricebran oil as a diesel fuel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megahed, O. A.

    1998-04-01

    Full Text Available Ricebran oil; a non edible oil, was thermally decomposed using different loads of calcium oxide as catalyst. The fuel properties of the cracked product were evaluated as compared to those of diesel fuel. The considered properties included the calorific value, flash point, viscosity, pour point, distillation characteristics, cetane number in addition to some other fuel properties. The results had shown that the fuel properties of the decomposed oil were quite similar to those of standard diesel fuel. The calorific value was 80-90% that of diesel fuel and the viscosity was sligthy higher. The prepared fuel was advantageous over diesel fuel as the former was completely free from sulfur, which on fuel combustion produces corrosive gases of sulfur oxides.

    Aceite de germen de arroz, un aceite no comestible, fue descompuesto térmicamente usando diferentes cantidades de óxido cálcico como catalizador. Las propiedades combustibles del producto craqueado fueron evaluadas comparándolas con las del gasóleo. Las propiedades consideradas incluyeron el poder calorífico, punto de inflamación, viscosidad, temperatura de fluidez crítica, características de destilación, número de cetano y otras propiedades de los combustibles. Los resultados han mostrado que las propiedades combustibles del aceite descompuesto fueron bastantes similares a la de los gasóleos estándar. El poder calorífico fue del 80-90% de la del gasóleo y la viscosidad ligeramente mayor. El combustible preparado fue ventajoso sobre el gasóleo ya que el primero estaba completamente libre de sulfuro, el cual produce en la combustión del carburante gases corrosivos de óxido de azufre.

  13. Decomposing method for ion exchange resin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sako, Takeshi; Sato, Shinshi; Akai, Yoshie; Moniwa, Shinobu; Yamada, Kazuo

    1998-01-01

    The present invention concerns a method of decomposing ion exchange resins generated in a nuclear power plant to carbon dioxide reliably in a short period of time. (1) The ion exchange resins are mixed with water, and then they are kept for a predetermined period of time in the presence of an inert gas at high temperature and high pressure exceeding the critical point of water to decompose the ion exchange resins. (2) The ion exchange resins is mixed with water, an oxidant is added and they are kept for a predetermined time in the presence of an inert gas at a high temperature and a high pressure exceeding a critical point of water of an inert gas at a high temperature to decompose the ion exchange resins. (3) An alkali or acid is added to ion exchange resins and water to control the hydrogen ion concentration in the solution and the ion exchange resins are decomposed in above-mentioned (1) or (2). Sodium hydroxide is used as the alkali and hydrochloric acid is used as the acid. In addition, oxygen, hydrogen peroxide or ozone is used as an oxidant. (I.S.)

  14. New thermophilic anaerobes that decompose crystalline cellulose

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taya, M; Hinoki, H; Suzuki, Y; Yagi, T; Yap, M G.S.; Kobayashi, T

    1985-01-01

    Two strains (designated as 25A and 3B) of cellulolytic, thermophilic, anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria were newly isolated from an alkaline hot spring through enrichment cultures at 60/sup 0/C. Though strain 25A was nearly identical to Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 as a reference strain, strain 3B had some characteristics different from the reference; no flagellation, alkalophilic growth property (optimum pH of 7.5-8) and orange-colored pigmentation of the cell mass. Strain 3B effectively decomposed micro-crystalline cellulose (Avicel) and raw cellulosics (rice straw, newspaper, and bagasse) without physical or chemical pretreatments. 20 references, 2 figures, 2 tables.

  15. Method of decomposing treatment for radioactive organic phosphate wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uki, Kazuo; Ichihashi, Toshio; Hasegawa, Akira; Sato, Tatsuaki

    1985-01-01

    Purpose: To decompose the organic phosphoric-acid ester wastes containing radioactive material, which is produced from spent fuel reprocessing facilities, into inorganic materials using a simple device, under moderate conditions and at high decomposing ratio. Method: Radioactive organic phosphate wates are oxidatively decomposed by H 2 O 2 in an aqueous phosphoric-acid solution of metal phosphate salts. Copper phosphates are used as the metal phosphate salts and the decomposed solution of the radioactive organic phosphate wastes is used as the aqueous solution of the copper phosphate. The temperature used for the oxidizing decomposition ranges from 80 to 100 0 C. (Ikeda, J.)

  16. Effect of the post-annealing temperature on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer for perovskite solar cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuxiao Guo

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available A hysteresis-less inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC with power conversion efficiency (PCE of 13.57% was successfully achieved based on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer, possessing better electron blocking and hole extraction properties for its suitable work function and high-conduction band edge position. Herein, the transparent and high-crystalline NiOx film is prepared by thermal-decomposing of the solution-derived Ni(OH2 film in our study, which is then employed as hole transport layer (HTL of the organic–inorganic hybrid PSCs. Reasonably, the post-annealing treatment, especially for the annealing temperature, could greatly affect the Ni(OH2 decomposition process and the quality of decomposed NiOx nanoparticles. The vital NiOx HTLs with discrepant morphology, crystallinity and transmission certainly lead to a wide range of device performance. As a result, an annealing process of 400∘C/2h significantly promotes the photovoltaic properties of the NiOx layer and the further device performance.

  17. Decomposing dynamic profit inefficiency of Belgian dairy farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ang, Frederic; Lansink, Alfons Oude

    2018-01-01

    This paper introduces a nonparametric framework for analysing dynamic profit inefficiency and applies this to a sample of Belgian, specialised dairy farms from 1996 to 2008. Profit inefficiency is decomposed into technical and allocative inefficiency. The paper also decomposes profit inefficiency

  18. Lactobacillus bulgaricus mutants decompose uremic toxins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Yun-Huan; Jiang, Ya-Fen; Jiang, Yun-Sheng

    2014-06-01

    We aim to obtain a probiotic strain from Lactobacillus bulgaricus by testing its capability to decompose uremic toxins to provide new intestinal bacteria for the treatment of chronic renal failure. Original L. bulgaricus was cultured with the serum of uremic patients and then mutated by physical (ultraviolet) and chemical (diethyl sulfate) methods repeatedly. Using creatinine decomposition rate as an observed index, we selected the best strains which decreased the most concentration of the creatinine. We then tested its ability to decompose urea, uric acid, serum phosphate, parathyroid hormone, and homocysteine and its genetic stability. After inductive and mutagenic treatment, DUC3-17 was selected. Its decomposition rate of creatinine, urea nitrogen, uric acid, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and homocysteine were 17.23%, 36.02%, 9.84%, 15.73%, 78.26%, and 12.69%, respectively. The degrading capacity was sustained over five generations. After directional induction and compound mutation, L. bulgaricus has greater capacity to decompose uremic toxins, with a stable inheritance.

  19. The FPase properties and morphology changes of a cellulolytic bacterium, Sporocytophaga sp. JL-01, on decomposing filter paper cellulose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiuran; Peng, Zhongqi; Sun, Xiaoling; Liu, Dongbo; Chen, Shan; Li, Fan; Xia, Hongmei; Lu, Tiancheng

    2012-01-01

    Sporocytophaga sp. JL-01 is a sliding cellulose degrading bacterium that can decompose filter paper (FP), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and cellulose CF11. In this paper, the morphological characteristics of S. sp. JL-01 growing in FP liquid medium was studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and one of the FPase components of this bacterium was analyzed. The results showed that the cell shapes were variable during the process of filter paper cellulose decomposition and the rod shape might be connected with filter paper decomposing. After incubating for 120 h, the filter paper was decomposed significantly, and it was degraded absolutely within 144 h. An FPase1 was purified from the supernatant and its characteristics were analyzed. The molecular weight of the FPase1 was 55 kDa. The optimum pH was pH 7.2 and optimum temperature was 50°C under experiment conditions. Zn(2+) and Co(2+) enhanced the enzyme activity, but Fe(3+) inhibited it.

  20. Responses of the soil decomposer community to the radioactive contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svetlana, Maksimova

    2004-01-01

    The knowledge about biodiversity and about reasons and laws of dynamics of decomposer invertebrates has exclusively important (rather applied, or theoretical) significance for soil science. Earthworms and millipedes are probably the most important members of the soil biota and major contributors to total zoo-mass. Their activities are such that they are extremely important in maintaining soil fertility in a variety of ways. They play an important part in the redistribution of radionuclides accumulated in the natural biogeocenoses and accumulation of radionuclides in their bodies depends on their concentration in the habitat. Since radionuclides can limit biological activity, studies to estimate the tolerance of decomposer community to potentially toxic radiators are needed. The effect of radioactive contamination on the soil invertebrates and decomposition processes in the different biogeocenoses we intensively studied during 17 years after Chernobyl accident. The soil invertebrates were collected according to generally accepted method by M. Ghilyarov. Soil samples were 0,25 m 2 and animals were extracted from samples by hand sorting. Usually decomposition was affected by the presence of decomposer fauna. Considerable differences were found in the species number. The species composition of sites differed clearly. The study showed that the fauna was poorer under increasing levels of radioactive contamination. The higher radionuclide content was found to result in suppression of decomposer community. The results showed a vertical migration of earthworms to deeper soil layers with increasing of radioactive contamination. With the absence of decomposer fauna due to migration to the deeper layer and mortality, the layer of litter increased. The results show that the earthworms were of small size. Cocoon production decreased. Radioactive contamination altered the process of reproduction and age structure of decomposer fauna. The invertebrates collected from the

  1. Responses of the soil decomposer community to the radioactive contamination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svetlana, Maksimova [Institute of Zoology of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk (Belarus)

    2004-07-01

    The knowledge about biodiversity and about reasons and laws of dynamics of decomposer invertebrates has exclusively important (rather applied, or theoretical) significance for soil science. Earthworms and millipedes are probably the most important members of the soil biota and major contributors to total zoo-mass. Their activities are such that they are extremely important in maintaining soil fertility in a variety of ways. They play an important part in the redistribution of radionuclides accumulated in the natural biogeocenoses and accumulation of radionuclides in their bodies depends on their concentration in the habitat. Since radionuclides can limit biological activity, studies to estimate the tolerance of decomposer community to potentially toxic radiators are needed. The effect of radioactive contamination on the soil invertebrates and decomposition processes in the different biogeocenoses we intensively studied during 17 years after Chernobyl accident. The soil invertebrates were collected according to generally accepted method by M. Ghilyarov. Soil samples were 0,25 m{sup 2} and animals were extracted from samples by hand sorting. Usually decomposition was affected by the presence of decomposer fauna. Considerable differences were found in the species number. The species composition of sites differed clearly. The study showed that the fauna was poorer under increasing levels of radioactive contamination. The higher radionuclide content was found to result in suppression of decomposer community. The results showed a vertical migration of earthworms to deeper soil layers with increasing of radioactive contamination. With the absence of decomposer fauna due to migration to the deeper layer and mortality, the layer of litter increased. The results show that the earthworms were of small size. Cocoon production decreased. Radioactive contamination altered the process of reproduction and age structure of decomposer fauna. The invertebrates collected from the

  2. Composing and decomposing data types

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bahr, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    restrictive, disallowing subtypings that lead to more than one possible injection and should therefore be considered programming errors. Furthermore, from this refined subtyping constraint we derive a new constraint to express type isomorphism. We show how this isomorphism constraint allows us to decompose......Wouter Swierstra's data types à la carte is a technique to modularise data type definitions in Haskell. We give an alternative implementation of data types à la carte that offers more flexibility in composing and decomposing data types. To achieve this, we refine the subtyping constraint, which...... is at the centre of data types à la carte. On the one hand this refinement is more general, allowing subtypings that intuitively should hold but were not derivable beforehand. This aspect of our implementation removes previous restrictions on how data types can be combined. On the other hand our refinement is more...

  3. Towards using the chordal graph polytope in learning decomposable models

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Studený, Milan; Cussens, J.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 88, č. 1 (2017), s. 259-281 ISSN 0888-613X. [8th International Conference of Probabilistic Graphical Models. Lugano, 06.09.2016-09.09.2016] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-12010S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : learning decomposable models * integer linear programming * characteristic imset * chordal graph polytope * clutter inequalities * separation problem Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Statistics and probability Impact factor: 2.845, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2017/MTR/studeny-0475614.pdf

  4. Upgrading non-oxidized carbon nanotubes by thermally decomposed hydrazine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Pen-Cheng, E-mail: wangpc@ess.nthu.edu.tw [Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Graduate Program for Science and Technology of Synchrotron Light Source, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Liao, Yu-Chun [Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Graduate Program for Science and Technology of Synchrotron Light Source, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan (China); Liu, Li-Hung [Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Lai, Yu-Ling; Lin, Ying-Chang [National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Yao-Jane [Graduate Program for Science and Technology of Synchrotron Light Source, National Tsing Hua University, 101 Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan (China)

    2014-06-01

    We found that the electrical properties of conductive thin films based on non-oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could be further improved when the CNTs consecutively underwent a mild hydrazine adsorption treatment and then a sufficiently effective thermal desorption treatment. We also found that, after several rounds of vapor-phase hydrazine treatments and baking treatments were applied to an inferior single-CNT field-effect transistor device, the device showed improvement in I{sub on}/I{sub off} ratio and reduction in the extent of gate-sweeping hysteresis. Our experimental results indicate that, even though hydrazine is a well-known reducing agent, the characteristics of our hydrazine-exposed CNT samples subject to certain treatment conditions could become more graphenic than graphanic, suggesting that the improvement in the electrical and electronic properties of CNT samples could be related to the transient bonding and chemical scavenging of thermally decomposed hydrazine on the surface of CNTs.

  5. Upgrading non-oxidized carbon nanotubes by thermally decomposed hydrazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pen-Cheng; Liao, Yu-Chun; Liu, Li-Hung; Lai, Yu-Ling; Lin, Ying-Chang; Hsu, Yao-Jane

    2014-06-01

    We found that the electrical properties of conductive thin films based on non-oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could be further improved when the CNTs consecutively underwent a mild hydrazine adsorption treatment and then a sufficiently effective thermal desorption treatment. We also found that, after several rounds of vapor-phase hydrazine treatments and baking treatments were applied to an inferior single-CNT field-effect transistor device, the device showed improvement in Ion/Ioff ratio and reduction in the extent of gate-sweeping hysteresis. Our experimental results indicate that, even though hydrazine is a well-known reducing agent, the characteristics of our hydrazine-exposed CNT samples subject to certain treatment conditions could become more graphenic than graphanic, suggesting that the improvement in the electrical and electronic properties of CNT samples could be related to the transient bonding and chemical scavenging of thermally decomposed hydrazine on the surface of CNTs.

  6. Decomposing issue patterns in crisis communication : the case of the lost airliner

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Boyang; Vos, Marita; Veijalainen, Jari

    2018-01-01

    This research explores the relation between a crisis and public discussion on related issues. In organisational crisis communication, a singleissue strategy is often proposed. Such a strategy, however, may not be adequate in more complex crises where the crisis lifecycle is likely to encompass shorter lifecycles of issues that generate media attention. Decomposing the online crisis debate into a pattern of issues supports understanding of public perceptions, and hence of cri...

  7. Integrated boiler, superheater, and decomposer for sulfuric acid decomposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Robert [Edgewood, NM; Pickard, Paul S [Albuquerque, NM; Parma, Jr., Edward J.; Vernon, Milton E [Albuquerque, NM; Gelbard, Fred [Albuquerque, NM; Lenard, Roger X [Edgewood, NM

    2010-01-12

    A method and apparatus, constructed of ceramics and other corrosion resistant materials, for decomposing sulfuric acid into sulfur dioxide, oxygen and water using an integrated boiler, superheater, and decomposer unit comprising a bayonet-type, dual-tube, counter-flow heat exchanger with a catalytic insert and a central baffle to increase recuperation efficiency.

  8. Procedures for Decomposing a Redox Reaction into Half-Reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishtik, Ilie; Berka, Ladislav H.

    2005-01-01

    A simple algorithm for a complete enumeration of the possible ways a redox reaction (RR) might be uniquely decomposed into half-reactions (HRs) using the response reactions (RERs) formalism is presented. A complete enumeration of the possible ways a RR may be decomposed into HRs is equivalent to a complete enumeration of stoichiometrically…

  9. Phosphorus uptake by decomposing leaf detritus: effect of microbial biomass and activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mulholland, P J; Elwood, J W; Newbold, J D; Webster, J R; Ferren, L A; Perkins, R E

    1984-12-01

    The dominant energy source in small woodland streams is the allochthonous input of leaves. Utilization of this energy source by stream biota establishes the patterns of secondary productivity and nutrient uptake in these ecosystems. Although leaf inputs support much of the production of macroinvertebrates and higher consumers in streams, microbes are the critical link between these organisms and the leaf resource, much of which is undigestible by higher organisms. A number of studies have indicated that stream macroinvertebrates preferentially select leaves with greater levels of microbial activity. Rates of microbial activity associated with decomposing leaves were shown to be dependent on the supply of P in one woodland stream. In other streams, leaf decomposition has been shown to be nutrient limited as well. Thus, as in many other ecosystems, maintenance of high levels of production in streams is dependent on retention and efficient recycling of nutrients. Uptake of P by microbes colonizing leaves is an important mechanism for nutrient retention in small woodland streams. In these systems, numerous debris collections efficiently retard downstream movement of particulate materials, especially decomposing leaves. Uptake of dissolved, easily transportable forms of P by microbes attached to decomposing leaves increases P retention in streams. The more rapid the rate of P uptake onto decomposing leaves for a given P supply, the shorter the P uptake length and the more times an atom of P is utilized within a given stream reach. In this study the authors examined the temporal patterns of P uptake during the early stages of leaf decomposition in streams. Patterns of P uptake were compared to patterns of other measurements of microbial activity to identify the effect of microbial succession or conditioning of leaves on P uptake. 22 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.

  10. On rationally supported surfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gravesen, Jens; Juttler, B.; Sir, Z.

    2008-01-01

    We analyze the class of surfaces which are equipped with rational support functions. Any rational support function can be decomposed into a symmetric (even) and an antisymmetric (odd) part. We analyze certain geometric properties of surfaces with odd and even rational support functions....... In particular it is shown that odd rational support functions correspond to those rational surfaces which can be equipped with a linear field of normal vectors, which were discussed by Sampoli et al. (Sampoli, M.L., Peternell, M., Juttler, B., 2006. Rational surfaces with linear normals and their convolutions...... with rational surfaces. Comput. Aided Geom. Design 23, 179-192). As shown recently, this class of surfaces includes non-developable quadratic triangular Bezier surface patches (Lavicka, M., Bastl, B., 2007. Rational hypersurfaces with rational convolutions. Comput. Aided Geom. Design 24, 410426; Peternell, M...

  11. Decomposing change in life expectancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vaupel, James W.; Canudas Romo, Vladimir

    2003-01-01

    We extend Nathan Keyfitz's research on continuous change in life expectancy over time by presenting and proving a new formula for decomposing such change. The formula separates change in life expectancy over time into two terms. The first term captures the general effect of reduction in death rates...... in Sweden and Japan....

  12. Short-term responses of decomposers and vegetation to stump removal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kataja-aho, S.

    2011-07-01

    Stump removal has become a common practice to produce raw material for bioenergy production. It was hypothesized that stump removal is an extensive and more intense disturbance for forest ecosystems (soil decomposer organisms and vegetation) compared to traditional site preparation after clear cutting. Therefore, the effects of stump harvesting on forest soil decomposers, vegetation and nutrient dynamics in undisturbed patches of the forest soil and in exposed mineral soil were compared to the effects of the traditional site preparation method, mounding. Nematodes and enchytraeids were the only decomposer groups that were directly affected (negatively) by the stump removal. Regardless of the treatment, the abundances of most of the decomposer groups were consistently lower in the exposed mineral soil than in the intact forest soil. There was 2-3 times more exposed mineral soil in stump removal sites compared to mounding sites. When this was taken into account, the decomposer community was negatively affected by the stump removal at the forest stand level. However, the greater soil disturbance at the stump harvesting sites enhanced CO{sub 2} production, net nitrogen mineralisation and nitrification. The increased N availability and the changes in microclimate due to the disturbance probably explained the vegetation increase at the stump harvested sites. Planted Norway spruce seedlings grew faster during the first two growing periods at the stump removal sites than at the mounding sites. The seedlings had high and similar ectomycorrhizal colonization rate in both treatments. In the short-term, it is probably not the resources removed in the stumps themselves, but the degree and amount of soil disturbance during the stump harvesting procedure that affects the decomposer community and its function in the clear-felled stands. (orig.)

  13. Process heat exchanger for SO3 decomposer fabricated with Ni-based alloys surface modified by SiC film deposition and N ion beam bombardment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jae-Won; Kim, Hyung-Jin; Choi, Yong-Woon; Kim, Yong-Wan

    2007-01-01

    In the iodine-sulfur (IS) cycle for the hydrogen production using the high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), one of the important components is the SO 3 decomposer which generates SO 2 and SO 3 gases under high temperature conditions. Since this environment is extremely corrosive, the materials used for the decomposer should meet excellent mechanical properties at the elevated temperature as well as high corrosion resistance in SO 2 /SO 3 atmospheres. In general, ceramics are protective against the corrosion, but metals exhibit limited corrosion resistance. In this work, the ceramic coating on the metallic substrate was studied. We selected SiC as coating materials and Ni-based alloys as the substrate materials. Since the adhesion between the coated layer and the substrate is most crucial in this application, we attempted to develop Ion Beam Mixing (IBM) technique to produce a highly adherent coated layer. For the fabrication of process heat exchange for SO 3 decomposer, the diffusion bonding at ∼900 .deg. C is employed because this temperature does not affect the mechanical properties of materials

  14. [DNA extraction from decomposed tissue by double-digest and magnetic beads methods].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Dian; Liu, Chao; Liu, Hong

    2011-12-01

    To study the effect of the double-digest and magnetic beads method for DNA extraction from 3 types of decomposed tissues. DNA of cartilages, nails and joint capsule in 91 highly decomposed corpses which had not been extracted by common magnetic beads method, were prepared with the double-digest and magnetic beads methods, and quantified with Quantifiler kit, followed by amplification with Sinofiler kit or Minifiler kit. DNA concentration extracted from the 91 highly decomposed cartilages, nails and joint capsule samples was 0-0.225 ng/microL. Sixty-two samples whose DNA concentration were more than 0.020 ng/microL had obtained 9 or more STR loci successfully. The detection rate was 68.13%. The successful rate of STR genotyping for the 3 types of decomposed tissues can be significantly improved by the double-digest and magnetic beads methods.

  15. A note on arbitrarily vertex decomposable graphs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoni Marczyk

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available A graph \\(G\\ of order \\(n\\ is said to be arbitrarily vertex decomposable if for each sequence \\((n_{1},\\ldots,n_k\\ of positive integers such that \\(n_{1}+\\ldots+n_{k}=n\\ there exists a partition \\((V_{1},\\ldots,V_{k}\\ of the vertex set of \\(G\\ such that for each \\(i \\in \\{1,\\ldots,k\\}\\, \\(V_{i}\\ induces a connected subgraph of \\(G\\ on \\(n_i\\ vertices. In this paper we show that if \\(G\\ is a two-connected graph on \\(n\\ vertices with the independence number at most \\(\\lceil n/2\\rceil\\ and such that the degree sum of any pair of non-adjacent vertices is at least \\(n-3\\, then \\(G\\ is arbitrarily vertex decomposable. We present another result for connected graphs satisfying a similar condition, where the bound \\(n-3\\ is replaced by \\(n-2\\.

  16. Scalable Domain Decomposed Monte Carlo Particle Transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Brien, Matthew Joseph [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

    2013-12-05

    In this dissertation, we present the parallel algorithms necessary to run domain decomposed Monte Carlo particle transport on large numbers of processors (millions of processors). Previous algorithms were not scalable, and the parallel overhead became more computationally costly than the numerical simulation.

  17. Supporting Activity-Based Computingusing Dynamically (De)Composable Mobile Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz, Ulrik Pagh; Schougaard, Kari Rye

    2004-01-01

    the document-centered paradigm for pervasive computing: it crosscuts work with different kinds of entities and sets the focus on the user and the user's tasks. In domain such as healthcare, activities are fundamentally mobile: doctors and nurses move throughout the hospital as their work progresses. Hence......, the computer must support mobility of activities. For this reason, we consider it important to investigate whether a computing platform that embraces mobility at a fundamental level supports implementing software for this new paradigm. This paper describes our initial design ideas for supporting activity......-centered computing in the Pervasive Object Model Project (POMP), a project which concerns the development of a platform for pervasive computing applications. We first describe POMP, the present the notion of activity-based computing, and last investigate how activity-based computing can be implemented in POMP....

  18. Atomic-batched tensor decomposed two-electron repulsion integrals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitz, Gunnar; Madsen, Niels Kristian; Christiansen, Ove

    2017-04-01

    We present a new integral format for 4-index electron repulsion integrals, in which several strategies like the Resolution-of-the-Identity (RI) approximation and other more general tensor-decomposition techniques are combined with an atomic batching scheme. The 3-index RI integral tensor is divided into sub-tensors defined by atom pairs on which we perform an accelerated decomposition to the canonical product (CP) format. In a first step, the RI integrals are decomposed to a high-rank CP-like format by repeated singular value decompositions followed by a rank reduction, which uses a Tucker decomposition as an intermediate step to lower the prefactor of the algorithm. After decomposing the RI sub-tensors (within the Coulomb metric), they can be reassembled to the full decomposed tensor (RC approach) or the atomic batched format can be maintained (ABC approach). In the first case, the integrals are very similar to the well-known tensor hypercontraction integral format, which gained some attraction in recent years since it allows for quartic scaling implementations of MP2 and some coupled cluster methods. On the MP2 level, the RC and ABC approaches are compared concerning efficiency and storage requirements. Furthermore, the overall accuracy of this approach is assessed. Initial test calculations show a good accuracy and that it is not limited to small systems.

  19. A (de)composable theory of rhythm perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Desain, P.

    1992-01-01

    A definition is given of expectancy of events projected into the future by a complex temporal sequence. The definition can be decomposed into basic expectancy components projected by each time interval implicit in the sequence. A preliminary formulation of these basic curves is proposed and the

  20. Decomposed process mining with DivideAndConquer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verbeek, H.M.W.; Limonad, L.; Weber, B.

    2014-01-01

    Many known process mining techniques scale badly in the number of activities in an event log. Examples of such techniques include the ILP Miner and the standard replay, which also uses ILP techniques. To alleviate the problems these techniques face, we can decompose a large problem (with many

  1. A general approach to decomposable bi-capacities

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Saminger, S.; Mesiar, Radko

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 39, č. 5 (2003), s. 631-642 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/04/1026 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1075907 Keywords : bi-capacity * cumulative prospect theory * decomposable capacity Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.319, year: 2003

  2. Test fabrication of sulfuric acid decomposer applied for thermochemical hydrogen production IS process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguchi, Hiroki; Terada, Atsuhiko; Kubo, Shinji; Onuki, Kaoru; Hino, Ryutaro; Ota, Hiroyuki

    2007-07-01

    Thermo-chemical Iodine-Sulfur (IS) process produces large amount of hydrogen effectively without carbon dioxide emission. Since the IS process uses strong acids such as sulfuric acid and hydriodic acid, it is necessary to develop large-scale chemical reactors featuring materials that exhibit excellent heat and corrosion resistance. A sulfuric acid decomposer is one of the key components of the IS process plant, in which sulfuric acid is evaporated and decomposed into water and sulfur trioxide under temperature range from 300degC to 500degC using the heat supplied by high temperature helium gas. The decomposer is exposed to severe corrosion condition of sulfuric acid boiling flow, where only the SiC ceramics shows good corrosion resistance. However, at the current status, it is very difficult to manufacture the large-scale SiC ceramics structure required in the commercial plant. Therefore, we devised a new concept of the decomposer, which featured a counter flow type heat exchanger consisting of cylindrical blocks made of SiC ceramics. Scale up can be realized by connecting the blocks in parallel and/or in series. This paper describes results of the design work and the test-fabrication study of the sulfuric acid decomposer, which was carried out in order to confirm its feasibility. (author)

  3. Comparative evaluation of the bacteria isolated from decomposing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Six (6) bacterial species Bacillus circulans, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Streptococcus faecalis and Streptococcus lactis were isolated from decomposing cow milk, while four (4) bacterial species namely Bacillus brevis, Bacillus licheniformis, Lactobacillus casei and Staphylococcus epidermidis ...

  4. Ostwald ripening of decomposed phases in Cu-Ni-Cr alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Santiago, Felipe; Lopez-Hirata, Victor; Dorantes-Rosales, Hector J.; Saucedo-Munoz, Maribel L.; Gonzalez-Velazquez, Jorge L.; Paniagua-Mercado, Ana Ma.

    2008-01-01

    A study of the coarsening process of the decomposed phases was carried out in the Cu-34 wt.% Ni-4 wt.% Cr and Cu-45 wt.% Ni-10 wt.% Cr alloys using transmission electron microscopy. As aging progressed, the morphology of the coherent decomposed Ni-rich phase changed from cuboids to platelets aligned in the Cu-rich matrix directions. Prolonged aging caused the loss of coherency between the decomposed phases and the morphology of the Ni-rich phase changed to ellipsoidal. The variation of mean radius of the coherent decomposed phases with aging time followed the modified LSW theory for thermally activated growth in ternary alloy systems. The linear variation of the density number of precipitates and matrix supersaturation with aging time, also confirmed that the coarsening process followed the modified LSW theory in both alloys. The coarsening rate was faster in the symmetrical Cu-45 wt.% Ni-10 wt.% Cr alloy due to its higher volume fraction of precipitates. The activation energy for thermally activated growth was determined to be about 182 and 102 kJ mol -1 in the Cu-34 wt.% Ni-4 wt.% Cr and Cu-45 wt.% Ni-10 wt.% Cr alloys, respectively. The lower energy for the former alloy seems to be related to an increase in the atomic diffusion process as the chromium content increases. The size distributions of precipitates in the Cu-Ni-Cr alloys were broader and more symmetric than that predicted by the modified LSW theory for ternary alloys

  5. Decomposing energy demand across BRIIC countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adetutu, Morakinyo O.; Glass, Anthony J.; Weyman-Jones, Thomas G.

    2016-01-01

    Energy plays an important role within the production technology of fast emerging economies, such that firms' reaction to changes in energy prices provides useful information on factor productivity and factor intensity, as well as the likely outcome of energy policy initiatives, among other things. Drawing on duality theory, this paper decomposes changes in energy demand into substitution and output effects using annual sector-level production data for Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia and China (BRIIC) for the period 1995–2009. Unlike previous studies, this study analyzed the economic properties of the underlying production technology. Results indicate that changes in energy demand are strongly dominated by substitution effects. More importantly, an intriguing finding that emerges from our analysis is the role of economies of scale and factor accumulation, as opposed to technical progress, in giving rise to the growth performance of sampled economies. - Highlights: • The analysis examines the structure and channels of changes in energy demand across productive sectors in BRIIC countries during 1995–2009. • We evaluate substitution and output effects as well as the nature of firm productivity across these countries. • Changes in energy demand arising from changes in (relative) price of energy is strongly dominated by substitution effects. • The main drivers of economic performance and energy use over the sample period are economies of scale and factor accumulation.

  6. Decomposability and convex structure of thermal processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazurek, Paweł; Horodecki, Michał

    2018-05-01

    We present an example of a thermal process (TP) for a system of d energy levels, which cannot be performed without an instant access to the whole energy space. This TP is uniquely connected with a transition between some states of the system, that cannot be performed without access to the whole energy space even when approximate transitions are allowed. Pursuing the question about the decomposability of TPs into convex combinations of compositions of processes acting non-trivially on smaller subspaces, we investigate transitions within the subspace of states diagonal in the energy basis. For three level systems, we determine the set of extremal points of these operations, as well as the minimal set of operations needed to perform an arbitrary TP, and connect the set of TPs with thermomajorization criterion. We show that the structure of the set depends on temperature, which is associated with the fact that TPs cannot increase deterministically extractable work from a state—the conclusion that holds for arbitrary d level system. We also connect the decomposability problem with detailed balance symmetry of an extremal TPs.

  7. Laser Spectroscopy on Ozone Destruction by SF6 Decomposed Products

    OpenAIRE

    北嶋, 巌; 村上, 和幸; 田中, 淳一; 岡井, 善四郎

    2002-01-01

    This paper reports on the identification of the SF6 decomposed products and the possibility of the ozone destruction by it. SF6 gas absorbs very strongly the 10.6μm P branch of C02 laser beam,so that the trace detection under ppb will be easily performed by the laser photo-acoustic method. We observed a new absorption spectra within the 9.6μm P branch resulted from the decomposed molecules after 2 hours 1 Hz-pulsed discharge of SF6 gas. As a resu1t ofthe gas chromatograph, it will be assumed ...

  8. Decomposing the sales promotion bump with store data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Heerde, H.J.; Leeflang, P.S.H.; Wittink, D.R.

    2004-01-01

    Sales promotions generate substantial short-term sales increases. To determine whether the sales promotion bump is truly beneficial from a managerial perspective, we propose a system of store-level regression models that decomposes the sales promotion bump into three parts: cross-brand effects

  9. Limited Effects of Variable-Retention Harvesting on Fungal Communities Decomposing Fine Roots in Coastal Temperate Rainforests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philpott, Timothy J; Barker, Jason S; Prescott, Cindy E; Grayston, Sue J

    2018-02-01

    Fine root litter is the principal source of carbon stored in forest soils and a dominant source of carbon for fungal decomposers. Differences in decomposer capacity between fungal species may be important determinants of fine-root decomposition rates. Variable-retention harvesting (VRH) provides refuge for ectomycorrhizal fungi, but its influence on fine-root decomposers is unknown, as are the effects of functional shifts in these fungal communities on carbon cycling. We compared fungal communities decomposing fine roots (in litter bags) under VRH, clear-cut, and uncut stands at two sites (6 and 13 years postharvest) and two decay stages (43 days and 1 year after burial) in Douglas fir forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Fungal species and guilds were identified from decomposed fine roots using high-throughput sequencing. Variable retention had short-term effects on β-diversity; harvest treatment modified the fungal community composition at the 6-year-postharvest site, but not at the 13-year-postharvest site. Ericoid and ectomycorrhizal guilds were not more abundant under VRH, but stand age significantly structured species composition. Guild composition varied by decay stage, with ruderal species later replaced by saprotrophs and ectomycorrhizae. Ectomycorrhizal abundance on decomposing fine roots may partially explain why fine roots typically decompose more slowly than surface litter. Our results indicate that stand age structures fine-root decomposers but that decay stage is more important in structuring the fungal community than shifts caused by harvesting. The rapid postharvest recovery of fungal communities decomposing fine roots suggests resiliency within this community, at least in these young regenerating stands in coastal British Columbia. IMPORTANCE Globally, fine roots are a dominant source of carbon in forest soils, yet the fungi that decompose this material and that drive the sequestration or respiration of this carbon remain largely

  10. Domain decomposed preconditioners with Krylov subspace methods as subdomain solvers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pernice, M. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

    1994-12-31

    Domain decomposed preconditioners for nonsymmetric partial differential equations typically require the solution of problems on the subdomains. Most implementations employ exact solvers to obtain these solutions. Consequently work and storage requirements for the subdomain problems grow rapidly with the size of the subdomain problems. Subdomain solves constitute the single largest computational cost of a domain decomposed preconditioner, and improving the efficiency of this phase of the computation will have a significant impact on the performance of the overall method. The small local memory available on the nodes of most message-passing multicomputers motivates consideration of the use of an iterative method for solving subdomain problems. For large-scale systems of equations that are derived from three-dimensional problems, memory considerations alone may dictate the need for using iterative methods for the subdomain problems. In addition to reduced storage requirements, use of an iterative solver on the subdomains allows flexibility in specifying the accuracy of the subdomain solutions. Substantial savings in solution time is possible if the quality of the domain decomposed preconditioner is not degraded too much by relaxing the accuracy of the subdomain solutions. While some work in this direction has been conducted for symmetric problems, similar studies for nonsymmetric problems appear not to have been pursued. This work represents a first step in this direction, and explores the effectiveness of performing subdomain solves using several transpose-free Krylov subspace methods, GMRES, transpose-free QMR, CGS, and a smoothed version of CGS. Depending on the difficulty of the subdomain problem and the convergence tolerance used, a reduction in solution time is possible in addition to the reduced memory requirements. The domain decomposed preconditioner is a Schur complement method in which the interface operators are approximated using interface probing.

  11. [Effects of Phosphate Rock and Decomposed Rice Straw Application on Lead Immobilization in a Contaminated Soil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Fan; Hu, Hong-qing; Su, Xiao-juan; Fu, Qing-ling; Zhu, Jun

    2015-08-01

    The soils treated with phosphate rock (PR) and oxalic acid activated phosphate rock (APR) mixed with decomposed rice straw were incubated in different moisture conditions for 60 days to study the effect on the basic property of the soil and on the speciation variation of Pb. The results showed that all these three types of immobilizing materials increased the pH, the Olsen-P, the exchangeable Ca and the soil cation exchange capacity, and APR showed more obvious effect; the pH and the exchangeable Ca of soil in the flooding treatment were higher than those in normal water treatment (70%), but the Olsen-P of soil in normal water treatment was a little bit more. These materials reduced exchangeable Ph fraction, and converted it into unavailable fraction. But the APR was better than raw PR in immobilizing lead, and the exchangeable Pb fraction was reduced by 40.3% and 24.2%, compared with the control, respectively, and the immobilization effect was positively correlated with the dosage. Decomposed rice straw could transform the exchangeable Ph fraction in soil into organic-bound fraction, while the flooding treatment changed it into the Fe-Mn oxide-bound and residue fractions.

  12. Functional diversity of microbial decomposers facilitates plant coexistence in a plant-microbe-soil feedback model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miki, Takeshi; Ushio, Masayuki; Fukui, Shin; Kondoh, Michio

    2010-08-10

    Theory and empirical evidence suggest that plant-soil feedback (PSF) determines the structure of a plant community and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. The plant community alters the nutrient pool size in soil by affecting litter decomposition processes, which in turn shapes the plant community, forming a PSF system. However, the role of microbial decomposers in PSF function is often overlooked, and it remains unclear whether decomposers reinforce or weaken litter-mediated plant control over nutrient cycling. Here, we present a theoretical model incorporating the functional diversity of both plants and microbial decomposers. Two fundamental microbial processes are included that control nutrient mineralization from plant litter: (i) assimilation of mineralized nutrient into the microbial biomass (microbial immobilization), and (ii) release of the microbial nutrients into the inorganic nutrient pool (net mineralization). With this model, we show that microbial diversity may act as a buffer that weakens plant control over the soil nutrient pool, reversing the sign of PSF from positive to negative and facilitating plant coexistence. This is explained by the decoupling of litter decomposability and nutrient pool size arising from a flexible change in the microbial community composition and decomposition processes in response to variations in plant litter decomposability. Our results suggest that the microbial community plays a central role in PSF function and the plant community structure. Furthermore, the results strongly imply that the plant-centered view of nutrient cycling should be changed to a plant-microbe-soil feedback system, by incorporating the community ecology of microbial decomposers and their functional diversity.

  13. Structural and spectroscopic analysis of hot filament decomposed ethylene deposited at low temperature on silicon surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tung, F.-K.; Perevedentseva, E.; Chou, P.-W.; Cheng, C.-L.

    2005-01-01

    The deposition of decomposed ethylene on silicon wafer at lower temperature using hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method was applied to compose thin film of carbon and its compounds with silicon and hydrocarbon structures. The films were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with elemental microanalysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The structure and morphology of the early stage of the film deposition was analyzed. The obtaining of SiC as well as diamond-like structure with this method and catalytic influence of chemical admixtures on the film structure and properties are discussed

  14. Decomposed Implicit Models of Piecewise - Linear Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Brzobohaty

    1992-05-01

    Full Text Available The general matrix form of the implicit description of a piecewise-linear (PWL network and the symbolic block diagram of the corresponding circuit model are proposed. Their decomposed forms enable us to determine quite separately the existence of the individual breakpoints of the resultant PWL characteristic and their coordinates using independent network parameters. For the two-diode and three-diode cases all the attainable types of the PWL characteristic are introduced.

  15. Hydrogen iodide processing section in a thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur process using a multistage hydrogen iodide decomposer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohashi, Hirofumi; Sakaba, Nariaki; Imai, Yoshiyuki; Kubo, Shinji; Sato, Hiroyuki; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko; Kato, Ryoma

    2009-01-01

    A multistage hydrogen iodide (HI) decomposer (repetition of HI decomposition reaction and removal of product iodine by a HIx solution) in a thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur process for hydrogen production using high-temperature heat from the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor was numerically evaluated, especially in terms of the flow rate of undecomposed HI and product iodine at the outlet of the decomposer, in order to reduce the total heat transfer area of heat exchangers for the recycle of undecomposed HI and to eliminate components for the separation. A suitable configuration of the multistage HI decomposer was countercurrent rather than concurrent, and the HIx solution from an electro-electro dialysis at a low temperature was a favorable feed condition for the multistage HI decomposer. The flow rate of undecomposed HI and product iodine at the outlet of the multistage HI decomposer was significantly lower than that of the conventional HI decomposer, because the conversion was increased, and HI and iodine were removed by the HIx solution. Based on this result, an alternative HI processing section using the multistage HI decomposer and eliminating some recuperators, coolers, and components for the separation was proposed and evaluated. The total heat transfer area of heat exchangers in the proposed HI processing section could be reduced to less than about 1/2 that in the conventional HI processing section. (author)

  16. Information Geometry of Positive Measures and Positive-Definite Matrices: Decomposable Dually Flat Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shun-ichi Amari

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Information geometry studies the dually flat structure of a manifold, highlighted by the generalized Pythagorean theorem. The present paper studies a class of Bregman divergences called the (ρ,τ-divergence. A (ρ,τ -divergence generates a dually flat structure in the manifold of positive measures, as well as in the manifold of positive-definite matrices. The class is composed of decomposable divergences, which are written as a sum of componentwise divergences. Conversely, a decomposable dually flat divergence is shown to be a (ρ,τ -divergence. A (ρ,τ -divergence is determined from two monotone scalar functions, ρ and τ. The class includes the KL-divergence, α-, β- and (α, β-divergences as special cases. The transformation between an affine parameter and its dual is easily calculated in the case of a decomposable divergence. Therefore, such a divergence is useful for obtaining the center for a cluster of points, which will be applied to classification and information retrieval in vision. For the manifold of positive-definite matrices, in addition to the dually flatness and decomposability, we require the invariance under linear transformations, in particular under orthogonal transformations. This opens a way to define a new class of divergences, called the (ρ,τ -structure in the manifold of positive-definite matrices.

  17. Temperature response of soil respiration is dependent on concentration of readily decomposable C

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larionova, A. A.; Yevdokimov, I. V.; Bykhovets, S. S.

    2007-12-01

    Temperature acclimation of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is one of the major uncertainties in predicting soil CO2 efflux associated with the increase in global mean temperature. A reasonable explanation for an apparent acclimation proposed by Davidson and colleagues (2006) based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics suggests that temperature sensitivity decreases when both maximal activity of respiratory enzymes (Vmax) and half-saturation constant (Ks) cancel each other upon temperature increase. We tested the hypothesis of the canceling effect by the mathematical simulation of data obtained in incubation experiments with forest and arable soils. Our data support the hypothesis and suggest that concentration of readily decomposable C substrate (as glucose equivalents) and temperature dependent substrate release are the important factors controlling temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. The highest temperature sensitivity of soil respiration was observed when substrate release was temperature dependent and C substrate concentration was much lower than Ks. Increase of substrate content to the half-saturation constant by glucose addition resulted in temperature acclimation associated with the canceling effect. Addition of the substrate to the level providing respiration at a maximal rate Vmax leads to the acclimation of the whole microbial community as such. However, growing microbial biomass was more sensitive to the temperature alterations. This study improves our understanding of the instability of temperature sensitivity of soil respiration under field conditions, attributing this phenomenon to changes in concentration of readily decomposable C substrate.

  18. Conceptual design of SO3 decomposer for thermo-chemical iodine-sulfur process pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akihiro Kanagawa; Seiji Kasahara; Atsuhiko Terada; Shinji Kubo; Ryutaro Hino; Yoshiyuki Kawahara; Masaharu Watabe; Hiroshi Fukui; Kazuo Ishino; Toshio Takahashi

    2005-01-01

    Thermo-chemical water-splitting cycle is a method to make an effective use of the high temperature nuclear heat for hydrogen production. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been conducting R and D on HTGR and also on thermo-chemical hydrogen production by using a thermo-chemical iodine-sulfur cycle (IS process). Based on the test results and know-how obtained through a bench-scale tests of hydrogen production of about 30 NL/hr, JAERI has a plan to construct a pilot test plant heated by high temperature helium gas, which has a hydrogen production performance of 30 Nm 3 /hr and will be operated under the high pressure up to 2 MPa. One of the key components of the pilot test plant is a SO 3 decomposer under high temperature conditions up to 850 degree C and high pressure up to 2 MPa. In this paper, a concept of the SO 3 decomposer for the pilot test plant fabricated with SiC ceramics, a corrosion-resistant material is investigated. Preliminary analyses on temperature and flow-rate distributions in the SO 3 decomposer and on thermal stress were carried out. A SO 3 decomposer model was experimentally manufactured. (authors)

  19. Acute toxicity of live and decomposing green alga Ulva ( Enteromorpha) prolifera to abalone Haliotis discus hannai

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chao; Yu, Rencheng; Zhou, Mingjiang

    2011-05-01

    From 2007 to 2009, large-scale blooms of green algae (the so-called "green tides") occurred every summer in the Yellow Sea, China. In June 2008, huge amounts of floating green algae accumulated along the coast of Qingdao and led to mass mortality of cultured abalone and sea cucumber. However, the mechanism for the mass mortality of cultured animals remains undetermined. This study examined the toxic effects of Ulva ( Enteromorpha) prolifera, the causative species of green tides in the Yellow Sea during the last three years. The acute toxicity of fresh culture medium and decomposing algal effluent of U. prolifera to the cultured abalone Haliotis discus hannai were tested. It was found that both fresh culture medium and decomposing algal effluent had toxic effects to abalone, and decomposing algal effluent was more toxic than fresh culture medium. The acute toxicity of decomposing algal effluent could be attributed to the ammonia and sulfide presented in the effluent, as well as the hypoxia caused by the decomposition process.

  20. Decomposing changes in the aggregate labor force participation rate

    OpenAIRE

    Hotchkiss, Julie L.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a simple methodology for decomposing changes in the aggregate labor force participation rate (LFPR) over time into demographic group changes in labor force participation behavior and in population share. The purpose is to identify the relative importance of behavioral changes and population changes as driving forces behind changes in the aggregate LFPR.

  1. Decomposing the variation of aggregate electricity intensity in Spanish industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, P.F.; Suarez, R.P.

    2003-01-01

    Several papers have dealt with methodological and application issues related to techniques for decomposing changes in environmental indicators. This paper aims to decompose changes in electricity intensity in Spanish industry and to explain the factors that contribute to these changes. Focusing on an energy intensity approach based on Divisia indices, we began by reviewing the two general parametric Divisia methods and six specific cases. In order to avoid obtaining significantly different results by using differing methods, all of them have been applied to Spanish data. Also two different disaggregation levels have been taken into consideration. Combined with electricity price analysis, the results of this paper indicate the poor contribution of structural change to substantial reductions in aggregate electricity intensity, and underline the role of innovation, development, diffusion and access to more efficient technologies as main contributors to the reduction of the energy/production ratio. (author)

  2. Root-induced decomposer growth and plant N uptake are not positively associated among a set of grassland plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saj, S.; Mikola, J.; Ekelund, Flemming

    2008-01-01

    It is known that plant species can induce development of different soil decomposer communities and that they differ in their influence on organic matter decomposition and N mineralization in soil. However, no study has so far assessed whether these two observations are related to each other. Base...... that plant traits such as competitive ability for soil mineral N were more important for plant uptake of litter-N than those that directly affected the growth of soil decomposers.......It is known that plant species can induce development of different soil decomposer communities and that they differ in their influence on organic matter decomposition and N mineralization in soil. However, no study has so far assessed whether these two observations are related to each other. Based...... on the hypothesis that root-induced growth of soil decomposers leads to accelerated decomposition of SOM and increased plant N availability in soil, we predicted that (1) among a set of grassland plants the abundance of soil decomposers in the plant rhizosphere is positively associated with plant N uptake from soil...

  3. Microbial Decomposers Not Constrained by Climate History Along a Mediterranean Climate Gradient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, N. R.; Khalili, B.; Martiny, J. B. H.; Allison, S. D.

    2017-12-01

    The return of organic carbon to the atmosphere through terrestrial decomposition is mediated through the breakdown of complex organic polymers by extracellular enzymes produced by microbial decomposer communities. Determining if and how these decomposer communities are constrained in their ability to degrade plant litter is necessary for predicting how carbon cycling will be affected by future climate change. To address this question, we deployed fine-pore nylon mesh "microbial cage" litterbags containing grassland litter with and without local inoculum across five sites in southern California, spanning a gradient of 10.3-22.8° C in mean annual temperature and 100-400+ mm mean annual precipitation. Litterbags were deployed in October 2014 and collected four times over the course of 14 months. Recovered litter was assayed for mass loss, litter chemistry, microbial biomass, extracellular enzymes (Vmax and Km­), and enzyme temperature sensitivities. We hypothesized that grassland litter would decompose most rapidly in the grassland site, and that access to local microbial communities would enhance litter decomposition rates and microbial activity in the other sites along the gradient. We determined that temperature and precipitation likely interact to limit microbial decomposition in the extreme sites along our gradient. Despite their unique climate history, grassland microbes were not restricted in their ability to decompose litter under different climate conditions. Although we observed a strong correlation between bacterial biomass and mass loss across the gradient, litter that was inoculated with local microbial communities lost less mass despite having greater bacterial biomass and potentially accumulating more microbial residues. Our results suggest that microbial community composition may not constrain C-cycling rates under climate change in our system. However, there may be community constraints on decomposition if climate change alters litter chemistry, a

  4. Temperature response of soil respiration is dependent on concentration of readily decomposable C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Larionova

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Temperature acclimation of soil organic matter (SOM decomposition is one of the major uncertainties in predicting soil CO2 efflux associated with the increase in global mean temperature. A reasonable explanation for an apparent acclimation proposed by Davidson and colleagues (2006 based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics suggests that temperature sensitivity decreases when both maximal activity of respiratory enzymes (Vmax and half-saturation constant (Ks cancel each other upon temperature increase. We tested the hypothesis of the canceling effect by the mathematical simulation of data obtained in incubation experiments with forest and arable soils. Our data support the hypothesis and suggest that concentration of readily decomposable C substrate (as glucose equivalents and temperature dependent substrate release are the important factors controlling temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. The highest temperature sensitivity of soil respiration was observed when substrate release was temperature dependent and C substrate concentration was much lower than Ks. Increase of substrate content to the half-saturation constant by glucose addition resulted in temperature acclimation associated with the canceling effect. Addition of the substrate to the level providing respiration at a maximal rate Vmax leads to the acclimation of the whole microbial community as such. However, growing microbial biomass was more sensitive to the temperature alterations. This study improves our understanding of the instability of temperature sensitivity of soil respiration under field conditions, attributing this phenomenon to changes in concentration of readily decomposable C substrate.

  5. Decomposing Oriented Graphs into Six Locally Irregular Oriented Graphs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bensmail, Julien; Renault, Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    An undirected graph G is locally irregular if every two of its adjacent vertices have distinct degrees. We say that G is decomposable into k locally irregular graphs if there exists a partition E1∪E2∪⋯∪Ek of the edge set E(G) such that each Ei induces a locally irregular graph. It was recently co...

  6. ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AT THE ENTERPRISE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Kornilova

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with theoretical issues of organizational support of intellectual property management at the enterprise. It is defined the nature, goals, objectives organization of intellectual property. It is selected the features, factors of influence on the choice of organizational structure and organizational form of intellectual property management on an enterprise. It is proposed systematization forms of organizational maintenance of intellectual property management at different classification criteria. Attention is paid to consider outsourcing forms of operations with intellectual property.

  7. Rheological properties of PHPA polymer support fluids

    OpenAIRE

    Lam, Carlos; Martin, P J; Jefferis, S A

    2015-01-01

    Synthetic polymer fluids are becoming a popular replacement for bentonite slurries to support excavations for deep foundation elements. However, the rheological properties of the polymer fluids used in excavation support have not been studied in detail, and there is currently confusion about the choice of mathematical models for this type of fluid. To advance the current state of knowledge, a laboratory study has been performed to investigate the steady-shear viscosity and transient viscoelas...

  8. STR analysis of human DNA from maggots fed on decomposing bodies: Assessment of the time period for successful analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Gachuiri Njau

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Frequently, forensic entomology is applied in the use of insect maggots for the identification of specimens or remains of humans. Maggot crop analysis could be valuable in criminal investigations when maggots are found at a crime scene and a corpse is absent. Human short tandem repeat (STR has previously been used to support the association of maggots to a specific corpse but not in the period at which the body has been decomposing. The aim of this research was to assess the time period for successful STR analyses of human DNA from third instar maggots (Protophormia terraenovae obtained from decomposing human corpses as well as to investigate the human DNA turnover and degradation in the maggot crop after they are removed from food and/or are fed on a beef (a new/different food source. Results showed that the amount of human DNA recovered from maggots decreased with time in all cases. For maggots fed on beef, the human DNA could only be recovered up to day two and up to day four for the starved maggots. STR analyses of human DNA from maggots’ crop content using 16 loci generated profiles that matched those of reference samples although some of the alleles were not amplifiable therefore generating partial profiles for the samples starved for 4 days and those fed on beef. This may be due to nuclease activity present in the gut of larvae that may have caused degradation of DNA and consequently reduction in DNA yield. It was possible to identify the decomposing body using STRs as markers.

  9. A discrimination-association model for decomposing component processes of the implicit association test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanutti, Luca; Robusto, Egidio; Vianello, Michelangelo; Anselmi, Pasquale

    2013-06-01

    A formal model is proposed that decomposes the implicit association test (IAT) effect into three process components: stimuli discrimination, automatic association, and termination criterion. Both response accuracy and reaction time are considered. Four independent and parallel Poisson processes, one for each of the four label categories of the IAT, are assumed. The model parameters are the rate at which information accrues on the counter of each process and the amount of information that is needed before a response is given. The aim of this study is to present the model and an illustrative application in which the process components of a Coca-Pepsi IAT are decomposed.

  10. Impacts of warming on aquatic decomposers along a gradient of cadmium stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batista, D.; Pascoal, C.; Cássio, F.

    2012-01-01

    We evaluated the effects of cadmium and temperature on plant-litter decomposition by examining diversity and activity of aquatic fungi and leaf consumption by Limnephilus sp., a typical invertebrate shredder of Iberian streams. Freshly fallen leaves were immersed in a stream to allow microbial colonization, and were exposed in microcosms to a gradient of cadmium (≤11 levels, ≤35 mg L −1 ). Microcosms were kept at 15 °C, a temperature typically found in Iberian streams in autumn, and at 21 °C to simulate a warming scenario. The increase in temperature stimulated leaf decomposition by microbes, fungal reproduction and leaf consumption by the shredder. Conversely, increased cadmium concentrations inhibited fungal reproduction and diversity, and leaf consumption by the invertebrate. Cadmium concentration inhibiting 50% of fungal reproduction, microbial decomposition and leaf consumption by the shredder was higher at 15 °C than at 21 °C, suggesting that higher temperatures can lead to increased metal toxicity to aquatic decomposers. - Highlights: ► We examined the effects of temperature and cadmium on aquatic detritus food-webs. ► Effects were assessed on plant-litter decomposition, fungi and invertebrate shredders. ► Results suggest that warming may increase cadmium toxicity to freshwater decomposers. - Global warming may increase cadmium toxicity to freshwater decomposers with implications to ecosystem processes.

  11. Integrated approach to model decomposed flow hydrograph using artificial neural network and conceptual techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Ashu; Srinivasulu, Sanaga

    2006-02-01

    This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at decomposing a flow hydrograph into different segments based on physical concepts in a catchment, and modelling different segments using different technique viz. conceptual and artificial neural networks (ANNs). An integrated modelling framework is proposed capable of modelling infiltration, base flow, evapotranspiration, soil moisture accounting, and certain segments of the decomposed flow hydrograph using conceptual techniques and the complex, non-linear, and dynamic rainfall-runoff process using ANN technique. Specifically, five different multi-layer perceptron (MLP) and two self-organizing map (SOM) models have been developed. The rainfall and streamflow data derived from the Kentucky River catchment were employed to test the proposed methodology and develop all the models. The performance of all the models was evaluated using seven different standard statistical measures. The results obtained in this study indicate that (a) the rainfall-runoff relationship in a large catchment consists of at least three or four different mappings corresponding to different dynamics of the underlying physical processes, (b) an integrated approach that models the different segments of the decomposed flow hydrograph using different techniques is better than a single ANN in modelling the complex, dynamic, non-linear, and fragmented rainfall runoff process, (c) a simple model based on the concept of flow recession is better than an ANN to model the falling limb of a flow hydrograph, and (d) decomposing a flow hydrograph into the different segments corresponding to the different dynamics based on the physical concepts is better than using the soft decomposition employed using SOM.

  12. A spectral analysis of the domain decomposed Monte Carlo method for linear systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slattery, S. R.; Wilson, P. P. H. [Engineering Physics Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1500 Engineering Dr., Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Evans, T. M. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    The domain decomposed behavior of the adjoint Neumann-Ulam Monte Carlo method for solving linear systems is analyzed using the spectral properties of the linear operator. Relationships for the average length of the adjoint random walks, a measure of convergence speed and serial performance, are made with respect to the eigenvalues of the linear operator. In addition, relationships for the effective optical thickness of a domain in the decomposition are presented based on the spectral analysis and diffusion theory. Using the effective optical thickness, the Wigner rational approximation and the mean chord approximation are applied to estimate the leakage fraction of stochastic histories from a domain in the decomposition as a measure of parallel performance and potential communication costs. The one-speed, two-dimensional neutron diffusion equation is used as a model problem to test the models for symmetric operators. In general, the derived approximations show good agreement with measured computational results. (authors)

  13. A spectral analysis of the domain decomposed Monte Carlo method for linear systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slattery, S. R.; Wilson, P. P. H.; Evans, T. M.

    2013-01-01

    The domain decomposed behavior of the adjoint Neumann-Ulam Monte Carlo method for solving linear systems is analyzed using the spectral properties of the linear operator. Relationships for the average length of the adjoint random walks, a measure of convergence speed and serial performance, are made with respect to the eigenvalues of the linear operator. In addition, relationships for the effective optical thickness of a domain in the decomposition are presented based on the spectral analysis and diffusion theory. Using the effective optical thickness, the Wigner rational approximation and the mean chord approximation are applied to estimate the leakage fraction of stochastic histories from a domain in the decomposition as a measure of parallel performance and potential communication costs. The one-speed, two-dimensional neutron diffusion equation is used as a model problem to test the models for symmetric operators. In general, the derived approximations show good agreement with measured computational results. (authors)

  14. HOW DO DEGRADABLE/BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC MATERIALS DECOMPOSE IN HOME COMPOSTING ENVIRONMENT?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Vaverková

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides information about biodegradability of polymeric (biodegradable/degradable materials advertised as 100%-degradable or certified as compostable, which may be a part of biodegradable waste, in home composting conditions. It describes an experiment that took place in home wooden compost bins and contained 9 samples that are commonly available in retail chains in the Czech Republic and Poland. The experiment lasted for the period of 12 weeks. Based on the results thereof it can be concluded that polyethylene samples with additive (samples 2, 4, 7 have not decomposed, their color has not changed and that no degradation or physical changes have occurred. Samples 1, 3 and 5 certified as compostable have not decomposed. Sample 6 exhibited the highest decomposition rate. Samples 8, 9 (tableware exhibited high degree of decomposition. The main conclusion from this study is that degradable/biodegradable plastics or plastics certified as compostable are not suitable for home composting.

  15. Decomposing University Grades: A Longitudinal Study of Students and Their Instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beenstock, Michael; Feldman, Dan

    2018-01-01

    First-degree course grades for a cohort of social science students are matched to their instructors, and are statistically decomposed into departmental, course, instructor, and student components. Student ability is measured alternatively by university acceptance scores, or by fixed effects estimated using panel data methods. After controlling for…

  16. Methods for assessing the impact of avermectins on the decomposer community of sheep pastures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, K L

    1993-06-01

    This paper outlines methods which can be used in the field assessment of potentially toxic chemicals such as the avermectins. The procedures focus on measuring the effects of the drug on decomposer organisms and the nutrient cycling process in pastures grazed by sheep. Measurements of decomposer activity are described along with methods for determining dry and organic matter loss and mineral loss from dung to the underlying soil. Sampling methods for both micro- and macro-invertebrates are discussed along with determination of the percentage infection of plant roots with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. An integrated sampling unit for assessing the ecotoxicity of ivermectin in pastures grazed by sheep is presented.

  17. Decomposing series-parallel graphs into paths of length 3 and triangles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merker, Martin

    2015-01-01

    An old conjecture by Jünger, Reinelt and Pulleyblank states that every 2-edge-connected planar graph can be decomposed into paths of length 3 and triangles, provided its size is divisible by 3. We prove the conjecture for a class of planar graphs including all 2-edge-connected series-parallel gra...

  18. Conversion efficiency in the shrimp, Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius), fed on decomposed mangrove leaves

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sumitra-Vijayaraghavan; Ramadhas, V.

    Feeding experiments were carried out with Metapenaeus monoceros using mangrove leaves at different stages of decomposition, in combination with rice bran. Maximum conversion efficiency was found in shrimps fed completely decomposed mangrove leaves...

  19. Generalized Schmidt decomposability and its relation to projective norms in multipartite entanglement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sokoli, Florian; Alber, Gernot

    2014-01-01

    Projective norms are capable of measuring entanglement of multipartite quantum states. However, typically, the explicit computation of these distance-based geometric entanglement monotones is very difficult even for finite dimensional systems. Motivated by the significance of Schmidt decompositions for our quantitative understanding of bipartite quantum entanglement, a generalization of this concept to multipartite scenarios is proposed, in the sense that generalized Schmidt decomposability of a multipartite pure state implies that its projective norm can be calculated in a simple way analogous to the bipartite case. Thus, this concept of generalized Schmidt decomposability of multipartite quantum states is linked in a natural way to projective norms as entanglement monotones. Therefore, it may not only be a convenient tool for calculations, but may also shed new light onto the intricate features of multipartite entanglement in an analogous way as the ‘classical’ Schmidt decomposition does for bipartite quantum systems. (paper)

  20. 20 CFR 416.1220 - Property essential to self-support; general.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Property essential to self-support; general. 416.1220 Section 416.1220 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY... of part 404), nonbusiness income-producing property (houses or apartments for rent, land other than...

  1. Numerical analysis on effect of aspect ratio of planar solid oxide fuel cell fueled with decomposed ammonia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Wee Choon; Iwai, Hiroshi; Kishimoto, Masashi; Brus, Grzegorz; Szmyd, Janusz S.; Yoshida, Hideo

    2018-04-01

    Planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with decomposed ammonia are numerically studied to investigate the effect of the cell aspect ratio. The ammonia decomposer is assumed to be located next to the SOFCs, and the heat required for the endothermic decomposition reaction is supplied by the thermal radiation from the SOFCs. Cells with aspect ratios (ratios of the streamwise length to the spanwise width) between 0.130 and 7.68 are provided with the reactants at a constant mass flow rate. A parametric study is conducted by varying the cell temperature and fuel utility factor to investigate their effects on the cell performance in terms of the voltage efficiency. The effect of the heat supply to the ammonia decomposer is also studied. The developed model shows good agreement, in terms of the current-voltage curve, with the experimental data obtained from a short stack without parameter tuning. The simulation study reveals that the cell with the highest aspect ratio achieves the highest performance under furnace operation. On the other hand, the 0.750 aspect ratio cell with the highest voltage efficiency of 0.67 is capable of thermally sustaining the ammonia decomposers at a fuel utility of 0.80 using the thermal radiation from both sidewalls.

  2. Rating Migration and Bond Valuation: Decomposing Rating Migration Matrices from Market Data via Default Probability Term Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian BARNARD

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The study builds on previous research that decomposes rating category default probability term structures from rating category interest rate term structures, and proposes a method to decompose rating migration matrices from market data, via decomposed default probability term structures. To investigate the power and accuracy of the proposed method, it was examined to what extent an existing, known rating migration matrix could again be surfaced by the method. Overall, the results are more than satisfactory, and the method promises to be accurate. Although not considered here, the main objective is the application of the method to market data. The outcome should be insightful in itself, and can be used to evaluate historical rating migration matrices commonly devised by rating agencies, and to form a better understanding of the default probability term structures embedded in market data.

  3. Decomposing Cross-Country Differences in Skills:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albæk, Karsten; Rosdahl, Anders

    2017-01-01

    This paper performs multivariate analysis of skill differences in the Nordic countries as assessed by OECD’s PIACC survey of adults aged 16-65. We decompose the differences in average skills between Finland and each of the three Scandinavian countries into a component that is due to different skill...... levels in subgroups of the population and a component that is due to differences in the composition of subgroups. The decompositions show that the high Finnish average skill level compared to the three Scandinavian countries can be attributed the low share of immigrants in Finland and to high scores...... among Finns with high school and less than high school education. The Finnish average score is pulled substantially downwards as a consequence of the low numeracy skill level among older Finns, which is consistent with an increase in the quantity or quality of Finnish education over time, relative...

  4. 48 CFR 5152.245-9001 - Government property for installation support services (cost-reimbursement contracts).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... installation support services (cost-reimbursement contracts). 5152.245-9001 Section 5152.245-9001 Federal... CONTRACT CLAUSES 5152.245-9001 Government property for installation support services (cost-reimbursement... Installation Support Services (Cost-Reimbursement Contracts) (OCT 1989) (DEV) (a) Government-furnished property...

  5. A general overview of support materials for enzyme immobilization: Characteristics, properties, practical utility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zdarta, Jakub; Meyer, Anne S.; Jesionowski, Teofil

    2018-01-01

    on the properties of the produced catalytic system. A large variety of inorganic and organic as well as hybrid and composite materials may be used as stable and efficient supports for biocatalysts. This review provides a general overview of the characteristics and properties of the materials applied for enzyme...... immobilization. For the purposes of this literature study, support materials are divided into two main groups, called Classic and New materials. The review will be useful in selection of appropriate support materials with tailored properties for the production of highly effective biocatalytic systems for use...

  6. Utility of forensic detection of rabies virus in decomposed exhumed dog carcasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanda Markotter

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This report describes four suspected rabies cases in domestic dogs that were involved inhuman exposures. In all these cases, the animals were buried for substantial times beforerabies testing was performed. Animal rabies is endemic in South Africa and domestic dogsare the main vector for transmission to humans. Diagnosis of rabies in humans is complicated,and diagnosis in the animal vector can provide circumstantial evidence to support clinicaldiagnosis of rabies in humans. The gold standard diagnostic method, fluorescent antibodytest (FAT, only delivers reliable results when performed on fresh brain material and thereforedecomposed samples are rarely submitted for diagnostic testing. Severely decomposed brainmaterial was tested for the presence of rabies virus genomic material using a quantitativereal-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (q-real-time RT-PCR assaywhen conventional molecular methods were unsuccessful. This may be a useful tool in theinvestigation of cases where the opportunity to sample the suspected animals post mortem wasforfeited and which would not be possible with conventional testing methodologies becauseof the decomposition of the material.

  7. Radiation treatment of organic substances which are difficult to decompose for utilizing sewage water again. Radiation decomposition of lignin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekiguchi, Masayuki; Sawai, Taruko; Tanabe, Hiroko

    1996-01-01

    The sewerage model projects utilizing sewage-treated water and the sewerage model project for the future city executed in Tokyo are described. It is important to obtain the treated water which is suitable to purposes by setting up the target for control and reducing the organic contamination which is difficult to decompose. In fiscal year 1995, as to the decomposing treatment of lignin by radiation, the effect of reducing coloring and the influence when actual flowing-in sewage and treated water coexist were examined. The experimental samples were lignin aqueous solution, synthetic sewage and flowing-in sewage, treated water, and the mixture of treated water and synthetic sewage. The measurement of water quality is explained. The γ ray irradiation with a Co-60 source was carried out. The results of respective samples are reported. When total organic carbon was at the level in flowing-in sewage and treated water, irradiation was effective for eliminating coloring. The soluble organic substances which are difficult to decompose were efficiently decomposed by irradiation. (K.I.)

  8. [The inhibitory effect of decomposed Chinese traditional medicine Chaihu on Coxsackie B virus(CVB3m) replication and its influence on cell activity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X; Wang, Y; Liu, F; Wei, K L

    2001-09-01

    To study the anti-Coxsackie B virus (CVB3m) action of Chaihu(XCT) and its decomposed herb soups No.1 and No.2 in vitro, and also their protective effect on cells. The anti CVB3m and cell protection effects of XCT and its decomposed herb soups No.1 and No.2 were observed by the methods of micro-cell culture and neutral red ingestion, taking cytopathic effect and cell activity as judgments of medicine toxicity and virus replication. The non-toxic concentrations of XCTand its decomposed herb soups No.1 and No.2 had no apparent influence on HeLa cell activity, on the contrary, in certain range of concentrations, they could promote cell growth and cell activity. In therapeutic cell group, XCT and its decomposed herb soups No.1 and No.2 all had apparent inhibitory effect on CVB3m replication, especially the decomposed No.1 showing an inhibitory rate of 107.6%. Under the same decomposed No.1 concentration(1.5 mg/ml), the viral inhibitory rate of the preventive therapeutic cell group was much higher than that of the therapeutic cell group, reaching as high as 128.1%. In virus adsorbed cell group, the CVB3m was also obviously inhibited by the XCT and decomposed No.1 and No.2. By comparing the effects on cell protection and virus replication of XCT and its decomposed herb soups No.1 and No.2, it identifies that XCT can protect cells against virus infection and directly kill the CVB3m, this Chinese herb medicine may be applied clinically for preventing and curing of viral myocarditis.

  9. Four wind speed multi-step forecasting models using extreme learning machines and signal decomposing algorithms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hui; Tian, Hong-qi; Li, Yan-fei

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A hybrid architecture is proposed for the wind speed forecasting. • Four algorithms are used for the wind speed multi-scale decomposition. • The extreme learning machines are employed for the wind speed forecasting. • All the proposed hybrid models can generate the accurate results. - Abstract: Realization of accurate wind speed forecasting is important to guarantee the safety of wind power utilization. In this paper, a new hybrid forecasting architecture is proposed to realize the wind speed accurate forecasting. In this architecture, four different hybrid models are presented by combining four signal decomposing algorithms (e.g., Wavelet Decomposition/Wavelet Packet Decomposition/Empirical Mode Decomposition/Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition) and Extreme Learning Machines. The originality of the study is to investigate the promoted percentages of the Extreme Learning Machines by those mainstream signal decomposing algorithms in the multiple step wind speed forecasting. The results of two forecasting experiments indicate that: (1) the method of Extreme Learning Machines is suitable for the wind speed forecasting; (2) by utilizing the decomposing algorithms, all the proposed hybrid algorithms have better performance than the single Extreme Learning Machines; (3) in the comparisons of the decomposing algorithms in the proposed hybrid architecture, the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition has the best performance in the three-step forecasting results while the Wavelet Packet Decomposition has the best performance in the one and two step forecasting results. At the same time, the Wavelet Packet Decomposition and the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition are better than the Wavelet Decomposition and the Empirical Mode Decomposition in all the step predictions, respectively; and (4) the proposed algorithms are effective in the wind speed accurate predictions

  10. The preparation of UO2 powder: effect of ammonium uranate properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woolfrey, J.L.

    1978-01-01

    Ammonium uranate (AU) powders were precipitated from a uranyl nitrate solution with gaseous ammonia. The decomposition of the powders in hydrogen was studied to determine those properties of AU which affect the decomposition reactions and influence the properties of the final UO 2 powder. The thermal decomposition was affected by the initial composition (ammonia and nitrate content) and the morphology of the AU powders. The amount of self-reduction increased with increasing combined ammonia content and decreased with increasing nitrate content. The specific surface area of the decomposed powder increased with increasing total ammonia content and initial surface area of the precursor AU powder. Thermal treatment of the decomposed powder can be used to modify such effects and, in commercial powder production, is used to control the properties of the final UO 2 powder. (Auth.)

  11. Decomposing a planar graph into an independent set and a 3-degenerate graph

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomassen, Carsten

    2001-01-01

    We prove the conjecture made by O. V. Borodin in 1976 that the vertex set of every planar graph can be decomposed into an independent set and a set inducing a 3-degenerate graph. (C) 2001 Academic Press....

  12. Rich Dad, Smart Dad: Decomposing the Intergenerational Transmission of Income

    OpenAIRE

    Lefgren, Lars; Lindquist, Matthew; Sims, David

    2009-01-01

    We construct a simple model, consistent with Becker and Tomes (1979), that decomposes the intergenerational income elasticity into the causal effect of financial resources, the mechanistic transmission of human capital, and the role that human capital plays in the determination of father’s permanent income. We show how a particular set of instrumental variables could separately identify the money and human capital transmission effects. We further outline two instrumental variables methods for...

  13. Decomposing interactions using GLM in combination with the COMPARE, LMATRIX and MMATRIX subcommands in SPSS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glen T. Howell

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available In this tutorial, we provide researchers who use SPSS step-by-step instructions for decomposing interactions when a three-way ANOVA is conducted using the GLM procedure. We start with a demonstration of how a two-way interaction can be decomposed using the COMPARE subcommand in combination with syntax. Then, we provide instructions with examples for conducting simple interaction and second-order simple effects analyses for three-way ANOVAs with between-subjects, within-subjects, and mixed between- and within-subjects variables using the LMATRIX or MMATRIX subcommands. Provided in Appendices are general rules that can be used to derive design-specific LMATRIX and MMATRIX subcommands.

  14. Decomposability and mental representation of French verbs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estivalet, Gustavo L; Meunier, Fanny E

    2015-01-01

    In French, regardless of stem regularity, inflectional verbal suffixes are extremely regular and paradigmatic. Considering the complexity of the French verbal system, we argue that all French verbs are polymorphemic forms that are decomposed during visual recognition independently of their stem regularity. We conducted a behavioral experiment in which we manipulated the surface and cumulative frequencies of verbal inflected forms and asked participants to perform a visual lexical decision task. We tested four types of verbs with respect to their stem variants: a. fully regular (parler "to speak," [parl-]); b. phonological change e/E verbs with orthographic markers (répéter "to repeat," [répét-] and [répèt-]); c. phonological change o/O verbs without orthographic markers (adorer "to adore," [ador-] and [adOr-]); and d. idiosyncratic (boire "to drink," [boi-] and [buv-]). For each type of verb, we contrasted four conditions, forms with high and low surface frequencies and forms with high and low cumulative frequencies. Our results showed a significant cumulative frequency effect for the fully regular and idiosyncratic verbs, indicating that different stems within idiosyncratic verbs (such as [boi-] and [buv-]) have distinct representations in the mental lexicon as different fully regular verbs. For the phonological change verbs, we found a significant cumulative frequency effect only when considering the two forms of the stem together ([répét-] and [répèt-]), suggesting that they share a single abstract and under specified phonological representation. Our results also revealed a significant surface frequency effect for all types of verbs, which may reflect the recombination of the stem lexical representation with the functional information of the suffixes. Overall, these results indicate that all inflected verbal forms in French are decomposed during visual recognition and that this process could be due to the regularities of the French inflectional verbal

  15. Decomposability and mental representation of French verbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Lopez Estivalet

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In French, regardless of stem regularity, inflectional verbal suffixes are extremely regular and paradigmatic. Considering the complexity of the French verbal system, we argue that all French verbs are polymorphemic forms that are decomposed during visual recognition independently of their stem regularity. We conducted a behavioural experiment in which we manipulated the surface and cumulative frequencies of verbal inflected forms and asked participants to perform a visual lexical decision task. We tested four types of verbs with respect to their stem variants: a. fully regular (parler ‘to speak’, [parl-]; b. phonological change e/E verbs with orthographic markers (répéter ‘to repeat’, [répét-] and [répèt-]; c. phonological change o/O verbs without orthographic markers (adorer ‘to adore’, [ador-] and [adOr-]; and d. idiosyncratic (boire ‘to drink’, [boi-] and [buv-]. For each type of verb, we contrasted four conditions, forms with high and low surface frequencies and forms with high and low cumulative frequencies. Our results showed a significant cumulative frequency effect for the fully regular and idiosyncratic verbs, indicating that different stems within idiosyncratic verbs (such as [boi-] and [buv-] have distinct representations in the mental lexicon as different fully regular verbs. For the phonological change verbs, we found a significant cumulative frequency effect only when considering the two forms of the stem together ([répét-] and [répèt-], suggesting that they share a single abstract and underspecified phonological representation. Our results also revealed a significant surface frequency effect for all types of verbs, which may reflect the recombination of the stem lexical representation with the functional information of the suffixes. Overall, these results indicate that all inflected verbal forms in French are decomposed during visual recognition and that this process could be due to the regularities of

  16. Effects of decomposing Rhizophora apiculata leaves on larvae of the shrimp Penaeus monodon

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roijackers, R.M.M.; Nghia, T.T.; Ut, V.N.; Scheffer, M.

    2006-01-01

    We studied the effects of different concentrations of decomposing Rhizophora apiculata leaves and their leachates on larvae of the shrimp Penaeus monodon under laboratory conditions. Shrimp mortality was highly dependent on the concentration of oxygen in the water, which in turn was strongly

  17. Decomposing the aerodynamic forces of low-Reynolds flapping airfoils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moriche, Manuel; Garcia-Villalba, Manuel; Flores, Oscar

    2016-11-01

    We present direct numerical simulations of flow around flapping NACA0012 airfoils at relatively small Reynolds numbers, Re = 1000 . The simulations are carried out with TUCAN, an in-house code that solves the Navier-Stokes equations for an incompressible flow with an immersed boundary method to model the presence of the airfoil. The motion of the airfoil is composed of a vertical translation, heaving, and a rotation about the quarter of the chord, pitching. Both motions are prescribed by sinusoidal laws, with a reduced frequency of k = 1 . 41 , a pitching amplitude of 30deg and a heaving amplitude of one chord. Both, the mean pitch angle and the phase shift between pitching and heaving motions are varied, to build a database with 18 configurations. Four of these cases are analysed in detail using the force decomposition algorithm of Chang (1992) and Martín Alcántara et al. (2015). This method decomposes the total aerodynamic force into added-mass (translation and rotation of the airfoil), a volumetric contribution from the vorticity (circulatory effects) and a surface contribution proportional to viscosity. In particular we will focus on the second, analysing the contribution of the leading and trailing edge vortices that typically appear in these flows. This work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO under Grant TRA2013-41103-P. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources provided by the Red Española de Supercomputacion.

  18. Engineering properties for high kitchen waste content municipal solid waste

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu Gao

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Engineering properties of municipal solid waste (MSW depend largely on the waste's initial composition and degree of degradation. MSWs in developing countries usually have a high kitchen waste content (called HKWC MSW. After comparing and analyzing the laboratory and field test results of physical composition, hydraulic properties, gas generation and gas permeability, and mechanical properties for HKWC MSW and low kitchen waste content MSW (called LKWC MSW, the following findings were obtained: (1 HKWC MSW has a higher initial water content (IWC than LKWC MSW, but the field capacities of decomposed HKWC and LKWC MSWs are similar; (2 the hydraulic conductivity and gas permeability for HKWC MSW are both an order of magnitude smaller than those for LKWC MSW; (3 compared with LKWC MSW, HKWC MSW has a higher landfill gas (LFG generation rate but a shorter duration and a lower potential capacity; (4 the primary compression feature for decomposed HKWC MSW is similar to that of decomposed LKWC MSW, but the compression induced by degradation of HKWC MSW is greater than that of LKWC MSW; and (5 the shear strength of HKWC MSW changes significantly with time and strain. Based on the differences of engineering properties between these two kinds of MSWs, the geo-environmental issues in HKWC MSW landfills were analyzed, including high leachate production, high leachate mounds, low LFG collection efficiency, large settlement and slope stability problem, and corresponding advice for the management and design of HKWC MSW landfills was recommended.

  19. Hydrothermal decomposition of TBP and fixation of its decomposed residue by HHP technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamasaki, N.; Fujiki, M.; Nishioka, M.; Ioku, K.; Yanagisawa, K.; Kozai, N.; Muraoka, S.

    1991-01-01

    The tributyl phosphate (TBP) used for the fuel reprocessing by Purex process is discharged as spent solvent because of the chemical decomposition and the damage due to radiation. Alkaline hydrothermal treatment in oxygen which is the reaction in a closed system is effective for the decomposition of TBP as it can transform organic materials to stable inorganic ions. Hydrothermal hot pressing technique has been applied to the immobilization of various radioactive wastes. This work deals with the continuous treatment process for the decomposition of TBP waste and the immobilization of its decomposed residue under hydrothermal condition. These processes are outlined. The experiment and the results are reported. TBP was completely decomposed above 200degC, and COD value showed the maximum at 250degC. The reaction process consists of two steps of the hydrolysis of TBP and the oxidation of the formed organic material. (K.I.)

  20. Comparative study of decomposable and indecomposable biopsy needle in lung puncture biopsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Bo; Sheng Zhanxin; Wen Yamin; Zhang Liping; Wen Zongqiu

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To contrast the clinical practice characteristics with decomposable and indecomposable biopsy needle in the CT-guided lung puncture biopsy. Methods: 50 patients with lung tumour carried on puncture biopsy under the CT guidance were divided in two groups randomly: Group A (25 examples): using the indecomposable BioPinceTM biopsy needle; Group B(25 examples): using the decomposable Precisa or Vitesse biopsy needle. The puncture biopsy organization quantity, the first time puncture success rate, the pathological diagnosis result and the incidence of puncture complication were compared in two groups. Results: More striped structures were gained obviously in group A than in group B: 24/25 and 11/25 respectively (P>0.05), The pathological diagnosis 'serious extrusion amoebocyte and nature undetermined' only occurred in group B. But the first time puncture success rate was lower in group A than in B: 52%(13/25) and 80%(20/25) respectively (P>0.05), The incidence of hemorrhage and pneumothorax in group A was higher slightly: 84% and 72%, 16% and 4% respectively (P>0.05). Conclusion: The indecomposable needle (BioPinceTM) was better in lung puncture biopsy, but the lower first time puncture success rate also increases the risk of operation and complication in some degree because of the structure of the needle. On the contrary, decomposable needle (the Precisa or the Vitesse) was not the best choice in lung puncture biopsy. But it had the original superiority, especially regarding the special patient such as patient with small tumour, thin thoracic wall, bad physique for its nimble operation. It is essential for us to use the two different types of biopsy needle rationally to enhance the level of CT-guided lung puncture biopsy. (authors)

  1. Scaling properties of foreign exchange volatility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gençay, R.; Selçuk, F.; Whitcher, B.

    2001-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the scaling properties of foreign exchange volatility. Our methodology is based on a wavelet multi-scaling approach which decomposes the variance of a time series and the covariance between two time series on a scale by scale basis through the application of a discrete

  2. DC Analysis of an Ideal Diode Network Using Its Decomposed Piecevise-Linear Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Kolka

    1994-09-01

    Full Text Available A new method of finding the operating points in circuits containing ideal diodes which utilizes the decomposed form of the state model of an one-dimensional piecewise-linear (PWL system is developed. The universal procedure shown gives all the existing solutions quite automatically.

  3. A domain-decomposed multi-model plasma simulation of collisionless magnetic reconnection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, I. A. M.; Shumlak, U.; Ho, A.; Miller, S. T.

    2017-10-01

    Collisionless magnetic reconnection is a process relevant to many areas of plasma physics in which energy stored in magnetic fields within highly conductive plasmas is rapidly converted into kinetic and thermal energy. Both in natural phenomena such as solar flares and terrestrial aurora as well as in magnetic confinement fusion experiments, the reconnection process is observed on timescales much shorter than those predicted by a resistive MHD model. As a result, this topic is an active area of research in which plasma models with varying fidelity have been tested in order to understand the proper physics explaining the reconnection process. In this research, a hybrid multi-model simulation employing the Hall-MHD and two-fluid plasma models on a decomposed domain is used to study this problem. The simulation is set up using the WARPXM code developed at the University of Washington, which uses a discontinuous Galerkin Runge-Kutta finite element algorithm and implements boundary conditions between models in the domain to couple their variable sets. The goal of the current work is to determine the parameter regimes most appropriate for each model to maintain sufficient physical fidelity over the whole domain while minimizing computational expense. This work is supported by a Grant from US AFOSR.

  4. Why does Kevlar decompose, while Nomex does not, when treated with aqueous chlorine solutions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akdag, Akin; Kocer, Hasan B; Worley, S D; Broughton, R M; Webb, T R; Bray, Travis H

    2007-05-24

    Kevlar and Nomex are high-performance polymers which have wide varieties of applications in daily life. Recently, they have been proposed to be biocidal materials when reacted with household bleach (sodium hypochlorite solution) because they contain amide moieties which can be chlorinated to generate biocidal N-halamine functional groups. Although Nomex can be chlorinated without any significant decomposition, Kevlar decomposes under the same chlorination conditions. In this study, two mimics for each of the polymers were synthesized to simulate the carboxylate and diaminophenylene components of the materials. It was found that the p-diaminophenylene component of the Kevlar mimic is oxidized to a quinone-type structure upon treatment with hypochlorous acid, which then decomposes. However, such a mechanism for the Nomex mimic is not possible. In this paper, based upon these observations, a plausible answer will be provided to the title question.

  5. Influence of the precursors on the properties of alumina supported rhodium particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coq, B.; Figueras, F.; Tazi, T.

    1989-01-01

    The effect of chlorine on the properties of Rh particles supported on alumina was studied using the hydroconversion of alkanes as a molecular probe. Chloride ions on the alumina have little influence on the Rh particles. Chlorine adsorbed on the Rh particles decreases the chemisorption capacity and increases the metal-support interaction, which results in modifications of their catalytic properties. Depending on the alkane processed, specific activity can be depressed up to four orders of magnitude. (orig.)

  6. Fischer-Tropsch Performance of an SiO2-Supported Co-Based Catalyst Prepared by Hydrogen Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu Tingjun; Huang Chengdu; Lv Jing; Li Zhenhua

    2014-01-01

    A silica-supported cobalt catalyst was prepared by hydrogen dielectric-barrier discharge (H 2 -DBD) plasma. Compared to thermal hydrogen reduction, H 2 -DBD plasma treatment can not only fully decompose the cobalt precursor but also partially reduce the cobalt oxides at lower temperature and with less time. The effect of the discharge atmosphere on the property of the plasma-prepared catalyst and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis activity was studied. The results indicate that H 2 -DBD plasma treatment is a promising alternative for preparing Co/SiO 2 catalysts from the viewpoint of energy savings and efficiency

  7. Gauge-invariant dynamical quantities of QED with decomposed gauge potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Baohua; Huang Yongchang

    2011-01-01

    We discover an inner structure of the QED system; i.e., by decomposing the gauge potential into two orthogonal components, we obtain a new expansion of the Lagrangian for the electron-photon system, from which, we realize the orthogonal decomposition of the canonical momentum conjugate to the gauge potential with the canonical momentum's two components conjugate to the gauge potential's two components, respectively. Using the new expansion of Lagrangian and by the general method of field theory, we naturally derive the gauge invariant separation of the angular momentum of the electron-photon system from Noether theorem, which is the rational one and has the simplest form in mathematics, compared with the other four versions of the angular momentum separation available in literature. We show that it is only the longitudinal component of the gauge potential that is contained in the orbital angular momentum of the electron, as Chen et al. have said. A similar gauge invariant separation of the momentum is given. The decomposed canonical Hamiltonian is derived, from which we construct the gauge invariant energy operator of the electron moving in the external field generated by a proton [Phys. Rev. A 82, 012107 (2010)], where we show that the form of the kinetic energy containing the longitudinal part of the gauge potential is due to the intrinsic requirement of the gauge invariance. Our method provides a new perspective to look on the nucleon spin crisis and indicates that this problem can be solved strictly and systematically.

  8. Molecular sexing of tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia guianensis and Sotalia fluviatilis using samples from biopsy darting and decomposed carcasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haydée A. Cunha

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We tested the zinc-finger sex chromosome-linked genes Zfx/Zfy and the sex-determining region Y (Sry genes for gender determination of biopsy samples from marine and riverine tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia guianensis and S. fluviatilis. We also evaluated the performance of these genes with decomposed carcasses, for which sexing cannot rely on the direct examination of the reproductive tract. Both systems proved reliable for sexing 46 fresh and decomposed samples, making them especially useful when biopsy darting is coupled with photo-identification studies.

  9. Decomposing cross-country differences in quality adjusted life expectancy : The impact of value sets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijink, R.; Van Baal, P.; Oppe, M.; Koolman, X.; Westert, G.

    2011-01-01

    Background: The validity, reliability and cross-country comparability of summary measures of population health (SMPH) have been persistently debated. In this debate, the measurement and valuation of nonfatal health outcomes have been defined as key issues. Our goal was to quantify and decompose

  10. Kill the song—steal the show: what does distinguish predicative metaphors from decomposable idioms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caillies, Stéphanie; Declercq, Christelle

    2011-06-01

    This study examined the semantic processing difference between decomposable idioms and novel predicative metaphors. It was hypothesized that idiom comprehension results from the retrieval of a figurative meaning stored in memory, that metaphor comprehension requires a sense creation process and that this process difference affects the processing time of idiomatic and metaphoric expressions. In the first experiment, participants read sentences containing decomposable idioms, predicative metaphors or control expressions and performed a lexical decision task on figurative targets presented 0, 350, and 500 ms, or 750 after reading. Results demonstrated that idiomatic expressions were processed sooner than metaphoric ones. In the second experiment, participants were asked to assess the meaningfulness of idiomatic, metaphoric and literal expressions after reading a verb prime that belongs to the target phrase (identity priming). The results showed that verb identity priming was stronger for idiomatic expressions than for metaphor ones, indicating different mental representations.

  11. Simulating propagation of decomposed elastic waves using low-rank approximate mixed-domain integral operators for heterogeneous transversely isotropic media

    KAUST Repository

    Cheng, Jiubing

    2014-08-05

    In elastic imaging, the extrapolated vector fields are decomposed into pure wave modes, such that the imaging condition produces interpretable images, which characterize reflectivity of different reflection types. Conventionally, wavefield decomposition in anisotropic media is costly as the operators involved is dependent on the velocity, and thus not stationary. In this abstract, we propose an efficient approach to directly extrapolate the decomposed elastic waves using lowrank approximate mixed space/wavenumber domain integral operators for heterogeneous transverse isotropic (TI) media. The low-rank approximation is, thus, applied to the pseudospectral extrapolation and decomposition at the same time. The pseudo-spectral implementation also allows for relatively large time steps in which the low-rank approximation is applied. Synthetic examples show that it can yield dispersionfree extrapolation of the decomposed quasi-P (qP) and quasi- SV (qSV) modes, which can be used for imaging, as well as the total elastic wavefields.

  12. Preservation and rapid purification of DNA from decomposing human tissue samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorensen, Amy; Rahman, Elizabeth; Canela, Cassandra; Gangitano, David; Hughes-Stamm, Sheree

    2016-11-01

    One of the key features to be considered in a mass disaster is victim identification. However, the recovery and identification of human remains are sometimes complicated by harsh environmental conditions, limited facilities, loss of electricity and lack of refrigeration. If human remains cannot be collected, stored, or identified immediately, bodies decompose and DNA degrades making genotyping more difficult and ultimately decreasing DNA profiling success. In order to prevent further DNA damage and degradation after collection, tissue preservatives may be used. The goal of this study was to evaluate three customized (modified TENT, DESS, LST) and two commercial DNA preservatives (RNAlater and DNAgard ® ) on fresh and decomposed human skin and muscle samples stored in hot (35°C) and humid (60-70% relative humidity) conditions for up to three months. Skin and muscle samples were harvested from the thigh of three human cadavers placed outdoors for up to two weeks. In addition, the possibility of purifying DNA directly from the preservative solutions ("free DNA") was investigated in order to eliminate lengthy tissue digestion processes and increase throughput. The efficiency of each preservative was evaluated based on the quantity of DNA recovered from both the "free DNA" in solution and the tissue sample itself in conjunction with the quality and completeness of downstream STR profiles. As expected, DNA quantity and STR success decreased with time of decomposition. However, a marked decrease in DNA quantity and STR quality was observed in all samples after the bodies entered the bloat stage (approximately six days of decomposition in this study). Similar amounts of DNA were retrieved from skin and muscle samples over time, but slightly more complete STR profiles were obtained from muscle tissue. Although higher amounts of DNA were recovered from tissue samples than from the surrounding preservative, the average number of reportable alleles from the "free DNA" was

  13. Mycorrhiza-mediated competition between plants and decomposers drives soil carbon storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averill, Colin; Turner, Benjamin L; Finzi, Adrien C

    2014-01-23

    Soil contains more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined. Understanding the mechanisms controlling the accumulation and stability of soil carbon is critical to predicting the Earth's future climate. Recent studies suggest that decomposition of soil organic matter is often limited by nitrogen availability to microbes and that plants, via their fungal symbionts, compete directly with free-living decomposers for nitrogen. Ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal (EEM) fungi produce nitrogen-degrading enzymes, allowing them greater access to organic nitrogen sources than arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. This leads to the theoretical prediction that soil carbon storage is greater in ecosystems dominated by EEM fungi than in those dominated by AM fungi. Using global data sets, we show that soil in ecosystems dominated by EEM-associated plants contains 70% more carbon per unit nitrogen than soil in ecosystems dominated by AM-associated plants. The effect of mycorrhizal type on soil carbon is independent of, and of far larger consequence than, the effects of net primary production, temperature, precipitation and soil clay content. Hence the effect of mycorrhizal type on soil carbon content holds at the global scale. This finding links the functional traits of mycorrhizal fungi to carbon storage at ecosystem-to-global scales, suggesting that plant-decomposer competition for nutrients exerts a fundamental control over the terrestrial carbon cycle.

  14. Ultrasonic imaging of tube/support structure of power plant steam generators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saniie, J.; Nagle, D.T.

    1987-01-01

    The corrosion and erosion of steam generator tubing in nuclear power plants can present problems of both safety and economics. In steam generators, the inconel tubes are fit loosely through holes drilled in carbon steel support plates. Corrosion is of particular concern with such tube/support plate structures. Non-protective magnetite can build up on the inner surface of the support plate holes, and allowed to continue unchecked, will fill the gap, eventually denting and fracturing the tube walls. Therefore, periodic nondestructive inspection can be valuable in characterizing corrosion and can be used in evaluating the effectiveness of chemical treatments used to control or reduce corrosion. Presently, they are investigating the feasibility and practicality of using ultrasound in routing testing for gap measurement, for evaluating the corrosion and assessing the degree of denting. The tube/support structure can be modeled as a multilayer, reverberant target, which when tested with ultrasound results in two sets of reverberating echoes [1]. One set corresponds to the tube wall and the other to the support plate. These echoes must be decomposed and identified in order to evaluate the tube/support structure. This report presents experimental results along with a discussion of various measurements and processing techniques for decomposing and interpreting tube/support echoes at different stages of corrosion

  15. Kill the Song--Steal the Show: What Does Distinguish Predicative Metaphors from Decomposable Idioms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caillies, Stephanie; Declercq, Christelle

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the semantic processing difference between decomposable idioms and novel predicative metaphors. It was hypothesized that idiom comprehension results from the retrieval of a figurative meaning stored in memory, that metaphor comprehension requires a sense creation process and that this process difference affects the processing…

  16. An improved triple collocation algorithm for decomposing autocorrelated and white soil moisture retrieval errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    If not properly account for, auto-correlated errors in observations can lead to inaccurate results in soil moisture data analysis and reanalysis. Here, we propose a more generalized form of the triple collocation algorithm (GTC) capable of decomposing the total error variance of remotely-sensed surf...

  17. Markov models for fMRI correlation structure: Is brain functional connectivity small world, or decomposable into networks?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varoquaux, G; Gramfort, A; Poline, J B; Thirion, B

    2012-01-01

    Correlations in the signal observed via functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), are expected to reveal the interactions in the underlying neural populations through hemodynamic response. In particular, they highlight distributed set of mutually correlated regions that correspond to brain networks related to different cognitive functions. Yet graph-theoretical studies of neural connections give a different picture: that of a highly integrated system with small-world properties: local clustering but with short pathways across the complete structure. We examine the conditional independence properties of the fMRI signal, i.e. its Markov structure, to find realistic assumptions on the connectivity structure that are required to explain the observed functional connectivity. In particular we seek a decomposition of the Markov structure into segregated functional networks using decomposable graphs: a set of strongly-connected and partially overlapping cliques. We introduce a new method to efficiently extract such cliques on a large, strongly-connected graph. We compare methods learning different graph structures from functional connectivity by testing the goodness of fit of the model they learn on new data. We find that summarizing the structure as strongly-connected networks can give a good description only for very large and overlapping networks. These results highlight that Markov models are good tools to identify the structure of brain connectivity from fMRI signals, but for this purpose they must reflect the small-world properties of the underlying neural systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Effects of the decomposing liquid of Cladophora oligoclona on Hydrilla verticillata turion germination and seedling growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lu; Peng, Xue; Liu, Biyun; Zhang, Yi; Zhou, Qiaohong; Wu, Zhenbin

    2018-08-15

    Excessive proliferation of filamentous green algae (FGA) has been considered an important factor resulting in the poor growth or even decline of submerged macrophytes. However, there is a lack of detailed information regarding the effect of decaying FGA on submerged macrophytes. This study aimed to investigate whether the decomposing liquid from Cladophora oligoclona negatively affects Hydrilla verticillata turion germination and seedling growth. The results showed that the highest concentrations of decomposing liquid treatments inhibited the turion germination rate, which was the lowest than other treatments, at only 84%. The chlorophyll a fluorescence (JIP test) and physiological indicators (chlorophyll a content, soluble sugars, Ca 2+ /Mg 2+ -ATPase and PAL activity) were also measured. The chlorophyll a content in the highest concentration (40% of original decomposing liquid) treatment group decreased by 43.53% than that of the control; however, soluble sugars, Ca 2+ /Mg 2+ -ATPase, and PAL activity increased by 172.46%, 271.19%, and 26.43% respectively. The overall results indicated that FGA decay has a considerable effect on submerged macrophyte turion germination and seedling growth, which could inhibit their expansion and reproduction. This study emphasized the need to focus on effects of FGA decomposition on the early growth stages of submerged macrophytes and offered technological guidance for submerged vegetation restoration in lakes and shallow waters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Properties and thermal decomposition of the double salts of uranyl nitrate-ammonium nitrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Notz, K.J.; Haas, R.A.

    1989-01-01

    The formation of ammonium nitrate-uranyl nitrate double salts has important effects on the thermal denitration process for the preparation of UO 3 and on the physical properties of the resulting product. Analyses were performed, and properties and decomposition behavior were determined for three double salts: NH 4 UO 2 (NO 3 ) 3 , (NH 4 ) 2 UO 2 (NO 3 ) 4 , and (NH 4 ) 2 UO 2 (NO 3 ) 4 ·2H 2 O. The tinitrate salt decomposes without melting at 270-300 C to give a γ-UO 3 powder of ∼3-μm average size, with good ceramic properties for fabrication into UO 2 nuclear fuel pellets. The tetranitrate dihydrate melts at 48 C; it also dehydrates to the anhydrous salt. The anhydrous tetranitrate decomposes exothermically, without melting, at 170-270 C by losing one mole of ammonium nitrate to form the trinitrate salt

  20. Adsorption behaviour of SF6 decomposed species onto Pd4-decorated single-walled CNT: a DFT study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Hao; Zhang, Xiaoxing; Zhang, Jun; Tang, Ju

    2018-07-01

    Metal nanocluster decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) with improved adsorption behaviour towards gaseous molecules compared with intrinsic ones, have been widely accepted as a workable media for gas interaction due to their strong catalysis. In this work, Pd4 cluster is determined as a catalytic centre to theoretically study the adsorption property of Pd4-decorated SWCNT upon SF6 decomposed species. Results indicate that Pd4-SWCNT possessing good responses and sensitivities towards three composed species of SF6 could realise selective detection for them according to the different conductivity changes resulting from the varying adsorption ability. The response of Pd4-SWCNT upon three molecules in order is SOF2 > H2S > SO2, and the conductivity of the proposed material is about to increase in SOF2 and H2S systems, while declining in SO2 system. Such conclusions would be helpful for experimentalists to explore novel SWCNT-based sensors in evaluating the operating state of SF6 insulation devices.

  1. The plant cell wall--decomposing machinery underlies the functional diversity of forest fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel C. Eastwood; Dimitrios Floudas; Manfred Binder; Andrzej Majcherczyk; Patrick Schneider; Andrea Aerts; Fred O. Asiegbu; Scott E. Baker; Kerrie Barry; Mika Bendiksby; Melanie Blumentritt; Pedro M. Coutinho; Dan Cullen; Ronald P. de Vries; Allen Gathman; Barry Goodell; Bernard Henrissat; Katarina Ihrmark; Havard Kauserud; Annegret Kohler; Kurt LaButti; Alla Lapidus; Jose L. Lavin; Yong-Hwan Lee; Erika Lindquist; Walt Lilly; Susan Lucas; Emmanuelle Morin; Claude Murat; Jose A. Oguiza; Jongsun Park; Antonio G. Pisabarro; Robert Riley; Anna Rosling; Asaf Salamov; Olaf Schmidt; Jeremy Schmutz; Inger Skrede; Jan Stenlid; Ad Wiebenga; Xinfeng Xie; Ursula Kues; David S. Hibbett; Dirk Hoffmeister; Nils Hogberg; Francis Martin; Igor V. Grigoriev; Sarah C. Watkinson

    2011-01-01

    Brown rot decay removes cellulose and hemicelluloses from wood, residual lignin contributing up to 30% of forest soil carbon, and is derived from an ancestral white rot saprotrophy where both lignin and cellulose are decomposed. Comparative and functional genomics of the “dry rot” fungus Serpula lacrymans, derived from forest ancestors, demonstrated that the evolution...

  2. Novel view on predicting acute toxicity: Decomposing toxicity data in species vulnerability and chemical potency.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jager, D.T.; Posthuma, L.; Zwart, D.D.; van de Meent, D.

    2007-01-01

    Chemical risk assessment usually applies empirical methods to predict toxicant effects on different species. We propose a more mechanism-oriented approach, and introduce a method to decompose toxicity data in a contribution from the chemical (potency) and from the exposed species (vulnerability). We

  3. Property Outlaws in Cyberspace and Meatspace? Examining the Relationship between Online Peer Production and Support for Private Property Violations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy Gibson

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Marxian theory has long viewed the institution of private property as central to labour exploitation. After all, private property laws allow those who control the means of production to expropriate surplus value from the dispossessed. An analogous relationship arguably defines life on the Internet, where users are forced to venture onto privately owned digital enclosures to access key services. Yet these online property relationships are anything but settled and uncontested. Outside the digital enclosures of Apple and Google, the Internet has fostered the development of “commons-based peer production”, where key resources (e.g. software are produced without anyone claiming exclusive property rights. In fact, some scholars have argued that the rise of peer production on the web has begun to re-shape popular attitudes concerning the legitimacy of property exclusions more broadly. In short, as we become “property outlaws” on the web, we come to question the inevitability and legitimacy of private property elsewhere in life. This paper explores this hypothesis by reporting data from a survey of Internet users at an East Coast university. Are users who engage in more peer production activities on the web also more likely to approve of “property outlaw” behaviours not just in the online context, but in the offline world as well (e.g. squatting? The data provide only partial support for the hypothesis: active online peer producers were indeed more likely to support violations of intangible (intellectual properties, but not violations of tangible or “real-world” properties.

  4. Microbial decomposers not constrained by climate history along a Mediterranean climate gradient in southern California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Nameer R; Khalili, Banafshe; Martiny, Jennifer B H; Allison, Steven D

    2018-06-01

    Microbial decomposers mediate the return of CO 2 to the atmosphere by producing extracellular enzymes to degrade complex plant polymers, making plant carbon available for metabolism. Determining if and how these decomposer communities are constrained in their ability to degrade plant litter is necessary for predicting how carbon cycling will be affected by future climate change. We analyzed mass loss, litter chemistry, microbial biomass, extracellular enzyme activities, and enzyme temperature sensitivities in grassland litter transplanted along a Mediterranean climate gradient in southern California. Microbial community composition was manipulated by caging litter within bags made of nylon membrane that prevent microbial immigration. To test whether grassland microbes were constrained by climate history, half of the bags were inoculated with local microbial communities native to each gradient site. We determined that temperature and precipitation likely interact to limit microbial decomposition in the extreme sites along our gradient. Despite their unique climate history, grassland microbial communities were not restricted in their ability to decompose litter under different climate conditions across the gradient, although microbial communities across our gradient may be restricted in their ability to degrade different types of litter. We did find some evidence that local microbial communities were optimized based on climate, but local microbial taxa that proliferated after inoculation into litterbags did not enhance litter decomposition. Our results suggest that microbial community composition does not constrain C-cycling rates under climate change in our system, but optimization to particular resource environments may act as more general constraints on microbial communities. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

  5. Decomposing Socioeconomic Inequality Determinants in Suicide Deaths in Iran: A Concentration Index Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veisani, Yousef; Delpisheh, Ali; Sayehmiri, Kourosh; Moradi, Ghobad; Hassanzadeh, Jafar

    2017-05-01

    It is recognized that socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant impact on health and wellbeing; however, the effect of SES on suicide is contested. This study explored the effect of SES in suicide deaths and decomposed inequality into its determinants to calculate relative contributions. Through a cross-sectional study, 546 suicide deaths and 6,818 suicide attempts from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014 in Ilam Province, Western Iran were explored. Inequality was measured by the absolute concentration index (ACI) and decomposed contributions were identified. All analyses were performed using STATA ver. 11.2 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). The overall ACI for suicide deaths was -0.352 (95% confidence interval, -0.389 to -0.301). According to the results, 9.8% of socioeconomic inequality in suicide deaths was due to addiction in attempters. ACI ranged from -0.34 to -0.03 in 2010-2014, showing that inequality in suicide deaths declined over time. Findings showed suicide deaths were distributed among the study population unequally, and our results confirmed a gap between advantaged and disadvantaged attempters in terms of death. Socioeconomic inequalities in suicide deaths tended to diminish over time, as suicide attempts progressed in Ilam Province.

  6. Decomposed Photo Response Non-Uniformity for Digital Forensic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yue; Li, Chang-Tsun

    The last few years have seen the applications of Photo Response Non-Uniformity noise (PRNU) - a unique stochastic fingerprint of image sensors, to various types of digital forensic investigations such as source device identification and integrity verification. In this work we proposed a new way of extracting PRNU noise pattern, called Decomposed PRNU (DPRNU), by exploiting the difference between the physical andartificial color components of the photos taken by digital cameras that use a Color Filter Array for interpolating artificial components from physical ones. Experimental results presented in this work have shown the superiority of the proposed DPRNU to the commonly used version. We also proposed a new performance metrics, Corrected Positive Rate (CPR) to evaluate the performance of the common PRNU and the proposed DPRNU.

  7. Do Nonnative Language Speakers "Chew the Fat" and "Spill the Beans" with Different Brain Hemispheres? Investigating Idiom Decomposability with the Divided Visual Field Paradigm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cieslicka, Anna B.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore possible cerebral asymmetries in the processing of decomposable and nondecomposable idioms by fluent nonnative speakers of English. In the study, native language (Polish) and foreign language (English) decomposable and nondecomposable idioms were embedded in ambiguous (neutral) and unambiguous (biasing…

  8. Production of ligninolytic enzymes by litter-decomposing fungi and their ability to decolorize synthetic dyes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Baldrian, Petr; Šnajdr, Jaroslav

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 39, - (2006), s. 1023-1029 ISSN 0141-0229 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA526/05/0168 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : synthetic dyes * decomposing fungi * decolorization Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 1.897, year: 2006

  9. Analysis of communication costs for domain decomposed Monte Carlo methods in nuclear reactor analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegel, A.; Smith, K.; Fischer, P.; Mahadevan, V.

    2012-01-01

    A domain decomposed Monte Carlo communication kernel is used to carry out performance tests to establish the feasibility of using Monte Carlo techniques for practical Light Water Reactor (LWR) core analyses. The results of the prototype code are interpreted in the context of simplified performance models which elucidate key scaling regimes of the parallel algorithm.

  10. Decomposing Revenue Effects of Tax Evasion, Base Broadening and Tax Rate Reduction

    OpenAIRE

    Ira N. Gang; Arindam Das-Gupta

    1998-01-01

    This paper proposes a method for evaluating the impact of tax reform on tax revenues and the distribution of the tax burden. The technique consists of decomposing actual revenue relative to potential revenue into components attributable to (i) changes in the tax rate structure (ii) deductions and (iii) tax evasion. If the standard reform package is successful, revenue loss from deductions should be curtailed by base broadening. Furthermore, revenues lost by lowering tax rates should be more t...

  11. Isolation and Characterization of Pseudomonas spp. Strains That Efficiently Decompose Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa M. Furmanczyk

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Due to their particular properties, detergents are widely used in household cleaning products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and in agriculture as adjuvants tailoring the features of pesticides or other crop protection agents. The continuously growing use of these various products means that water soluble detergents have become one of the most problematic groups of pollutants for the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Thus it is important to identify bacteria having the ability to survive in the presence of large quantities of detergent and efficiently decompose it to non-surface active compounds. In this study, we used peaty soil sampled from a surface flow constructed wetland in a wastewater treatment plant to isolate bacteria that degrade sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS. We identified and initially characterized 36 Pseudomonas spp. strains that varied significantly in their ability to use SDS as their sole carbon source. Five isolates having the closest taxonomic relationship to the Pseudomonas jessenii subgroup appeared to be the most efficient SDS degraders, decomposing from 80 to 100% of the SDS present in an initial concentration 1 g/L in less than 24 h. These isolates exhibited significant differences in degree of SDS degradation, their resistance to high detergent concentration (ranging from 2.5 g/L up to 10 g/L or higher, and in chemotaxis toward SDS on a plate test. Mass spectrometry revealed several SDS degradation products, 1-dodecanol being dominant; however, traces of dodecanal, 2-dodecanol, and 3-dodecanol were also observed, but no dodecanoic acid. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis zymography revealed that all of the selected isolates possessed alkylsulfatase-like activity. Three isolates, AP3_10, AP3_20, and AP3_22, showed a single band on native PAGE zymography, that could be the result of alkylsulfatase activity, whereas for isolates AP3_16 and AP3_19 two bands were observed. Moreover, the AP3_22 strain exhibited a band

  12. How does litter quality and site heterogeneity interact on decomposer food webs of a semi-natural forest?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strandmark, Lisa Bjørnlund; Christensen, Søren

    2005-01-01

    The relative importance of litter quality and site heterogeneity on population dynamics of decomposer food webs was investigated in a semi-natural mixed deciduous forest in Denmark. Litterbags containing beech or ash leaves were placed in four plots. Plots were located within gaps and under closed...... at the end of the study period. At the first sampling, where bacterial activity prevailed, the relative abundance of the two dominant bacterial-feeders, Rhabditidae (fast growing) and Plectus spp. (slower growing), depended more on site than litter type. At the second sampling where fungal activity became...... in the decomposer food web, site effects were also detected and nematode functional groups responded more to site than to litter quality early on in the decomposition process....

  13. Limited transfer of nitrogen between wood decomposing and ectomycorrhizal mycelia when studied in the field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wallander, Håkan; Lindahl, Björn D.; Nilsson, Lars Ola

    2006-01-01

    was compared to the amount of 15N released from the wood-decomposing mycelia into the soil solution as 15N-NH4. The study was performed in peat-filled plastic containers placed in forest soil in the field. The wood-decomposing mycelium was growing from an inoculated wood piece and the ectomycorrhizal mycelium...... from an introduced root from a mature tree. The containers were harvested after 41 weeks when physical contact between the two foraging mycelia was established. At harvest, 15N content was analyzed in the peat (total N and 15NH4+) and in the mycorrhizal roots. A limited amount of 15N was transferred...... to the ectomycorrhizal fungus and this transfer could be explained by 15NH4+ released from the wooddecomposing fungus without involving any antagonistic interactions between the two mycelia. Using our approach, it was possible to study nutritional interactions between basidiomycete mycelia under field conditions...

  14. Agents of support: psychometric properties of the Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support (CPASS) questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldzweig, Gil; Hasson-Ohayon, Ilanit; Meirovitz, Amichay; Braun, Michal; Hubert, Ayala; Baider, Lea

    2010-11-01

    The current study presents the development and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support (CPASS). The CPASS is a new self-rating instrument devised in order to enable both cancer patients and their spouses to report on the level of perceived social support they get. The CPASS evaluates the support given by different agents of support (spouse, family, friends and spiritual or religious beliefs) in several dimensions (emotional, cognitive and instrumental). The study sample comprised 662 cancer patients and their spouses recruited during a routine medical evaluation from three major cancer centers in Israel. The participants completed the CPASS and two other standardized instruments: The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Principal component analysis confirmed a three-factor structure based upon the agent of support (spouse; friends/family; spiritual/religious beliefs). Cronbach's α coefficients for the agent of support indexes were high (0.80-0.95), while Cronbach's α levels for the kind of support were lower (0.45-0.72). Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) also confirmed the theoretical structure of the CPASS. Pearson correlation coefficients to the other study variables were high and significant. As a whole, the CPASS was found to be a valid tool for the current Israeli sample. Theoretical and practical conclusions and socio-cultural implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Familiarity breeds dissent: Reliability analyses for British-English idioms on measures of familiarity, meaning, literality, and decomposability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordmann, Emily; Cleland, Alexandra A; Bull, Rebecca

    2014-06-01

    To date, there have been several attempts made to build a database of normative data for English idiomatic expressions (e.g., Libben & Titone, 2008; Titone & Connine, 1994), however, there has been some discussion in the literature as to the validity and reliability of the data obtained, particularly for decomposability ratings. Our work aimed to address these issues by looking at ratings from native and non-native speakers and to extend the deeper investigation and analysis of decomposability to other aspects of idiomatic expressions, namely familiarly, meaning and literality. Poor reliability was observed on all types of ratings, suggesting that rather than decomposability being a special case, individual variability plays a large role in how participants rate idiomatic phrases in general. Ratings from native and non-native speakers were positively correlated and an analysis of covariance found that once familiarity with an idiom was accounted for, most of the differences between native and non-native ratings were not significant. Overall, the results suggest that individual experience with idioms plays an important role in how they are perceived and this should be taken into account when selecting stimuli for experimental studies. Furthermore, the results are suggestive of the inability of speakers to inhibit the figurative meanings for idioms that they are highly familiar with. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. USE OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: A THEORETICAL MODEL USING DECOMPOSED EXPECTANCY DISCONFIRMATION THEORY

    OpenAIRE

    Pereira, Fernando Antonio de Melo; Ramos, Anatália Saraiva Martins; Andrade, Adrianne Paula Vieira de; Oliveira, Bruna Miyuki Kasuya de

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT The present study aims to investigate the determinants of satisfaction and the resulting continuance intention in the e-learning context. The constructs of decomposed expectancy disconfirmation theory (DEDT) are evaluated from the perspective of users of a virtual learning environment (VLE) in relation to expectations and perceived performance. An online survey collected responses from 197 students of a public management distance learning course. Structural equation modeling was oper...

  17. Decomposing the permeability spectra of nanocrystalline finemet core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, Lajos K.; Kovac, Jozef

    2018-04-01

    In this paper we present a theoretical and experimental investigation on the magnetization contributions to permeability spectra of normal annealed Finemet core with round type hysteresis curve. Real and imaginary parts of the permeability were determined as a function of exciting magnetic field (HAC) between 40 Hz -110 MHz using an Agilent 4294A type Precision Impedance Analyzer. The amplitude of the exciting field was below and around the coercive field of the sample. The spectra were decomposed using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm running under Origin 9 software in four contributions: i) eddy current; ii) Debye relaxation of magnetization rotation, iii) Debye relaxation of damped domain wall motion and iv) resonant type DW motion. For small exciting amplitudes the first two components dominate. The last two contributions connected to the DW appear for relative large HAC only, around the coercive force. All the contributions will be discussed in detail accentuating the role of eddy current that is not negligible even for the smallest applied exciting field.

  18. Are leaves that fall from imidacloprid-treated maple trees to control Asian longhorned beetles toxic to non-target decomposer organisms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreutzweiser, David P; Good, Kevin P; Chartrand, Derek T; Scarr, Taylor A; Thompson, Dean G

    2008-01-01

    The systemic insecticide imidacloprid may be applied to deciduous trees for control of the Asian longhorned beetle, an invasive wood-boring insect. Senescent leaves falling from systemically treated trees contain imidacloprid concentrations that could pose a risk to natural decomposer organisms. We examined the effects of foliar imidacloprid concentrations on decomposer organisms by adding leaves from imidacloprid-treated sugar maple trees to aquatic and terrestrial microcosms under controlled laboratory conditions. Imidacloprid in maple leaves at realistic field concentrations (3-11 mg kg(-1)) did not affect survival of aquatic leaf-shredding insects or litter-dwelling earthworms. However, adverse sublethal effects at these concentrations were detected. Feeding rates by aquatic insects and earthworms were reduced, leaf decomposition (mass loss) was decreased, measurable weight losses occurred among earthworms, and aquatic and terrestrial microbial decomposition activity was significantly inhibited. Results of this study suggest that sugar maple trees systemically treated with imidacloprid to control Asian longhorned beetles may yield senescent leaves with residue levels sufficient to reduce natural decomposition processes in aquatic and terrestrial environments through adverse effects on non-target decomposer organisms.

  19. Enact legislation supporting residential property assessed clean energy financing (PACE)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saha, Devashree

    2012-11-15

    Congress should enact legislation that supports residential property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs in the nation’s states and metropolitan areas. Such legislation should require the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase residential mortgages with PACE assessments while at the same time providing responsible underwriting standards and a set of benchmarks for residential PACE assessments in order to minimize financial risks to mortgage holders. Congressional support of residential PACE financing will improve energy efficiency, encourage job creation, and foster economic growth in the nation’s state and metropolitan areas.

  20. Distribution and enzymatic activity of heterotrophic bacteria decomposing selected macromolecular compounds in a Baltic Sea sandy beach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podgórska, B.; Mudryk, Z. J.

    2003-03-01

    The potential capability to decompose macromolecular compounds, and the level of extracellular enzyme activities were determined in heterotrophic bacteria isolated from a sandy beach in Sopot on the Southern Baltic Sea coast. Individual isolates were capable of hydrolysing a wide spectrum of organic macromolecular compounds. Lipids, gelatine, and DNA were hydrolyzed most efficiently. Only a very small percentage of strains were able to decompose cellulose, and no pectinolytic bacteria were found. Except for starch-hydrolysis, no significant differences in the intensity of organic compound decomposition were recorded between horizontal and vertical profiles of the studied beach. Of all the studied extracellular enzymes, alkaline phosphatase, esterase lipase, and leucine acrylaminidase were most active; in contrast, the activity α-fucosidase, α-galactosidase and β-glucouronidase was the weakest. The level of extracellular enzyme activity was similar in both sand layers.

  1. Functional breadth and home-field advantage generate functional differences among soil microbial decomposers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fanin, Nicolas; Fromin, Nathalie; Bertrand, Isabelle

    2016-04-01

    In addition to the effect of litter quality (LQ) on decomposition, increasing evidence is demonstrating that carbon mineralization can be influenced by the past resource history, mainly through following two processes: (1) decomposer communities from recalcitrant litter environments may have a wider functional ability to decompose a wide range of litter species than those originating from richer environments, i.e., the functional breadth (FB) hypothesis; and/or (2) decomposer communities may be specialized towards the litter they most frequently encounter, i.e., the home-field advantage (HFA) hypothesis. Nevertheless, the functional dissimilarities among contrasting microbial communities, which are generated by the FB and the HFA, have rarely been simultaneously quantified in the same experiment, and their relative contributions over time have never been assessed. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a reciprocal transplant decomposition experiment under controlled conditions using litter and soil originating from four ecosystems along a land-use gradient (forest, plantation, grassland, and cropland) and one additional treatment using 13C-labelled flax litter allowing us to assess the priming effect (PE) in each ecosystem. We found substantial effects of LQ on carbon mineralization (more than two-thirds of the explained variance), whereas the contribution of the soil type was fairly low (less than one-tenth), suggesting that the contrasting soil microbial communities play only a minor role in regulating decomposition rates. Although the results on PE showed that we overestimated litter-derived CO2 fluxes, litter-microbe interactions contributed significantly to the unexplained variance observed in carbon mineralization models. The magnitudes of FB and HFA were relatively similar, but the directions of these mechanisms were sometimes opposite depending on the litter and soil types. FB and HFA estimates calculated on parietal sugar mass loss were positively

  2. Mineralisation of 14C-labelled synthetic lignin and ligninolytic enzyme activities of litter-decomposing basidiomycetous fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steffen, K T; Hofrichter, M; Hatakka, A

    2000-12-01

    Within a screening program, 27 soil litter-decomposing basidiomycetes were tested for ligninolytic enzyme activities using agar-media containing 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate), a humic acid or Mn2+ ions as indicator substrates. Most active species were found within the family Strophariaceae (Agrocybe praecox, Stropharia coronilla, S. rugosoannulata) and used for mineralisation experiments with a 14C-ring-labelled synthetic lignin (14C-DHP). The fungi mineralised around 25% of the lignin to 14CO2 within 12 weeks of incubation in a straw environment; about 20% of the lignin was converted to water-soluble fragments. Mn-peroxidase was found to be the predominant ligninolytic enzyme of all three fungi in liquid culture and its production was strongly enhanced in the presence of Mn2+ ions. The results of this study demonstrate that certain ubiquitous litter-decomposing basidiomycetes possess ligninolytic activities similar to the wood-decaying white-rot fungi, the most efficient lignin degraders in nature.

  3. Ectomycorrhizal fungi decompose soil organic matter using oxidative mechanisms adapted from saprotrophic ancestors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Firoz; Nicolás, César; Bentzer, Johan; Ellström, Magnus; Smits, Mark; Rineau, Francois; Canbäck, Björn; Floudas, Dimitrios; Carleer, Robert; Lackner, Gerald; Braesel, Jana; Hoffmeister, Dirk; Henrissat, Bernard; Ahrén, Dag; Johansson, Tomas; Hibbett, David S; Martin, Francis; Persson, Per; Tunlid, Anders

    2016-03-01

    Ectomycorrhizal fungi are thought to have a key role in mobilizing organic nitrogen that is trapped in soil organic matter (SOM). However, the extent to which ectomycorrhizal fungi decompose SOM and the mechanism by which they do so remain unclear, considering that they have lost many genes encoding lignocellulose-degrading enzymes that are present in their saprotrophic ancestors. Spectroscopic analyses and transcriptome profiling were used to examine the mechanisms by which five species of ectomycorrhizal fungi, representing at least four origins of symbiosis, decompose SOM extracted from forest soils. In the presence of glucose and when acquiring nitrogen, all species converted the organic matter in the SOM extract using oxidative mechanisms. The transcriptome expressed during oxidative decomposition has diverged over evolutionary time. Each species expressed a different set of transcripts encoding proteins associated with oxidation of lignocellulose by saprotrophic fungi. The decomposition 'toolbox' has diverged through differences in the regulation of orthologous genes, the formation of new genes by gene duplications, and the recruitment of genes from diverse but functionally similar enzyme families. The capacity to oxidize SOM appears to be common among ectomycorrhizal fungi. We propose that the ancestral decay mechanisms used primarily to obtain carbon have been adapted in symbiosis to scavenge nutrients instead. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  4. Interactions between warming, nutrient enrichment and detritivores on litter decomposition and associated microbial decomposers

    OpenAIRE

    Sanaei Moghadam, Fatemeh

    2013-01-01

    Leaf litter decomposition constitutes an important source of energy in many aquatic environments that is controlled by the joint action of microbial decomposers such as bacteria and fungi and also animal detritivores. In view of current scenarios of global environmental change, it is predicted that rapid temperature increases could directly affect most ecosystems including freshwaters. Additionally, human activities and industrial development have impacted water quality of many streams and ri...

  5. Wind turbine blades condition assessment based on vibration measurements and the level of an empirically decomposed feature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abouhnik, Abdelnasser; Albarbar, Alhussein

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We used finite element method to model wind turbine induced vibration characteristics. ► We developed a technique for eliminating wind turbine’s vibration modulation problems. ► We use empirical mode decomposition to decompose the vibration into its fundamental elements. ► We show the area under shaft speed is a good indicator for assessing wind blades condition. ► We validate the technique under different wind turbine speeds and blade (cracks) conditions. - Abstract: Vibration based monitoring techniques are well understood and widely adopted for monitoring the condition of rotating machinery. However, in the case of wind turbines the measured vibration is complex due to the high number of vibration sources and modulation phenomenon. Therefore, extracting condition related information of a specific element e.g. blade condition is very difficult. In the work presented in this paper wind turbine vibration sources are outlined and then a three bladed wind turbine vibration was simulated by building its model in the ANSYS finite element program. Dynamic analysis was performed and the fundamental vibration characteristics were extracted under two healthy blades and one blade with one of four cracks introduced. The cracks were of length (10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm and 40 mm), all had a consistent 3 mm width and 2 mm depth. The tests were carried out for three rotation speeds; 150, 250 and 360 r/min. The effects of the seeded faults were revealed by using a novel approach called empirically decomposed feature intensity level (EDFIL). The developed EDFIL algorithm is based on decomposing the measured vibration into its fundamental components and then determines the shaft rotational speed amplitude. A real model of the simulated wind turbine was constructed and the simulation outcomes were compared with real-time vibration measurements. The cracks were seeded sequentially in one of the blades and their presence and severity were determined by decomposing

  6. Understanding E-Learning Adoption among Brazilian Universities: An Application of the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dos Santos, Luiz Miguel Renda; Okazaki, Shintaro

    2013-01-01

    This study sheds light on the organizational dimensions underlying e-learning adoption among Brazilian universities. We propose an organizational e-learning adoption model based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior (TPB). A series of hypotheses are posited with regard to the relationships among the proposed constructs. The model is…

  7. Decomposing the permeability spectra of nanocrystalline finemet core

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lajos K. Varga

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present a theoretical and experimental investigation on the magnetization contributions to permeability spectra of normal annealed Finemet core with round type hysteresis curve. Real and imaginary parts of the permeability were determined as a function of exciting magnetic field (HAC between 40 Hz -110 MHz using an Agilent 4294A type Precision Impedance Analyzer. The amplitude of the exciting field was below and around the coercive field of the sample. The spectra were decomposed using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm running under Origin 9 software in four contributions: i eddy current; ii Debye relaxation of magnetization rotation, iii Debye relaxation of damped domain wall motion and iv resonant type DW motion. For small exciting amplitudes the first two components dominate. The last two contributions connected to the DW appear for relative large HAC only, around the coercive force. All the contributions will be discussed in detail accentuating the role of eddy current that is not negligible even for the smallest applied exciting field.

  8. Small interstitial clusters as opposite defect recombinators in decomposing solid solutions under irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orlov, A.N.; Trushin, Yu.V.

    1988-01-01

    An attempt was made to make allowance for the role of binary and ternary interstitials in the kinetics of radiation point defects both in the presence and in the absence of coherent preseparation. It is shown that in solid solutions, decomposing under irradiation, recombination with binary and ternary interstitials proceeds more quickly than directly, and this difference is more pronounced (from 2 up to 20 time growth) due to defect flow for preseparation at the stage of coherent preseparation formation

  9. Decomposing wage distributions on a large data set - a quantile regression analysis of the gender wage gap

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albæk, Karsten; Brink Thomsen, Lars

    This paper presents and implements a procedure that makes it possible to decompose wage distributions on large data sets. We replace bootstrap sampling in the standard Machado-Mata procedure with ‘non-replacement subsampling’, which is more suitable for the linked employer-employee data applied i...... in gender wage differences in the lower part of the wage distribution.......This paper presents and implements a procedure that makes it possible to decompose wage distributions on large data sets. We replace bootstrap sampling in the standard Machado-Mata procedure with ‘non-replacement subsampling’, which is more suitable for the linked employer-employee data applied...... in this paper. Decompositions show that most of the glass ceiling is related to segregation in the form of either composition effects or different returns to males and females. A counterfactual wage distribution without differences in the constant terms (or ‘discrimination’) implies substantial changes...

  10. Decomposing global crop yield variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Ari, Tamara; Makowski, David

    2014-11-01

    Recent food crises have highlighted the need to better understand the between-year variability of agricultural production. Although increasing future production seems necessary, the globalization of commodity markets suggests that the food system would also benefit from enhanced supplies stability through a reduction in the year-to-year variability. Here, we develop an analytical expression decomposing global crop yield interannual variability into three informative components that quantify how evenly are croplands distributed in the world, the proportion of cultivated areas allocated to regions of above or below average variability and the covariation between yields in distinct world regions. This decomposition is used to identify drivers of interannual yield variations for four major crops (i.e., maize, rice, soybean and wheat) over the period 1961-2012. We show that maize production is fairly spread but marked by one prominent region with high levels of crop yield interannual variability (which encompasses the North American corn belt in the USA, and Canada). In contrast, global rice yields have a small variability because, although spatially concentrated, much of the production is located in regions of below-average variability (i.e., South, Eastern and South Eastern Asia). Because of these contrasted land use allocations, an even cultivated land distribution across regions would reduce global maize yield variance, but increase the variance of global yield rice. Intermediate results are obtained for soybean and wheat for which croplands are mainly located in regions with close-to-average variability. At the scale of large world regions, we find that covariances of regional yields have a negligible contribution to global yield variance. The proposed decomposition could be applied at any spatial and time scales, including the yearly time step. By addressing global crop production stability (or lack thereof) our results contribute to the understanding of a key

  11. Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Wellness Culture and Environment Support Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Szalacha, Laura A; Amaya, Megan

    2018-05-01

    This study reports on the psychometric properties of the 11-item Perceived Wellness Culture and Environment Support Scale (PWCESS) and its relationship with employee healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors. Faculty and staff (N = 3959) at a large public university in the United States mid-west completed the PWCESS along with healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors scales. Data were randomly split into 2 halves to explore the PWCESS' validity and reliability and the second half to confirm findings. Principal components analysis indicated a unidimensional construct. The PWCESS was positively related to healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors supporting the scale's validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional construct (Cronbach's α = .92). Strong evidence supports the validity and reliability of the PWCESS. Future use of this scale could guide workplace intervention strategies to improve organizational wellness culture and employee health outcomes.

  12. Decomposing the misery index: A dynamic approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan K. Cohen

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The misery index (the unweighted sum of unemployment and inflation rates was probably the first attempt to develop a single statistic to measure the level of a population’s economic malaise. In this letter, we develop a dynamic approach to decompose the misery index using two basic relations of modern macroeconomics: the expectations-augmented Phillips curve and Okun’s law. Our reformulation of the misery index is closer in spirit to Okun’s idea. However, we are able to offer an improved version of the index, mainly based on output and unemployment. Specifically, this new Okun’s index measures the level of economic discomfort as a function of three key factors: (1 the misery index in the previous period; (2 the output gap in growth rate terms; and (3 cyclical unemployment. This dynamic approach differs substantially from the standard one utilised to develop the misery index, and allow us to obtain an index with five main interesting features: (1 it focuses on output, unemployment and inflation; (2 it considers only objective variables; (3 it allows a distinction between short-run and long-run phenomena; (4 it places more importance on output and unemployment rather than inflation; and (5 it weights recessions more than expansions.

  13. The radiolytic cracking decomposion of the plant cellulose materials and their chemcial properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shou Hongxia

    1987-01-01

    Under the treatment with high energy radiation, plant cellulose materials undergo a series of changes in chemical and physical properties. This paper describes the chemical changes of water-soluble carbohydrate, easy-to-hydrolyse carbohydrate, hard-to-hydrolyse carbohydrate, amino acid and protein in rice straw after irradiation with 60 Co γ-ray. The content of water-soluble carbohydrate in rice straw can be increased significantly by such treatment. The combination treatment of irradiation and acid or alkali soaker can reduce the dose for the radiolytic cracking decomposition and produce a good effect

  14. Climatic effects on decomposing litter and substrate chemistry along climatological gradients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, B.

    2009-04-01

    Climatic effects on decomposing litter and substrate chemistry along climatological gradients. B. Berg, Dipartimento Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Complesso Universitario, Monte San Angelo, via Cintia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy and Department of Forest Ecology, P.O. Box 27, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland. Studies of several processes, using climatic gradients do provide new information as compared with studies at e.g. a single site. Decomposition of plant litter in such gradients give response in decomposition rates to natural climate conditions. Thus Scots pine needle litter incubated in a climate gradient with annual average temperature (AVGT) ranging from -0.5 to 6.8oC had a highly significant increase in initial mass-loss rate with R2 = 0.591 (p<0.001) and a 5o increase in temperature doubled the mass-loss rate. As a contrast - needle litter of Norway spruce incubated in the same transect had no significant response to climate and for initial litter a 5o increase increased mass-loss rate c. 6%. For more decomposed Scots pine litter we could see that the effect of temperature on mass-loss rate gradually decreased until it disappeared. Long-term decomposition studies revealed differences in litter decomposition patterns along a gradient, even for the same type of litter. This could be followed by using an asymptotic function that gave, (i) a measure a maximum level of decomposition, (ii) the initial decomposition rate. Over a gradient the calculated maximum level of decomposition decreased with increasing AVGT. Other gradient studies revealed an effect of AVGT on litter chemical composition. Pine needle litter from stands under different climate conditions had nutrient concentrations related to AVGT. Thus N, P, K, and S were positively related to AVGT and Mn negatively, all of them significantly. This information may be used to explain the changing pattern in decomposition over the gradient.

  15. A model to decompose the performance of supplementary private health insurance markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leidl, Reiner

    2008-09-01

    For an individual insurance firm offering supplementary private health insurance, a model is developed to decompose market performance in terms of insurer profits. For the individual contract, the model specifies the conditions under which adverse selection, cream skimming, and moral hazard occur, shows the impact of information on contracting, and the profit contribution. Contracts are determined by comparing willingness to pay for insurance with the individual's risk position, and information on both sides of the market. Finally, performance is aggregated up to the total market. The model provides a framework to explain the attractiveness of supplementary markets to insurers.

  16. Preparation and characterization of Z-shaped carbon nanotubes via decomposing magnesium acetate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Dingsheng; Liu Yingliang; Xiao Yong; Chen Liqiang

    2008-01-01

    Novel carbon tubes with a diameter of 200-500 nm and a length of 3-5 μm have been synthesized via decomposing magnesium acetate. Novel carbon tubes have been analyzed and characterized using by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and Raman spectrum. The analysis results indicate that the graphitic degree of novel carbon tubes is low under our synthesis condition. Interestingly, inside these tubes, smaller Z-shaped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are formed. The unusual morphologies have not been reported before. A tentative formation mechanism is proposed

  17. Decomposing of Socioeconomic Inequality in Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study into Female-Headed Households.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veisani, Yousef; Delpisheh, Ali

    2015-01-01

    Connection between socioeconomic statuses and mental health has been reported already. Accordingly, mental health asymmetrically is distributed in society; therefore, people with disadvantaged condition suffer from inconsistent burden of mental disorders. In this study, we aimed to understand the determinants of socioeconomic inequality of mental health in the female-headed households and decomposed contributions of socioeconomic determinants in mental health. In this cross-sectional study, 787 female-headed households were enrolled using systematic random sampling in 2014. Data were taken from the household assets survey and a self-administered 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) as a screening tool for detection of possible cases of mental disorders. Inequality was measured by concentration index (CI) and as decomposing contribution in inequality. All analyses were performed by standard statistical software Stata 11.2. The overall CI for mental health in the female-headed households was -0.049 (95% CI: -0.072, 0.025). The highly positive contributors for inequality in mental health in the female-headed households were age (34%) and poor household economic status (22%). Socioeconomic inequalities exist in mental health into female-headed households and mental health problems more prevalent in women with lower socioeconomic status.

  18. Species-specific effects of live roots and shoot litter on soil decomposer abundances do not forecast plant litter-nitrogen uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saj, Stéphane; Mikola, Juha; Ekelund, Flemming

    2009-08-01

    Plant species produce litter of varying quality and differ in the quality and quantity of compounds they release from live roots, which both can induce different decomposer growth in the soil. To test whether differences in decomposer growth can forecast the amount of N species acquire from plant litter, as suggested by theory, we grew individuals of three grassland plants-Holcus lanatus, Plantago lanceolata and Lotus corniculatus-in soils into which (15)N-labelled litter of either Holcus, Plantago or Lotus was added. We measured the effects of live roots and litter of each species on soil microbes and their protozoan and nematode feeders, and to link decomposer growth and plant nutrient uptake, we measured the amount of N taken up by plants from the added litter. We hypothesised that those species that induce the highest growth of microbes, and especially that of microbial feeders, will also take up the highest amount of N from the litter. We found, however, that although numbers of bacterial-feeding Protozoa and nematodes were on average lower after addition of Holcus than Plantago or Lotus litter, N uptake was higher from Holcus litter. Further, although the effects on Protozoa and bacterial- and fungal-feeding nematodes did not differ between the live plants, litter-N uptake differed, with Holcus being the most efficient compared to Plantago and Lotus. Hence, although microbes and their feeders unquestionably control N mineralization in the soil, and their growth differs among plant species, these differences cannot predict differences in litter-N uptake among plant species. A likely reason is that for nutrient uptake, other species-specific plant traits, such as litter chemistry, root proliferation ability and competitiveness for soil N, override in significance the species-specific ability of plants to induce decomposer growth.

  19. Using Mid Infrared Spectroscopy to Predict the Decomposability of Soil Organic Matter Stored in Arctic Tundra Soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    The large amounts of organic matter stored in permafrost-region soils are preserved in a relatively undecomposed state by the cold and wet environmental conditions limiting decomposer activity. With pending climate changes and the potential for warming of Arctic soils, there is a need to better unde...

  20. First-principles study of SF_6 decomposed gas adsorbed on Au-decorated graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xiaoxing; Yu, Lei; Gui, Yingang; Hu, Weihua

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We theoretically investigated the decomposed gaseous components of sulfur hexafluoride (SF_6), namely, H_2S, SO_2, SOF_2, and SO_2F_2, adsorbed on pristine and Au-embedded graphene based on DFT-D, in which the van der Waals effect is considered. • H_2S, SO_2, SOF_2, and SO_2F_2 are chemisorption on Au-doped graphene, appreciably stronger than physisorption on pristine graphene in which the van der Waals dominates. • Only H_2S exhibits n-type doping to Au-graphene, whereas the rest gases exhibit p-type doping. The n-type and p-type sensing behaviors that Au-doped graphene displays to different gases play a crucial role in selective sensing application. • Magnetic moments fluctuate substantially in the original Au-graphene when H_2S and SO_2 are adsorbed. While the adsorption effects of SOF_2 and SO_2F_2 generate magnetism quenching. The different changes of magnetic moments in every adsorption system provide another approach to selective detection. • The charge transfer mechanism is deeply discussed in this paper. - Abstract: We theoretically investigated the decomposed gaseous components of sulfur hexafluoride (SF_6), namely, H_2S, SO_2, SOF_2, and SO_2F_2, adsorbed on pristine and Au-embedded graphene based on the revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof calculation, which empirically includes a dispersion correction (DFT-D) for van der Waals interaction with standard generalized gradient approximation. Pristine graphene exhibits weak adsorption and absence of charge transfer, which indicates barely satisfactory sensing for decomposed components. The Au atom introduces magnetism to the pristine graphene after metal-embedded decoration as well as enhances conductivity. All four molecules induce certain hybridization between the molecules and Au-graphene, which results in chemical interactions. SOF_2 and SO_2F_2 exhibit a strong chemisorption interaction with Au-graphene, while H_2S and SO_2 exhibit quasi-molecular binding

  1. Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration is dependent on readily decomposable C substrate concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larionova, A. A.; Yevdokimov, I. V.; Bykhovets, S. S.

    2007-06-01

    Temperature acclimation of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is one of the major uncertainties in predicting soil CO2 efflux by the increase in global mean temperature. A reasonable explanation for an apparent acclimation proposed by Davidson and colleagues (2006) based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics suggests that temperature sensitivity decreases when both maximal activity of respiratory enzymes (Vmax) and half- saturation constant (Ks) cancel each other upon temperature increase. We tested the hypothesis of the canceling effect by the mathematical simulation of the data obtained in the incubation experiments with forest and arable soils. Our data confirm the hypothesis and suggest that concentration of readily decomposable C substrate as glucose equivalent is an important factor controlling temperature sensitivity. The highest temperature sensitivity was observed when C substrate concentration was much lower than Ks. Increase of substrate content to the half-saturation constant resulted in temperature acclimation associated with the canceling effect. Addition of the substrate to the level providing respiration at a maximal rate Vmax leads to the acclimation of the whole microbial community as such. However, growing microbial biomass was more sensitive to the temperature alterations. This study improves our understanding of the instability of temperature sensitivity of soil respiration under field conditions, explaining this phenomenon by changes in concentration of readily decomposable C substrate. It is worth noting that this pattern works regardless of the origin of C substrate: production by SOM decomposition, release into the soil by rhizodeposition, litter fall or drying-rewetting events.

  2. The physical properties of peat: a key factor for modern growing media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J-C. Michel

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This article identifies criteria for assessing the physical properties (water retention characteristics, wettability and physical stability of growing media which influence the availability of air and water to plant roots. The various materials that are currently in use are assessed for these properties. The analysis of physical properties indicates that weakly decomposed (H1–H5, generally referred to as white Sphagnum peat is still indispensable for soil-less horticulture. Whilst a number of materials can be used as peat additives, especially to improve aeration, no alternative products with equivalent physical properties are available at present.

  3. Decomposing change in life expectancy : A bouquet of formulas in honor of Nathan Keyfitz's 90th birthday

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vaupel, JW; Romo, VC

    We extend Nathan Keyfitz research on continuous change in life expectancy over time by presenting and proving a new formula for decomposing such change. The formula separates change in life expectancy over time into two terms. The first term captures the general effect of reduction in death rates at

  4. Free and Bound Fatty-Acids and Hydroxy Fatty-Acids in the Living and Decomposing Eelgrass Zostera-Marina L

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Leeuw, J.; Rijpstra, W.I.C.; Nienhuis, P.H.

    1995-01-01

    Very early diagenetic processes of free, esterified and amide or glycosidically bound fatty acids and hydroxy fatty acids present in well documented samples of living and decomposing eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) were investigated. Free and esterified fatty acids decreased significantly over a period

  5. A decomposable silica-based antibacterial coating for percutaneous titanium implant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang J

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Jia Wang,1,* Guofeng Wu,2,* Xiangwei Liu,3,* Guanyang Sun,1 Dehua Li,3 Hongbo Wei3 1State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, 2Department of Prosthodontics, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 3State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Dental Materials and Advanced Manufacture, Department of Oral Implants, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Although percutaneous titanium implants have become one of the best choices as retainers in the facial defects, peri-implantitis still occurs at a significant rate. This unwanted complication occurs due to adhesion of bacteria and subsequent biofilm formation. To solve this problem, we have developed a novel antibiotic nanodelivery system based on self-decomposable silica nanoparticles. In this study, silica-gentamycin (SG nanoparticles were successfully fabricated using an innovative one-pot solution. The nanoparticles were incorporated within a gelatin matrix and cross-linked on microarc-oxidized titanium. To characterize the SG nanoparticles, their particle size, zeta potential, surface morphology, in vitro drug release, and decomposition process were sequentially evaluated. The antibacterial properties against the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, including bacterial viability, antibacterial rate, and bacteria morphology, were analyzed using SG-loaded titanium specimens. Any possible influence of released gentamycin on the viability of human fibroblasts, which are the main component of soft tissues, was investigated. SG nanoparticles from the

  6. Community structure and estimated contribution of primary consumers (Nematodes and Copepods) of decomposing plant litter (Juncus roemerianus and Rhizophora mangle) in South Florida

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fell, J.W.; Cefalu, R.

    1984-01-01

    The paper discusses the meiofauna associated with decomposing leaf litter from two species of coastal marshland plants: the black needle rush, Juncus roemerianus and the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle. The following aspects were investigated: (1) types of meiofauna present, especially nematodes; (2) changes in meiofaunal community structures with regard to season, station location, and type of plant litter; (3) amount of nematode and copepod biomass present on the decomposing plant litter; and (4) an estimation of the possible role of the nematodes in the decomposition process. 28 references, 5 figures, 9 tables. (ACR)

  7. Bi-dimension decomposed hidden Markov models for multi-person activity recognition

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Wei-dong ZHANG; Feng CHEN; Wen-li XU

    2009-01-01

    We present a novel model for recognizing long-term complex activities involving multiple persons. The proposed model, named 'decomposed hidden Markov model' (DHMM), combines spatial decomposition and hierarchical abstraction to capture multi-modal, long-term dependent and multi-scale characteristics of activities. Decomposition in space and time offers conceptual advantages of compaction and clarity, and greatly reduces the size of state space as well as the number of parameters.DHMMs are efficient even when the number of persons is variable. We also introduce an efficient approximation algorithm for inference and parameter estimation. Experiments on multi-person activities and multi-modal individual activities demonstrate that DHMMs are more efficient and reliable than familiar models, such as coupled HMMs, hierarchical HMMs, and multi-observation HMMs.

  8. Leaf traits capture the effects of land use changes and climate on litter decomposability of grasslands across Europe

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fortunel, C.; Garnier, E.; Joffre, R.; Kazakou, E.; Quested, H.; Grigulis, K.; Lavorel, S.; Ansquer, P.; Castro, H.; Cruz, P.; Doležal, Jiří; Eriksson, O.; Freitas, H.; Golodets, C.; Jouany, C.; Kigel, J.; Kleyer, M.; Lehsten, V.; Lepš, J.; Meier, T.; Pakeman, R.; Papadimitriou, M.; Papanastasis, V. P.; Quétier, F.; Robson, M.; Sternberg, M.; Theau, J.-P.; Thébault, A.; Zarovali, M.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 90, č. 3 (2009), s. 598-611 ISSN 0012-9658 Grant - others:EU(XE) EVK2-2001-000356 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : litter decomposability * disturbance * leaf traits Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 4.411, year: 2009

  9. A comprehensive CFD model of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Dong Hyup

    2009-01-01

    The two-dimensional comprehensive CFD model of anode-supported SOFCs operating at intermediate temperature has been presented. This model provides transport phenomena of gas species with electrochemical characteristics and micro-structural properties, and predicts SOFC performance. The mathematical model solves conservation of electrons and ions, continuity equation, conservation of momentum, conservation of mass, and conservation of energy. A continuum micro-scale model based on statistical properties together with a mole-based conservation model was employed. CFD technique was used to solve the set of governing equations. The cell performance was decomposed with contributions of each overpotential and was presented at several operating temperatures with analysis of effective diffusivity. It was found that the contribution of potential gain due to temperature rising was considerably high. However it became non-significant at high operating temperature due to decreasing of effective diffusivity in AFL. These results showed that the performance and the distributions of current density, overpotentials, and mole fractions of gas species have a strong dependence upon temperature. From these results, it was concluded that the conservation of energy should be accommodated in comprehensive SOFC model. Also the useful information for the effect of parameters on cell performance and transport phenomena was provided

  10. Exploring Shared Measurement Properties and Score Comparability between Two Versions of the "Supports Intensity Scale"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Hyojeong; Shogren, Karrie A.; Wehmeyer, Michael L.; Hughes, Carolyn; Thompson, James R.; Little, Todd D.; Palmer, Susan B.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined similarities and differences in measurement properties and score comparability of the "Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version" (16-64 years) and the "Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version" (5-16 years). Data were collected from 142 adolescents with intellectual disability with both versions of the…

  11. Decomposing metaphor processing at the cognitive and neural level through functional magnetic resonance imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambini, Valentina; Gentili, Claudio; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Bertinetto, Pier Marco; Pietrini, Pietro

    2011-10-10

    Prior neuroimaging studies on metaphor comprehension have tended to focus on the role of the right hemisphere, without reaching consensus and leaving aside the functional architecture of this process. The present work aimed to break down metaphor comprehension into its functional components. The study rationale is two-fold: on the one hand, the large-scale network model as emerging in cognitive neuroscience led us to a consideration of metaphor as supported by a distributed and bilateral network; on the other hand, we based on the accounts of figurative language put forward in pragmatics and cognitive science to postulate a decomposition of such a network into multiple sub-systems. During scanning, participants implicitly processed metaphorical (familiar and unfamiliar) and non-metaphorical passages, while being explicitly involved in an adjective matching task to be performed after reading the target passages. Several regions showed greater activity to metaphors as compared to non-metaphors, including left and right inferior frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, left angular gyrus, and anterior cingulate. This pattern of activations, markedly bilateral, can be decomposed into circumscribed functional sub-systems mediating different aspects of metaphor resolution, as foreseen in the pragmatic and cognitive literature: (a) the conceptual/pragmatic machinery in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and in the left angular gyrus, which supports the integration of linguistic material and world knowledge in context; (b) the attentional component in the anterior cingulate and prefrontal areas, which is set to monitor and filter for the relevant aspects of context and for the appropriate meanings; (c) the Theory of Mind system along the right superior temporal sulcus, which deals with the recognition of speakers' communicative intentions and is more extensively activated by unfamiliar metaphors. The results have several implications for the field of neuropragmatics

  12. Simulating propagation of decomposed elastic waves using low-rank approximate mixed-domain integral operators for heterogeneous transversely isotropic media

    KAUST Repository

    Cheng, Jiubing; Wu, Zedong; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

    2014-01-01

    decomposition in anisotropic media is costly as the operators involved is dependent on the velocity, and thus not stationary. In this abstract, we propose an efficient approach to directly extrapolate the decomposed elastic waves using lowrank approximate mixed

  13. Purification and characterization of an eggshell membrane decomposing protease from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain ME-4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Minyi; Takenaka, Shinji; Aoki, Shunsuke; Murakami, Shuichiro; Aoki, Kenji

    2009-04-01

    A bacterial strain, ME-4, isolated from farm soil and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, grew well on a medium containing eggshell membrane (ESM). P. aeruginosa strain ME-4 decomposed the ESM by producing an extracellular protease able to solubilize it. The protease was purified to homogeneity from culture supernatant by fractionation with (NH(4))(2)SO(4), as well as CM52 cellulose and DE52 cellulose column chromatography, with a final yield of 47%. The molecular mass of the enzyme was 33 kDa. The isolated enzyme was a metalloprotease and was strongly inhibited by EDTA, o-phenanthroline, and phosphoramidon. The enzyme inhibited by these reagents was reactivated in the presence of several metal ions. The enzyme acted on various proteins and showed higher activity with collagen than collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum. Results of assays with the FRETS combinatorial libraries revealed that the enzyme preferred Ser at the P1 position and Lys at the P2 position. It also preferred hydrophobic amino acid residues at the P1' and P2' positions. The enzyme showed a much higher solubilization activity with the ESM substrate than commercially obtained enzymes. The enzyme decomposed ESM to produce water-soluble peptides, Val-Leu-Pro-Pro and (X)-Val-Pro-Pro, and a free amino acid, tryptophan.

  14. Experimentally simulated global warming and nitrogen enrichment effects on microbial litter decomposers in a marsh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flury, Sabine; Gessner, Mark O

    2011-02-01

    Atmospheric warming and increased nitrogen deposition can lead to changes of microbial communities with possible consequences for biogeochemical processes. We used an enclosure facility in a freshwater marsh to assess the effects on microbes associated with decomposing plant litter under conditions of simulated climate warming and pulsed nitrogen supply. Standard batches of litter were placed in coarse-mesh and fine-mesh bags and submerged in a series of heated, nitrogen-enriched, and control enclosures. They were retrieved later and analyzed for a range of microbial parameters. Fingerprinting profiles obtained by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) indicated that simulated global warming induced a shift in bacterial community structure. In addition, warming reduced fungal biomass, whereas bacterial biomass was unaffected. The mesh size of the litter bags and sampling date also had an influence on bacterial community structure, with the apparent number of dominant genotypes increasing from spring to summer. Microbial respiration was unaffected by any treatment, and nitrogen enrichment had no clear effect on any of the microbial parameters considered. Overall, these results suggest that microbes associated with decomposing plant litter in nutrient-rich freshwater marshes are resistant to extra nitrogen supplies but are likely to respond to temperature increases projected for this century.

  15. Litter type affects the activity of aerobic decomposers in a boreal peatland more than site nutrient and water level regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straková, P.; Niemi, R. M.; Freeman, C.; Peltoniemi, K.; Toberman, H.; Heiskanen, I.; Fritze, H.; Laiho, R.

    2011-02-01

    Peatlands are carbon (C) storage ecosystems sustained by a high water level (WL). High WL creates anoxic conditions that suppress the activity of aerobic decomposers and provide conditions for peat accumulation. Peatland function can be dramatically affected by WL drawdown caused by land-use and/or climate change. Aerobic decomposers are directly affected by WL drawdown through environmental factors such as increased oxygenation and nutrient availability. Additionally, they are indirectly affected via changes in plant community composition and litter quality. We studied the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of WL drawdown on aerobic decomposer activity in plant litter. We did this by profiling 11 extracellular enzymes involved in the mineralization of organic C, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur. Our study sites represented a three-stage chronosequence from pristine (undrained) to short-term (years) and long-term (decades) WL drawdown conditions under two nutrient regimes. The litter types included reflected the prevalent vegetation, i.e., Sphagnum mosses, graminoids, shrubs and trees. WL drawdown had a direct and positive effect on microbial activity. Enzyme allocation shifted towards C acquisition, which caused an increase in the rate of decomposition. However, litter type overruled the direct effects of WL drawdown and was the main factor shaping microbial activity patterns. Our results imply that changes in plant community composition in response to persistent WL drawdown will strongly affect the C dynamics of peatlands.

  16. The applications of a higher-dimensional Lie algebra and its decomposed subalgebras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Zhang; Zhang, Yufeng

    2009-01-15

    With the help of invertible linear transformations and the known Lie algebras, a higher-dimensional 6 x 6 matrix Lie algebra smu(6) is constructed. It follows a type of new loop algebra is presented. By using a (2 + 1)-dimensional partial-differential equation hierarchy we obtain the integrable coupling of the (2 + 1)-dimensional KN integrable hierarchy, then its corresponding Hamiltonian structure is worked out by employing the quadratic-form identity. Furthermore, a higher-dimensional Lie algebra denoted by E, is given by decomposing the Lie algebra smu(6), then a discrete lattice integrable coupling system is produced. A remarkable feature of the Lie algebras smu(6) and E is used to directly construct integrable couplings.

  17. Fluid-mechanic/thermal interaction of a molten material and a decomposing solid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, D.W.; Lee, D.O.

    1976-12-01

    Bench-scale experiments of a molten material in contact with a decomposing solid were conducted to gain insight into the expected interaction of a hot, molten reactor core with a concrete base. The results indicate that either of two regimes can occur: violent agitation and splattering of the melt or a very quiescent settling of the melt when placed in contact with the solid. The two regimes appear to be governed by the interface temperature condition. A conduction heat transfer model predicts the critical interface temperature with reasonable accuracy. In addition, a film thermal resistance model correlates well with the data in predicting the time for a solid skin to form on the molten material

  18. Dynamical properties of the Rabi model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Binglu; Zhou, Huili; Chen, Shujie; Xianlong, Gao; Wang, Kelin

    2017-01-01

    We study the dynamical properties of the quantum Rabi model using a systematic expansion method. Based on the observation that the parity symmetry of the Rabi model is kept during evolution of the states, we decompose the initial state and the time-dependent one into positive and negative parity parts expanded by superposition of the coherent states. The evolutions of the corresponding positive and the negative parities are obtained, in which the expansion coefficients in the dynamical equations are known from the derived recurrence relation. (paper)

  19. Evaluation of mechanical properties in metal wire mesh supported selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajath, S.; Siddaraju, C.; Nandakishora, Y.; Roy, Sukumar

    2018-04-01

    The objective of this research is to evaluate certain specific mechanical properties of certain stainless steel wire mesh supported Selective catalytic reduction catalysts structures wherein the physical properties of the metal wire mesh and also its surface treatments played vital role thereby influencing the mechanical properties. As the adhesion between the stainless steel wire mesh and the catalyst material determines the bond strength and the erosion resistance of catalyst structures, surface modifications of the metal- wire mesh structure in order to facilitate the interface bonding is therefore very important to realize enhanced level of mechanical properties. One way to enhance such adhesion properties, the stainless steel wire mesh is treated with the various acids, i.e., chromic acid, phosphoric acid including certain mineral acids and combination of all those in various molar ratios that could generate surface active groups on metal surface that promotes good interface structure between the metal- wire mesh and metal oxide-based catalyst material and then the stainless steel wire mesh is dipped in the glass powder slurry containing some amount of organic binder. As a result of which the said catalyst material adheres to the metal-wire mesh surface more effectively that improves the erosion profile of supported catalysts structure including bond strength.

  20. Decomposing the Gender Wage Gap Across the Wage Distribution: South Korea in 2003 vs. 2013

    OpenAIRE

    Tromp, Nikolas

    2016-01-01

    I analyze the gender wage gap in South Korea across the wage distribution in 2003 vs. 2013. Gaps are decomposed into composition and structural effects using a semi-parametric framework. I find a "glass ceiling" effect in both years with larger wage gaps at the upper end of the wage distribution. Decompositions show that the structural effect decreases, and composition effect increases, in importance as we move up the distribution. Between 2003 and 2013, a fall in the composition effect driv...

  1. May Ingestion of Leachate from Decomposed Corpses Cause Appendicitis? A Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurício Domingues-Ferreira

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The general consensus is that appendicitis is basically provoked by fecaliths or lymphoid hyperplasic obstruction. Several studies based on histological diagnosis have not confirmed this hypothesis. On the contrary, obstruction has been proved in only a minority of cases. Diverse infections by parasites, bacteria, fungus, and noninfective agents have been associated with appendicitis in the medical literature. We describe a firefighter, who ingested a small quantity of leachate from decomposing corpses while working and developed enteritis a few hours later, which lasted several days and evolved to appendicitis. This case raises the possibility that the high quantity of bacteria concentration present in the leachate could have provoked enteritis and the subsequent appendicitis due to a direct effect of the bacteria on the appendix.

  2. The applications of a higher-dimensional Lie algebra and its decomposed subalgebras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Zhang; Zhang Yufeng

    2009-01-01

    With the help of invertible linear transformations and the known Lie algebras, a higher-dimensional 6 x 6 matrix Lie algebra sμ(6) is constructed. It follows a type of new loop algebra is presented. By using a (2 + 1)-dimensional partial-differential equation hierarchy we obtain the integrable coupling of the (2 + 1)-dimensional KN integrable hierarchy, then its corresponding Hamiltonian structure is worked out by employing the quadratic-form identity. Furthermore, a higher-dimensional Lie algebra denoted by E, is given by decomposing the Lie algebra sμ(6), then a discrete lattice integrable coupling system is produced. A remarkable feature of the Lie algebras sμ(6) and E is used to directly construct integrable couplings

  3. The applications of a higher-dimensional Lie algebra and its decomposed subalgebras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Zhang; Zhang, Yufeng

    2009-01-01

    With the help of invertible linear transformations and the known Lie algebras, a higher-dimensional 6 × 6 matrix Lie algebra sμ(6) is constructed. It follows a type of new loop algebra is presented. By using a (2 + 1)-dimensional partial-differential equation hierarchy we obtain the integrable coupling of the (2 + 1)-dimensional KN integrable hierarchy, then its corresponding Hamiltonian structure is worked out by employing the quadratic-form identity. Furthermore, a higher-dimensional Lie algebra denoted by E, is given by decomposing the Lie algebra sμ(6), then a discrete lattice integrable coupling system is produced. A remarkable feature of the Lie algebras sμ(6) and E is used to directly construct integrable couplings. PMID:20084092

  4. The Development and Properties of the Support Needs Questionnaire

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabian A. Davis

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The Support Needs Questionnaire (SNQ measures the support people with severe mental illness need to attain valued social roles as a route to social inclusion. Its design derives from Wolfensberger’s Social Role Valorisation theory. It is a clinical tool comprising a comprehensive lifestyle inventory of “universal basic” and “disability” needs; and “revalorisation needs” arising from social devaluation and deep exclusion. The SNQ comprises eight discreet sub-scales based on O’Brien’s Five Service Accomplishments, the domains of which include Community Presence, Community Participation, Choice and Control, Social Roles and Respect, Skills and Competencies, and Finance. There are also two descriptive sub-scales: Physical and Mental Health. The item set was developed collaboratively with service users. This paper introduces the SNQ, its design rationale and development, and investigates aspects of its reliability, validity and utility. Care co-ordinators in a Community Mental Health Team rated eighty-two service users’ support needs at a two week interval using the SNQ, the Global Assessment Scale and the MARC-2. The SNQ is shown to have high test-retest reliability, good construct and concurrent validity, and good discriminatory power. It exhibited no floor or ceiling effects with the reference population. It could be used with a more diverse population. The descriptive sub-scales were weakest. The population profile showed moderate support was required for physical integration but high levels for social integration which is consistent with previous research. The SNQ has some good psychometric properties. Future research should address internal consistency and potential item redundancy, determine inter-rater reliability and change sensitivity.

  5. Steam reforming of bio-ethanol over Ni on Ce-ZrO2 support: Influence of redox properties on the catalyst reactivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumittra Charojrochkul

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available The steam reforming of ethanol over Ni on Ce-ZrO2 support, (Ni/ Ce-ZrO2 were studied. The catalyst provides significantly higher reforming reactivity and excellent resistance toward carbon deposition compared to Ni/Al2O3 under the same conditions. At the temperature above 800ºC, the main products from the reforming processes over Ni/Ce-ZrO2 were H2, CO, and CO2 with small amount of CH4 depending on the inlet ethanol/steam and oxygen/ethanol ratios, whereas high hydrocarbon compounds i.e., C2H4 and C2H6 were also observed from the reforming of ethanol over Ni/Al2O3 in the range of conditions studied (700- 1000ºC.These excellent ethanol reforming performances of Ni/Ce-ZrO2 in terms of stability, reactivity and product selectivities are due to the high redox property of Ce-ZrO2. During the ethanol reforming process, in addition to the reactions on Ni surface, the gas-solid reactions between the gaseous components presented in the system (C2H5OH, C2H6, C2H4, CH4, CO2, CO, H2O, and H2 and the lattice oxygen (Ox on Ce-ZrO2 surface also take place. Among these redox reactions, the reactions of adsorbed surface hydrocarbons with the lattice oxygen (Ox (CnHm + Ox → nCO + m/2(H2 + Ox-n can eliminate the formation of high hydrocarbons (C2H6 and C2H4, which easily decompose and form carbon species on Ni surface (CnHm→ nC + m/2H2.

  6. Suppression of soil decomposers and promotion of long-lived, root herbivorous nematodes by climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stevnbak, Karen; Maraldo, Kristine; Georgieva, Slavka

    2012-01-01

    to climate change predictions for the coming decades. Removing precipitation for two summer months reduced all decomposer organisms assessed, i.e., microbial biomass, protozoa, bacteri- and fungivorous nematodes and enchytraeids, probably with negative effects on soil decomposition. Increasing temperature...... by about 1 °C reduced all nematodes including the dominant trophic group, the root herbivores, by almost 50% in the upper layer. The remaining assemblage of root herbivorous nematodes, however, shifted towards species with longer generation times, possibly because of an earlier start of plant growth...

  7. Decomposing Gender Equality along the Wage Distribution in Vietnam during the Period 2002–14

    OpenAIRE

    Tien Manh, Vu; Hiroyuki, Yamada

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we decompose the gender wage gap along the wage distribution in Vietnam during the period 2002–14 and search for the presence of a glass ceiling/sticky floor in wages using the method proposed by Chernozhukov, Fernandez-Val, and Melly (2013). We focus on the formal sector and further divide the sample by educational level, age profile, occupational type, and industry. We find evidence for a total gender wage gap with the price of skills (the price gap) being the main contributo...

  8. Species-specific effects of live roots and shoot litter on soil decomposer abundances do not forecast plant litter-nitrogen uptake

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saj, Stéphane; Mikola, Juha; Ekelund, Flemming

    2009-01-01

    and bacterial- and fungal-feeding nematodes did not differ between the live plants, litter-N uptake differed, with Holcus being the most efficient compared to Plantago and Lotus. Hence, although microbes and their feeders unquestionably control N mineralization in the soil, and their growth differs among plant......Plant species produce litter of varying quality and differ in the quality and quantity of compounds they release from live roots, which both can induce different decomposer growth in the soil. To test whether differences in decomposer growth can forecast the amount of N species acquire from plant...... litter, as suggested by theory, we grew individuals of three grassland plants-Holcus lanatus, Plantago lanceolata and Lotus corniculatus-in soils into which (15)N-labelled litter of either Holcus, Plantago or Lotus was added. We measured the effects of live roots and litter of each species on soil...

  9. Electrocatalytic properties of graphite nanofibers-supported platinum catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soo-Jin; Park, Jeong-Min; Seo, Min-Kang

    2009-09-01

    Graphite nanofibers (GNFs) treated at various temperatures were used as carbon supports to improve the efficiency of PtRu catalysts. The electrochemical properties of the PtRu/GNFs catalysts were then investigated to evaluate their potential for application in DMFCs. The results indicated that the particle size and dispersibility of PtRu in the catalysts were changed by heat treatment, and the electrochemical activity of the catalysts was improved. Consequently, it was found that heat treatments could have an influence on the surface and structural properties of GNFs, resulting in enhancing an electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts for DMFCs.

  10. 18 CFR 347.1 - Material to support request for newly established or changed property account depreciation studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... request for newly established or changed property account depreciation studies. 347.1 Section 347.1... REGULATIONS UNDER THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT OIL PIPELINE DEPRECIATION STUDIES § 347.1 Material to support request for newly established or changed property account depreciation studies. (a) Means of filing...

  11. Unified Generic Geometric-Decompositions for Consensus or Flocking Systems of Cooperative Agents and Fast Recalculations of Decomposed Subsystems Under Topology-Adjustments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei

    2016-06-01

    This paper considers a unified geometric projection approach for: 1) decomposing a general system of cooperative agents coupled via Laplacian matrices or stochastic matrices and 2) deriving a centroid-subsystem and many shape-subsystems, where each shape-subsystem has the distinct properties (e.g., preservation of formation and stability of the original system, sufficiently simple structures and explicit formation evolution of agents, and decoupling from the centroid-subsystem) which will facilitate subsequent analyses. Particularly, this paper provides an additional merit of the approach: considering adjustments of coupling topologies of agents which frequently occur in system design (e.g., to add or remove an edge, to move an edge to a new place, and to change the weight of an edge), the corresponding new shape-subsystems can be derived by a few simple computations merely from the old shape-subsystems and without referring to the original system, which will provide further convenience for analysis and flexibility of choice. Finally, such fast recalculations of new subsystems under topology adjustments are provided with examples.

  12. Peat decomposability in managed organic soils in relation to land use, organic matter composition and temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Bader

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Organic soils comprise a large yet fragile carbon (C store in the global C cycle. Drainage, necessary for agriculture and forestry, triggers rapid decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM, typically increasing in the order forest < grassland < cropland. However, there is also large variation in decomposition due to differences in hydrological conditions, climate and specific management. Here we studied the role of SOM composition on peat decomposability in a variety of differently managed drained organic soils. We collected a total of 560 samples from 21 organic cropland, grassland and forest soils in Switzerland, monitored their CO2 emission rates in lab incubation experiments over 6 months at two temperatures (10 and 20 °C and related them to various soil characteristics, including bulk density, pH, soil organic carbon (SOC content and elemental ratios (C / N, H / C and O / C. CO2 release ranged from 6 to 195 mg CO2-C g−1 SOC at 10 °C and from 12 to 423 mg g−1 at 20 °C. This variation occurring under controlled conditions suggests that besides soil water regime, weather and management, SOM composition may be an underestimated factor that determines CO2 fluxes measured in field experiments. However, correlations between the investigated chemical SOM characteristics and CO2 emissions were weak. The latter also did not show a dependence on land-use type, although peat under forest was decomposed the least. High CO2 emissions in some topsoils were probably related to the accrual of labile crop residues. A comparison with published CO2 rates from incubated mineral soils indicated no difference in SOM decomposability between these soil classes, suggesting that accumulation of recent, labile plant materials that presumably account for most of the evolved CO2 is not systematically different between mineral and organic soils. In our data set, temperature sensitivity of decomposition (Q10 on average 2.57

  13. [Electronic and structural properties of individual nanometer-size supported metallic clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reifenberger, R.

    1993-01-01

    This report summarizes the work performed under contract DOE-FCO2-84ER45162. During the past ten years, our study of electron emission from laser-illuminated field emission tips has taken on a broader scope by addressing problems of direct interest to those concerned with the unique physical and chemical properties of nanometer-size clusters. The work performed has demonstrated that much needed data can be obtained on individual nanometer-size clusters supported on a wide-variety of different substrates. The work was performed in collaboration with R.P. Andres in the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. The Multiple Expansion Cluster Source developed by Andres and his students was essential for producing the nanometer-size clusters studied. The following report features a discussion of these results. This report provides a motivation for studying the properties of nanometer-size clusters and summarizes the results obtained

  14. Immobilization of Lipase from Penicillium sp. Section Gracilenta (CBMAI 1583) on Different Hydrophobic Supports: Modulation of Functional Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turati, Daniela F M; Morais Júnior, Wilson G; Terrasan, César R F; Moreno-Perez, Sonia; Pessela, Benevides C; Fernandez-Lorente, Gloria; Guisan, Jose M; Carmona, Eleonora C

    2017-02-22

    Lipases are promising enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of triacylglycerol ester bonds at the oil/water interface. Apart from allowing biocatalyst reuse, immobilization can also affect enzyme structure consequently influencing its activity, selectivity, and stability. The lipase from Penicillium sp. section Gracilenta (CBMAI 1583) was successfully immobilized on supports bearing butyl, phenyl, octyl, octadecyl, and divinylbenzyl hydrophobic moieties wherein lipases were adsorbed through the highly hydrophobic opened active site. The highest activity in aqueous medium was observed for the enzyme adsorbed on octyl support, with a 150% hyperactivation regarding the soluble enzyme activity, and the highest adsorption strength was verified with the most hydrophobic support (octadecyl Sepabeads), requiring 5% Triton X-100 to desorb the enzyme from the support. Most of the derivatives presented improved properties such as higher stability to pH, temperature, and organic solvents than the covalently immobilized CNBr derivative (prepared under very mild experimental conditions and thus a reference mimicking free-enzyme behavior). A 30.8- and 46.3-fold thermostabilization was achieved in aqueous medium, respectively, by the octyl Sepharose and Toyopearl butyl derivatives at 60 °C, in relation to the CNBr derivative. The octyl- and phenyl-agarose derivatives retained 50% activity after four and seven cycles of p -nitrophenyl palmitate hydrolysis, respectively. Different derivatives exhibited different properties regarding their properties for fish oil hydrolysis in aqueous medium and ethanolysis in anhydrous medium. The most active derivative in ethanolysis of fish oil was the enzyme adsorbed on a surface covered by divinylbenzyl moieties and it was 50-fold more active than the enzyme adsorbed on octadecyl support. Despite having identical mechanisms of immobilization, different hydrophobic supports seem to promote different shapes of the adsorbed open active site of the

  15. Electrode property of single-walled carbon nanotubes in all-solid-state lithium ion battery using polymer electrolyte

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakamoto, Y.; Ishii, Y.; Kawasaki, S.

    2016-01-01

    Electrode properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in an all-solid-state lithium ion battery were investigated using poly-ethylene oxide (PEO) solid electrolyte. Charge-discharge curves of SWCNTs in the solid electrolyte cell were successfully observed. It was found that PEO electrolyte decomposes on the surface of SWCNTs.

  16. Electrode property of single-walled carbon nanotubes in all-solid-state lithium ion battery using polymer electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakamoto, Y.; Ishii, Y.; Kawasaki, S., E-mail: kawasaki.shinji@nitech.ac.jp [Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso, Showa, Nagoya, Aichi (Japan)

    2016-07-06

    Electrode properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in an all-solid-state lithium ion battery were investigated using poly-ethylene oxide (PEO) solid electrolyte. Charge-discharge curves of SWCNTs in the solid electrolyte cell were successfully observed. It was found that PEO electrolyte decomposes on the surface of SWCNTs.

  17. Bacteria in decomposing wood and their interactions with wood-decay fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Sarah R; Boddy, Lynne; Weightman, Andrew J

    2016-11-01

    The fungal community within dead wood has received considerable study, but far less attention has been paid to bacteria in the same habitat. Bacteria have long been known to inhabit decomposing wood, but much remains underexplored about their identity and ecology. Bacteria within the dead wood environment must interact with wood-decay fungi, but again, very little is known about the form this takes; there are indications of both antagonistic and beneficial interactions within this fungal microbiome. Fungi are hypothesised to play an important role in shaping bacterial communities in wood, and conversely, bacteria may affect wood-decay fungi in a variety of ways. This minireview considers what is currently known about bacteria in wood and their interactions with fungi, and proposes possible associations based on examples from other habitats. It aims to identify key knowledge gaps and pressing questions for future research. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Influence of phosphorus and potassium impurities on the properties of vanadium oxide supported on TiO2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Hengstum, A.J.; Pranger, J.; van Ommen, J.G.; Gellings, P.J.

    1984-01-01

    The catalytic properties of vanadium oxide catalysts supported on TiO2 from Tioxide were strongly affected by phosphorus and potassium, present as impurities in the TiO2 support. The effects observed were stronaly dependent on the type of hydrocarbon oxidised. In the oxidation of toluene to benzoic

  19. Mechanical Properties of Supports and Half‐Cells for Solid Oxide Electrolysis Influenced by Alumina‐Zirconia Composites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Charlas, Benoit; Ni, De Wei; Frandsen, Henrik Lund

    2017-01-01

    In order to improve the durability and robustness of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) and stacks, it is necessary to improve the strength of its components. In cathode supported SOEC, the main structural component is the Ni(O)- YSZ support. But the strength of the half-cell or cell is also...... determined by the strength of other weaker components and by the residual stress state induced by the thermal expansion mismatch. In this study, the mechanical properties of Ni(O)-3YSZ supports with a reference composition and with substitution of 3YSZ by 20A3YSZ (3YSZ with 20 wt.% Al2O3) have been tested...... and compared. The initial interest of this substitution are a decrease of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch within the half-cell and the fact that 20A3YSZ is stronger than 3YSZ. The influence of the process on the composition, strength, elastic properties and electrical conductivity...

  20. The influence of the mechanical properties on fuel rod support characteristics – A case study of dual cooled fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Yong; Kim, Hyung Kyu; Ko, Sung Ho

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Spring characterization test and analysis were performed to obtain characteristic curves of modified H-type spring. • Using an actual mechanical property is needed to correctly predict the spring characteristics. • The characteristics during unloading should be used for a spacer grid support design. - Abstract: This paper concerns a finite element analysis for a spacer grid support (spring and dimple) design. An accurate prediction of the support characteristics (contact force vs. deflection) is the most crucial in the design by analysis. It is found that the mechanical properties are the key parameter to simulate the characteristics as close as the experimental results after using three different sets of mechanical property data including the actual tensile test results of the present material for a spacer grid of a dual cooled fuel. Besides, the validity of using the characteristics during unloading process is also discussed incorporating a possible overshoot of the support. The coincidence between the present finite element prediction and experimental results is quite good: less than 3.09% at most

  1. Nonlinear Waves on Stochastic Support: Calcium Waves in Astrocyte Syncytia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, P.; Cornell-Bell, A. H.

    Astrocyte-signaling has been observed in cell cultures and brain slices in the form of Calcium waves. Their functional relevance for neuronal communication, brain functions and diseases is, however, not understood. In this paper, the propagation of intercellular calcium waves is modeled in terms of waves in excitable media on a stochastic support. We utilize a novel method to decompose the spatiotemporal patterns into space-time clusters (wave fragments). Based on this cluster decomposition, a statistical description of wave patterns is developed.

  2. Three-dimensional temperature field model of thermally decomposing resin composite irradiated by laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Minsun; Jiang Houman; Liu Zejin

    2011-01-01

    Fundamental equations governing the temperature field of thermally decomposing resin composite irradiated by laser are derived from mass and energy conservation laws with the control Janume method. The thermal decomposition of resin is described by a multi-step model. An assumption is proposed that the flow of pyrolysis gas is one-dimensional, which makes it possible to consider the influence of pyrolysis gas convective transport and realize the closure of the three-dimensional model without introducing mechanical quantities. In view of the anisotropy of resin composite, expressions of the thermal conductivities of partially pyrolyzed material are deduced, as well as the computing formula for the laser absorption coefficient of partially pyrolyzed material. The energy conservation equation is consistent with reference under some simplifications. (authors)

  3. First-principles study of SF{sub 6} decomposed gas adsorbed on Au-decorated graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xiaoxing, E-mail: xiaoxing.zhang@outlook.com [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Yu, Lei; Gui, Yingang [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Hu, Weihua [Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715 (China)

    2016-03-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We theoretically investigated the decomposed gaseous components of sulfur hexafluoride (SF{sub 6}), namely, H{sub 2}S, SO{sub 2}, SOF{sub 2}, and SO{sub 2}F{sub 2}, adsorbed on pristine and Au-embedded graphene based on DFT-D, in which the van der Waals effect is considered. • H{sub 2}S, SO{sub 2}, SOF{sub 2}, and SO{sub 2}F{sub 2} are chemisorption on Au-doped graphene, appreciably stronger than physisorption on pristine graphene in which the van der Waals dominates. • Only H{sub 2}S exhibits n-type doping to Au-graphene, whereas the rest gases exhibit p-type doping. The n-type and p-type sensing behaviors that Au-doped graphene displays to different gases play a crucial role in selective sensing application. • Magnetic moments fluctuate substantially in the original Au-graphene when H{sub 2}S and SO{sub 2} are adsorbed. While the adsorption effects of SOF{sub 2} and SO{sub 2}F{sub 2} generate magnetism quenching. The different changes of magnetic moments in every adsorption system provide another approach to selective detection. • The charge transfer mechanism is deeply discussed in this paper. - Abstract: We theoretically investigated the decomposed gaseous components of sulfur hexafluoride (SF{sub 6}), namely, H{sub 2}S, SO{sub 2}, SOF{sub 2}, and SO{sub 2}F{sub 2}, adsorbed on pristine and Au-embedded graphene based on the revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof calculation, which empirically includes a dispersion correction (DFT-D) for van der Waals interaction with standard generalized gradient approximation. Pristine graphene exhibits weak adsorption and absence of charge transfer, which indicates barely satisfactory sensing for decomposed components. The Au atom introduces magnetism to the pristine graphene after metal-embedded decoration as well as enhances conductivity. All four molecules induce certain hybridization between the molecules and Au-graphene, which results in chemical interactions. SOF{sub 2} and SO

  4. Supporting the design of office layout meeting ergonomics requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margaritis, Spyros; Marmaras, Nicolas

    2007-11-01

    This paper proposes a method and an information technology tool aiming to support the ergonomics layout design of individual workstations in a given space (building). The proposed method shares common ideas with previous generic methods for office layout. However, it goes a step forward and focuses on the cognitive tasks which have to be carried out by the designer or the design team trying to alleviate them. This is achieved in two ways: (i) by decomposing the layout design problem to six main stages, during which only a limited number of variables and requirements are considered and (ii) by converting the ergonomics requirements to functional design guidelines. The information technology tool (ErgoOffice 0.1) automates certain phases of the layout design process, and supports the design team either by its editing and graphical facilities or by providing adequate memory support.

  5. Ultrastable gold substrates: Properties of a support for high-resolution electron cryomicroscopy of biological specimens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Christopher J.; Passmore, Lori A.

    2016-01-01

    Electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) allows structure determination of a wide range of biological molecules and specimens. All-gold supports improve cryo-EM images by reducing radiation-induced motion and image blurring. Here we compare the mechanical and electrical properties of all-gold supports to amorphous carbon foils. Gold supports are more conductive, and have suspended foils that are not compressed by differential contraction when cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures. These measurements show how the choice of support material and geometry can reduce specimen movement by more than an order of magnitude during low-dose imaging. We provide methods for fabrication of all-gold supports and preparation of vitrified specimens. We also analyse illumination geometry for optimal collection of high resolution, low-dose data. Together, the support structures and methods herein can improve the resolution and quality of images from any electron cryomicroscope. PMID:26592474

  6. Prediction of Five Softwood Paper Properties from its Density using Support Vector Machine Regression Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esperanza García-Gonzalo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Predicting paper properties based on a limited number of measured variables can be an important tool for the industry. Mathematical models were developed to predict mechanical and optical properties from the corresponding paper density for some softwood papers using support vector machine regression with the Radial Basis Function Kernel. A dataset of different properties of paper handsheets produced from pulps of pine (Pinus pinaster and P. sylvestris and cypress species (Cupressus lusitanica, C. sempervirens, and C. arizonica beaten at 1000, 4000, and 7000 revolutions was used. The results show that it is possible to obtain good models (with high coefficient of determination with two variables: the numerical variable density and the categorical variable species.

  7. Elastic properties of rigid fiber-reinforced composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, J.; Thorpe, M. F.; Davis, L. C.

    1995-05-01

    We study the elastic properties of rigid fiber-reinforced composites with perfect bonding between fibers and matrix, and also with sliding boundary conditions. In the dilute region, there exists an exact analytical solution. Around the rigidity threshold we find the elastic moduli and Poisson's ratio by decomposing the deformation into a compression mode and a rotation mode. For perfect bonding, both modes are important, whereas only the compression mode is operative for sliding boundary conditions. We employ the digital-image-based method and a finite element analysis to perform computer simulations which confirm our analytical predictions.

  8. Nematophagous fungi from decomposing cattle faeces in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saumell, Carlos Alfredo; Fernández, Alicia Silvina; Fusé, Luis Alberto; Rodríguez, Manuela; Sagüés, María Federica; Iglesias, Lucía Emilia

    2015-01-01

    Biological control of gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants by use of nematophagous fungi would become part of any livestock parasite integral control system. Identifying autochthonous species that could then be selected for mass production is an important phase in the practical use of biological control. To search for nematophagous fungi with potential use as biological control agents against gastrointestinal nematodes in Argentina. Decomposing cattle faeces sampled in different locations were incubated in water agar 2% with Panagrellus sp. The developed nematophagous fungi were transferred to new water agar 2% plates and then to corn meal agar plates in order to carry out their identification. Fungal diversity and richness were also assessed. Seventeen species from nine genera of nematophagous fungi were found. Twelve species were nematode-trapping fungi and three species plus two fungi identified to genus level corresponded to endoparasitic fungi. Arthrobotrys conoides, Arthrobotrys oligospora, Duddingtonia flagrans, Monacrosporium doedycoides, Arthrobotrys robusta and Drechmeria coniospora were the most frequently isolated species overall in the whole study (6.6%, 5.7%, 5.7%, 5.7%, 4.7% and 4.7%, respectively) although other species were more frequently recorded at local levels such as Arthrobotrys pyriformis (18.8%). Only A. conoides has been previously isolated from ruminant faecal samples in Argentina. Five nematode-trapping fungal species are mentioned for the first time in the Americas D. flagrans and A. conoides, both identified in the present study, are among the most promising ones as biological control agents against gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants. Copyright © 2013 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  9. Decomposing Black-White Wage Gaps Across Distributions: Young U.S. Men and Women in 1990 vs. 2011

    OpenAIRE

    Richey, Jeremiah; Tromp, Nikolas

    2016-01-01

    We investigate changes in black-white wage gaps across wage distributions for young men and women in the U.S. between 1990 and 2011. Gaps are decomposed into composition and structural effects using a semi-parametric framework. Further, we investigate the roles of occupational choice and self-selection. We find a fall in the composition effect shrinks the wage gap at the lower end of the distribution for men and women. Conversely, an increase in the composition effect for men, and...

  10. Synthesis and tribological properties of antimony N, N-diethanoldithiocarbamate

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李丽; 黄可龙; 瞿龙; 舒万艮

    2001-01-01

    Antimony N, N-diethanoldithiocarbamate was synthesized with diethanolamine, antimony trioxide and carbon disulfide. The influences of temperature, reaction time, solvents and their dosages were investigated, and the optimum synthesis conditions were: reaction temperature 15~20 ℃, reaction time 2.5 h, 250 mL CH3OH as solvent and the hot CH3OH as recrystallization solvent. Element analysis, IR, 1HNMR and 13CNMR spectra were used to study its chemical composition and molecular structure. Antimony N, N-diethanol-dithiocarbamate was added in the base oil, and its properties of wear resistance and extreme pressure were studied by FB, FD and WSD. The synthesis product behaves per fectly as wear resistance and extreme pressure additive and its extreme pressure property is superior to its wear resistance property. The mechanism of tribological action was discussed by using XPS and AES spectra, and the reason of good wear resistance and extreme pressure properties is that the synthesis product decompose element C, S and N.

  11. Influence of straw incorporation with and without straw decomposer on soil bacterial community structure and function in a rice-wheat cropping system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jun; Ni, Tian; Xun, Weibing; Huang, Xiaolei; Huang, Qiwei; Ran, Wei; Shen, Biao; Zhang, Ruifu; Shen, Qirong

    2017-06-01

    To study the influence of straw incorporation with and without straw decomposer on bacterial community structure and biological traits, a 3-year field experiments, including four treatments: control without fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer (NPK), chemical fertilizer plus 7500 kg ha -1 straw incorporation (NPKS), and chemical fertilizer plus 7500 kg ha -1 straw incorporation and 300 kg ha -1 straw decomposer (NPKSD), were performed in a rice-wheat cropping system in Changshu (CS) and Jintan (JT) city, respectively. Soil samples were taken right after wheat (June) and rice (October) harvest in both sites, respectively. The NPKS and NPKSD treatments consistently increased crop yields, cellulase activity, and bacterial abundance in both sampling times and sites. Moreover, the NPKS and NPKSD treatments altered soil bacterial community structure, particularly in the wheat harvest soils in both sites, separating from the CK and NPK treatments. In the rice harvest soils, both NPKS and NPKSD treatments had no considerable impacts on bacterial communities in CS, whereas the NPKSD treatment significantly shaped bacterial communities compared to the other treatments in JT. These practices also significantly shifted the bacterial composition of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) rather than shared OTUs. The relative abundances of copiotrophic bacteria (Proteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria) were positively correlated with soil total N, available N, and available P. Taken together, these results indicate that application of straw incorporation with and without straw decomposer could particularly stimulate the copiotrophic bacteria, enhance the soil biological activity, and thus, contribute to the soil productivity and sustainability in agro-ecosystems.

  12. {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst supports for synthesis gas production: influence of different alumina bonding agents on support and catalyst properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marturano, M. [Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Procesos Cataliticos, La Plata (Argentina); Aglietti, E.F. [Centro de Tecnologia de Recursos Minerales y Ceramica (CETMIC), Gonnet (Argentina); Ferretti, O. [Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Procesos Cataliticos, La Plata (Argentina)]|[Univ. Nacional de La Plata, Dept. de Ingenieria Quimica de la Facultad de Ingenieria, La Plata (Argentina)

    1997-02-01

    Aluminas are widely used as catalytic supports in chemical reactions. Reforming reactions to obtain synthesis gas requires good mechanical strength and low sintering behaviour. In this work, the influence of bentonite, aluminium phosphate and alumina gel as binder agents of a calcined {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} are analyzed with respect to support and catalytic properties. The {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} supports, calcined at 1300 C, are then impregnated with solutions of Ni and Al inorganic salts to obtain the catalysts and are finally tested in the reforming reaction of methane to synthesis gas at 500-900 C. Supports and catalysts are characterized by XRD, SEM, N{sub 2} adsorption, mechanical strength test and other techniques. Mechanical strength depends on the type and quantity of binder material used during support preparation. The influence of the support on the performance of the resulting catalyst is evidenced by means of catalytic tests. (orig.) 8 refs.

  13. Decomposing Nekrasov decomposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morozov, A.; Zenkevich, Y.

    2016-01-01

    AGT relations imply that the four-point conformal block admits a decomposition into a sum over pairs of Young diagrams of essentially rational Nekrasov functions — this is immediately seen when conformal block is represented in the form of a matrix model. However, the q-deformation of the same block has a deeper decomposition — into a sum over a quadruple of Young diagrams of a product of four topological vertices. We analyze the interplay between these two decompositions, their properties and their generalization to multi-point conformal blocks. In the latter case we explain how Dotsenko-Fateev all-with-all (star) pair “interaction” is reduced to the quiver model nearest-neighbor (chain) one. We give new identities for q-Selberg averages of pairs of generalized Macdonald polynomials. We also translate the slicing invariance of refined topological strings into the language of conformal blocks and interpret it as abelianization of generalized Macdonald polynomials.

  14. Decomposing Nekrasov decomposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morozov, A. [ITEP,25 Bolshaya Cheremushkinskaya, Moscow, 117218 (Russian Federation); Institute for Information Transmission Problems,19-1 Bolshoy Karetniy, Moscow, 127051 (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI,31 Kashirskoe highway, Moscow, 115409 (Russian Federation); Zenkevich, Y. [ITEP,25 Bolshaya Cheremushkinskaya, Moscow, 117218 (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI,31 Kashirskoe highway, Moscow, 115409 (Russian Federation); Institute for Nuclear Research of Russian Academy of Sciences,6a Prospekt 60-letiya Oktyabrya, Moscow, 117312 (Russian Federation)

    2016-02-16

    AGT relations imply that the four-point conformal block admits a decomposition into a sum over pairs of Young diagrams of essentially rational Nekrasov functions — this is immediately seen when conformal block is represented in the form of a matrix model. However, the q-deformation of the same block has a deeper decomposition — into a sum over a quadruple of Young diagrams of a product of four topological vertices. We analyze the interplay between these two decompositions, their properties and their generalization to multi-point conformal blocks. In the latter case we explain how Dotsenko-Fateev all-with-all (star) pair “interaction” is reduced to the quiver model nearest-neighbor (chain) one. We give new identities for q-Selberg averages of pairs of generalized Macdonald polynomials. We also translate the slicing invariance of refined topological strings into the language of conformal blocks and interpret it as abelianization of generalized Macdonald polynomials.

  15. Correlating PSf Support Physicochemical Properties with the Formation of Piperazine-Based Polyamide and Evaluating the Resultant Nanofiltration Membrane Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Micah Belle Marie Yap Ang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Membrane support properties influence the performance of thin-film composite nanofiltration membranes. We fabricated several polysulfone (PSf supports. The physicochemical properties of PSf were altered by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG of varying molecular weights (200–35,000 g/mol. This alteration facilitated the formation of a thin polyamide layer on the PSf surface during the interfacial polymerization reaction involving an aqueous solution of piperazine containing 4-aminobenzoic acid and an organic solution of trimesoyl chloride. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared validated the presence of PEG in the membrane support. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy illustrated that the thin-film polyamide layer morphology transformed from a rough to a smooth surface. A cross-flow filtration test indicated that a thin-film composite polyamide membrane comprising a PSf support (TFC-PEG20k with a low surface porosity, small pore size, and suitable hydrophilicity delivered the highest water flux and separation efficiency (J = 81.1 ± 6.4 L·m−2·h−1, RNa2SO4 = 91.1% ± 1.8%, and RNaCl = 35.7% ± 3.1% at 0.60 MPa. This membrane had a molecular weight cutoff of 292 g/mol and also a high rejection for negatively charged dyes. Therefore, a PSf support exhibiting suitable physicochemical properties endowed a thin-film composite polyamide membrane with high performance.

  16. Development and psychometric properties of the client's assessment of treatment scale for supported accommodation (CAT-SA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandhu, Sima; Killaspy, Helen; Krotofil, Joanna; McPherson, Peter; Harrison, Isobel; Dowling, Sarah; Arbuthnott, Maurice; Curtis, Sarah; King, Michael; Leavey, Gerard; Shepherd, Geoff; Priebe, Stefan

    2016-02-25

    Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are important for evaluating mental health services. Yet, no specific PROM exists for the large and diverse mental health supported accommodation sector. We aimed to produce and validate a PROM specifically for supported accommodation services, by adapting the Client's Assessment of Treatment Scale (CAT) and assessing its psychometric properties in a large sample. Focus groups with service users in the three main types of mental health supported accommodation services in the United Kingdom (residential care, supported housing and floating outreach) were conducted to adapt the contents of the original CAT items and assess the acceptability of the modified scale (CAT-SA). The CAT-SA was then administered in a survey to service users across England. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Convergent validity was tested through correlations with subjective quality of life and satisfaction with accommodation, as measured by the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). All seven original items of the CAT were regarded as relevant to appraisals of mental health supported accommodation services, with only slight modifications to the wording required. In the survey, data were obtained from 618 clients. The internal consistency of the CAT-SA items was 0.89. Mean CAT-SA scores were correlated with the specific accommodation item on the MANSA (r s  = 0.37, p ˂ .001). The content of the CAT-SA has relevance to service users living in mental health supported accommodation. The findings from our large survey show that the CAT-SA is acceptable across different types of supported accommodation and suggest good psychometric properties. The CAT-SA appears a valid and easy to use PROM for service users in mental health supported accommodation services.

  17. Transport properties and pore-network structure in variably-saturated Sphagnum peat soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hamamoto, Shoichiro; Dissanayaka, Shiromi Himalika; Kawamoto, K.

    2016-01-01

    Gas and water transport in peat soil are of increasing interest because of their potentially large environmental and climatic effects under different types of land use. In this research, the water retention curve (WRC), gas diffusion coefficient (Dg) and air and water permeabilities (ka and kw......) of layers in peat soil from two profiles were measured under different moisture conditions. A two-region Archie's Law (2RAL)-type model was applied successfully to the four properties; the reference point was taken at -9.8kPa of soil-water matric potential where volume shrinkage typically started to occur....... For WRC in the very decomposed peat soil, the 2RAL saturation exponents (n) obtained for both the wetter (nw) and drier regions (nd) were smaller than those for the less decomposed peat. For Dg, the saturation exponent in the wetter region was larger than that in the drier one for all layers, which...

  18. Litter decomposing fungi in sal (Shorea robusta forests of central India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RAM KEERTI VERMA

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Soni KK, Pyasi A, Verma RK. 2011. Litter decomposing fungi in sal (Shorea robusta forests of central India. Nusantara Bioscience 3: 136-144. The present study aim on isolation and identification of fungi associated with decomposition of litter of sal forest in central India. Season wise successional changes in litter mycoflora were determined for four main seasons of the year namely, March-May, June-August, September-November and December-February. Fungi like Aspergillus flavus, A. niger and Rhizopus stolonifer were associated with litter decomposition throughout the year, while Aspergillus fumigatus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. oxysporum, Curvularia indica, and C. lunata were recorded in three seasons. Some fungi including ectomycorrhiza forming occur only in the rainy season (June-August these are Astraeus hygrometricus, Boletus fallax, Calvatia elata, Colletotrichum dematium, Corticium rolfsii, Mycena roseus, Periconia minutissima, Russula emetica, Scleroderma bovista, S. geaster, S. verrucosum, Scopulariopsis alba and four sterile fungi. Fungi like Alternaria citri, Gleocladium virens, Helicosporium phragmitis and Pithomyces cortarum were rarely recorded only in one season.

  19. Effect of protective gas on the properties of the pure support of super-martensitic stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zappa, Sebastian; Svoboda, Hernan G; Ramini de Rissone, N.Mabel; Surian, Estela S; De Vedia, Luis A

    2006-01-01

    This work studied the effect of protective gas on the operability, mechanical properties and microstructure of the super-martensitic stainless pure support metal, deposited with a metal-cored tubular wire, using the semi-automatic welding process under gaseous protection. Three pure support test tubes were welded following ANSI/AWS A5.22-95, with a 1.2 mm diameter tubular wire using three gaseous mixtures as protection: 70 % Ar-30 % He, 98 % Ar-2 % Co 2 and 82 % Ar-18 % Co 2 . The welding position was by hand with an average thermal support of 1.1 kJ/mm. Transverse cuts were extracted from each welded coupon for metallography and chemical composition, 1 'Minitrac' traction test piece and about 20 test pieces for a V-Charpy impact trial. The microstructure was defined with optic and scanning electronic microscopes and with X-ray diffraction. Micro hardness profiles were determined as well as the properties in traction and on impact. With reference to operability, the number of spatters increased noticeably with an increased content of Co 2 in the protective mixture. The content of Mn, Si and Mo dropped after increasing the gas oxidation potential. Regarding the mechanical properties small variations in the flow limit, the resistance to traction and the hardness for the different gaseous mixtures used were observed. A slight drop in the absorbed energy, with an increase in the Co2 content in the protective gas was noted in the V-Charpy impact tests carried out at 20, 0, -20, -40 and -60 o C. Expressions were obtained that correlated the measured properties with the oxidation potential of the gas for these materials. The microstructure consists of martensite, ferrite and retained austenite. Significant variations were not observed in the ferrite and austenite fractions for the different gases that were used (CW)

  20. Effect of herbicides on microbiological properties of soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milošević Nada A.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Microorganisms decompose herbicides and they may serve as bioindicators of soil changes following herbicide application. Certain microbial species may be used as bioherbicides. This study has shown that Azotobacter is most sensitive to herbicide application; it is, therefore, a reliable indicator of the biological value of soil. The numbers of this group of nitrogen-fixing bacteria decrease considerably in the period of 7-14 days after herbicide application. Simultaneously, the numbers of Actinomycetes and less so of fungi increase, indicating that these microorganisms use herbicides as sources of biogenous elements. Rate of herbicidal decomposition depends on the properties of the preparation applied herbicide dose as well as on the physical and chemical soil properties, soil moisture and temperature, ground cover, agrotechnical measures applied and the resident microbial population.

  1. Biochemical and molecular characterization of an atypical manganese peroxidase of the litter-decomposing fungus Agrocybe praecox.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildén, Kristiina; Mäkelä, Miia R; Steffen, Kari T; Hofrichter, Martin; Hatakka, Annele; Archer, David B; Lundell, Taina K

    2014-11-01

    Agrocybe praecox is a litter-decomposing Basidiomycota species of the order Agaricales, and is frequently found in forests and open woodlands. A. praecox grows in leaf-litter and the upper soil and is able to colonize bark mulch and wood chips. It produces extracellular manganese peroxidase (MnP) activities and mineralizes synthetic lignin. In this study, the A. praecox MnP1 isozyme was purified, cloned and enzymatically characterized. The enzyme catalysed the oxidation of Mn(2+) to Mn(3+), which is the specific reaction for manganese-dependent class II heme-peroxidases, in the presence of malonate as chelator with an activity maximum at pH 4.5; detectable activity was observed even at pH 7.0. The coding sequence of the mnp1 gene demonstrates a short-type of MnP protein with a slightly modified Mn(2+) binding site. Thus, A. praecox MnP1 may represent a novel group of atypical short-MnP enzymes. In lignocellulose-containing cultures composed of cereal bran or forest litter, transcription of mnp1 gene was followed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. On spruce needle litter, mnp1 expression was more abundant than on leaf litter after three weeks cultivation. However, the expression was constitutive in wheat and rye bran cultures. Our data show that the atypical MnP of A. praecox is able to catalyse Mn(2+) oxidation, which suggests its involvement in lignocellulose decay by this litter-decomposer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Modelling soil nitrogen: The MAGIC model with nitrogen retention linked to carbon turnover using decomposer dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oulehle, F.; Cosby, B.J.; Wright, R.F.; Hruška, J.; Kopáček, J.; Krám, P.; Evans, C.D.; Moldan, F.

    2012-01-01

    We present a new formulation of the acidification model MAGIC that uses decomposer dynamics to link nitrogen (N) cycling to carbon (C) turnover in soils. The new model is evaluated by application to 15–30 years of water chemistry data at three coniferous-forested sites in the Czech Republic where deposition of sulphur (S) and N have decreased by >80% and 40%, respectively. Sulphate concentrations in waters have declined commensurately with S deposition, but nitrate concentrations have shown much larger decreases relative to N deposition. This behaviour is inconsistent with most conceptual models of N saturation, and with earlier versions of MAGIC which assume N retention to be a first-order function of N deposition and/or controlled by the soil C/N ratio. In comparison with earlier versions, the new formulation more correctly simulates observed short-term changes in nitrate leaching, as well as long-term retention of N in soils. The model suggests that, despite recent deposition reductions and recovery, progressive N saturation will lead to increased future nitrate leaching, ecosystem eutrophication and re-acidification. - Highlights: ► New version of the biogeochemical model MAGIC developed to simulate C/N dynamics. ► New formulation of N retention based directly on the decomposer processes. ► The new formulation simulates observed changes in nitrate leaching and in soil C/N. ► The model suggests progressive N saturation at sites examined. ► The model performance meets a growing need for realistic process-based simulations. - Process-based modelling of nitrogen dynamics and acidification in forest ecosystems.

  3. Photo-Catalytic Properties of TiO2 Supported on MWCNTs, SBA-15 and Silica-Coated MWCNTs Nanocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramoraswi, Nteseng O; Ndungu, Patrick G

    2015-12-01

    Mesoporous silica, specifically SBA-15, acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes and a hybrid nanocomposite of SBA-15 coated onto the sidewalls acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared and used as supports for anatase TiO2. Sol-gel methods were adapted for the synthesis of selected supports and for coating the materials with selected wt% loading of titania. Physical and chemical properties of the supports and catalyst composite materials were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. The photo-activity of the catalyst composites were evaluated on the decolorisation of methylene blue as a model pollutant. Coating CNTs with SBA-15 improved the thermal stability and textural properties of the nanotubes. All supported titania composites had high surface areas (207-301 m(2)/g), altered band gap energies and reduced TiO2 crystallite sizes. The TiO2/SBA-CNT composite showed enhanced photo-catalytic properties and activity than the TiO2/SBA-15 and TiO2/CNT composites. In addition, an interesting observation was noted with the TiO2/SBA-15 nanocomposites, which had a significantly greater photo-catalytic activity than the TiO2/CNT nanocomposites in spite of the high electron-hole recombination phenomena observed with the photoluminescence results. Discussions in terms of morphological, textural and physical-chemical aspects to account for the result are presented.

  4. Decomposing race and gender differences in underweight and obesity in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averett, Susan L; Stacey, Nicholas; Wang, Yang

    2014-12-01

    Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study, we document differentials in both underweight and obesity across race and gender in post-Apartheid South Africa. Using a nonlinear decomposition method, we decompose these differences across gender within race and then across race within gender. Less than one third of the differences in obesity and underweight across gender are explained by differences in covariates. In contrast, at least 70% of the obesity differences across race are explained by differences in covariates. Behavioral variables such as smoking and exercise explain the largest part of the bodyweight differentials across gender. For bodyweight differentials across race within gender, however, socioeconomic status and background variables have the largest explanatory power for obesity differentials, while background variables play the key role in explaining the underweight differentials. These results indicate that eradicating obesity and underweight differentials will require targeting policies to specific groups. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Decomposing highly edge-connected graphs into homomorphic copies of a fixed tree

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merker, Martin

    2016-01-01

    far this conjecture has only been verified for paths, stars, and a family of bistars. We prove a weaker version of the Tree Decomposition Conjecture, where we require the subgraphs in the decomposition to be isomorphic to graphs that can be obtained from T by vertex-identifications. We call......The Tree Decomposition Conjecture by Barát and Thomassen states that for every tree T there exists a natural number k(T) such that the following holds: If G is a k(T)-edge-connected simple graph with size divisible by the size of T, then G can be edge-decomposed into subgraphs isomorphic to T. So...... such a subgraph a homomorphic copy of T. This implies the Tree Decomposition Conjecture under the additional constraint that the girth of G is greater than the diameter of T. As an application, we verify the Tree Decomposition Conjecture for all trees of diameter at most 4....

  6. Linear units improve articulation between social and physical constructs: An example from caregiver parameterization for children supported by complex medical technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezruczko, N.; Stanley, T.; Battle, M.; Latty, C.

    2016-11-01

    Despite broad sweeping pronouncements by international research organizations that social sciences are being integrated into global research programs, little attention has been directed toward obstacles blocking productive collaborations. In particular, social sciences routinely implement nonlinear, ordinal measures, which fundamentally inhibit integration with overarching scientific paradigms. The widely promoted general linear model in contemporary social science methods is largely based on untransformed scores and ratings, which are neither objective nor linear. This issue has historically separated physical and social sciences, which this report now asserts is unnecessary. In this research, nonlinear, subjective caregiver ratings of confidence to care for children supported by complex, medical technologies were transformed to an objective scale defined by logits (N=70). Transparent linear units from this transformation provided foundational insights into measurement properties of a social- humanistic caregiving construct, which clarified physical and social caregiver implications. Parameterized items and ratings were also subjected to multivariate hierarchical analysis, then decomposed to demonstrate theoretical coherence (R2 >.50), which provided further support for convergence of mathematical parameterization, physical expectations, and a social-humanistic construct. These results present substantial support for improving integration of social sciences with contemporary scientific research programs by emphasizing construction of common variables with objective, linear units.

  7. Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in child vaccination: results from Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doherty, Edel; Walsh, Brendan; O'Neill, Ciaran

    2014-06-05

    There is limited knowledge of the extent of or factors underlying inequalities in uptake of childhood vaccination in Ireland. This paper aims to measure and decompose socioeconomic inequalities in childhood vaccination in the Republic of Ireland. The analysis was performed using data from the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland survey, a nationally representative survey of the carers of over 11,000 nine-month old babies collected in 2008 and 2009. Multivariate analysis was conducted to explore the child and parental factors, including socioeconomic factors that were associated with non-vaccination of children. A concentration index was calculated to measure inequality in childhood vaccination. Subsequent decomposition analysis identified key factors underpinning observed inequalities. Overall the results confirm a strong socioeconomic gradient in childhood vaccination in the Republic of Ireland. Concentration indices of vaccination (CI=-0.19) show a substantial pro-rich gradient. Results from the decomposition analysis suggest that a substantial proportion of the inequality is explained by household level variables such as socioeconomic status, household structure, income and entitlement to publicly funded care (29.9%, 24% 30.6% and 12.9% respectively). Substantial differences are also observed between children of Irish mothers and immigrant mothers from developing countries. Vaccination was less likely in lower than in higher income households. Access to publicly funded services was an important factor in explaining inequalities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Algebraic and analyticity properties of the n-point function in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bros, Jacques

    1970-01-01

    The general theory of quantized fields (axiomatic approach) is investigated. A systematic study of the algebraic properties of all the Green functions of a local field, which generalize the ordinary retarded and advanced functions, is presented. The notion emerges of a primitive analyticity domain of the n-point function, and of the existence of auxiliary analytic functions into which the various Green functions can be decomposed. Certain processes of analytic completion are described, and then applied to enlarging the primitive domain, particularly for the case n = 4; among the results the crossing property for all scattering amplitudes which involve two incoming and two outgoing particles is proved. (author) [fr

  9. Properties of the malarial proteins Pf2, Pf9 and PfP0, which support ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Properties of the malarial proteins Pf2, Pf9 and PfP0, which support their roles as immune targets. Antibodies raised to each of these proteins (or purified from immune adults) inhibit the growth of Plasmodium falciparum at the red cell invasion step. The proteins are localized on the parasite cell surface. Each protein is ...

  10. Influence of (phospho)lipases on properties of mica supported phospholipid layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jurak, Malgorzata, E-mail: mjurak@interia.pl [Department of Physical Chemistry-Interfacial Phenomena, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Maria Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 2, 20031 Lublin (Poland); Chibowski, Emil [Department of Physical Chemistry-Interfacial Phenomena, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Maria Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 2, 20031 Lublin (Poland)

    2010-08-15

    The effect of enzymes: lipase from Candida cylindracea (L{sub Cc}), phospholipase A{sub 2} from hog pancreas (PLA{sub 2}) and phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus (PLC) to modulate wetting properties of solid supported phospholipid bilayers was studied via advancing and receding contact angle measurements of water, formamide and diiodomethane, and calculation of the surface free energy and its components from van Oss et al. (LWAB) and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) approaches. Simultaneously, topography of the studied layers was determined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The investigated lipid bilayers were transferred on mica plates from subphase of pure water by means of Langmuir-Blodgett and Langmuir-Schaefer techniques. The investigated phospolipid layers were: saturated DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), unsaturated DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), and their mixture DPPC/DOPC. The obtained results revealed that the lipid membrane degradation by the enzymes caused increase in its surface free energy due to the amphiphilic hydrolysis products, which may accumulate in the lipid bilayer. In result activity of the enzymes may increase and then break down the bilayer structure takes place. It is likely that after dissolution of the hydrolysis reaction products in the bulk phase, patches of bare mica surface are accessible, which contribute to the apparent surface free energy changes. Comparison of AFM images and the free energy changes of the layers gives better insight into changes of their properties. The observed gradual increase in the layer surface free energy allows controlling of the hydrolysis process to obtain the surfaces of defined properties.

  11. Accumulation of Trace Metal Elements (Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in Surface Sediment via Decomposed Seagrass Leaves: A Mesocosm Experiment Using Zostera marina L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shinya Hosokawa

    Full Text Available Accumulation of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in the sediment of seagrass ecosystems was examined using mesocosm experiments containing Zostera marina (eelgrass and reference pools. Lead was approximately 20-fold higher in the surface sediment in the eelgrass pool than in eelgrass leaves and epiphytes on the eelgrass leaves, whereas zinc and cadmium were significantly lower in the surface sediment than in the leaves, with intermediate concentrations in epiphytes. Copper concentrations were similar in both the surface sediment and leaves but significantly lower in epiphytes. Carbon and nitrogen contents increased significantly with increasing δ13C in surface sediments of both the eelgrass and reference pools. Copper, Zn, Cd, and Pb also increased significantly with increasing δ13C in the surface sediment in the eelgrass pool but not in the reference pool. By decomposition of eelgrass leaves with epiphytes, which was examined in the eelgrass pool, copper and lead concentrations increased more than 2-fold and approximately a 10-fold, whereas zinc and cadmium concentrations decreased. The high copper and lead concentrations in the surface sediment result from accumulation in decomposed, shed leaves, whereas zinc and cadmium remobilized from decomposed shed leaves but may remain at higher concentrations in the leaves than in the original sediments. The results of our mesocosm study demonstrate that whether the accumulation or remobilization of trace metals during the decomposition of seagrass leaves is trace metal dependent, and that the decomposed seagrass leaves can cause copper and lead accumulation in sediments in seagrass ecosystems.

  12. Communities of fungi in decomposed wood of oak and pine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwaśna Hanna

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The abundance and diversity of wood decomposing fungi were investigated by isolating and cultivating filamentous fungi from wood and by detection of fruit bodies of ascomycetous and basidiomycetous fungi. The objective was to study the impact of forest management on fungi in 100-year-old oak and 87-year-old Scots pine forests in Northern Poland. Fungi were found on coarse woody debris of decayed stumps and fallen logs, boughs and branches in each of the three (managed and unmanaged examined stands. In total, 226 species of Oomycota and fungi were recorded. Oak wood was colonized by one species of Oomycota and 141 species of fungi including Zygomycota (19 species, Ascomycota (103 species and Basidiomycota (19 species. Scots pine wood was also colonized by one species of Oomycota and 138 species of fungi including Zygomycota (19 species, Ascomycota (90 species and Basidiomycota (29 species. In the first, second and third stages of decomposition, the oak wood was colonized by 101, 89 and 56 species of fungi respectively and pine wood was colonized by 82, 103 and 47 species respectively. Eighty three of the observed species (37% occurred on both types of wood, while the other species displayed nutritional preferences. A decrease in the number of species with advancing decay indicates the necessity for a continuous supply of dead wood to the forest ecosystem.

  13. Material properties of CorCap passive cardiac support device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chitsaz, Sam; Wenk, Jonathan F; Ge, Liang; Wisneski, Andrew; Mookhoek, Aart; Ratcliffe, Mark B; Guccione, Julius M; Tseng, Elaine E

    2013-01-01

    Myocardial function deteriorates during ventricular remodeling in patients with congestive heart failure (HF). Ventricular restraint therapy using a cardiac support device (CSD) is designed to reduce the amount of stress inside the dilated ventricles, which in turn halts remodeling. However, as an open mesh surrounding the heart, it is unknown what the mechanical properties of the CSD are in different fiber orientations. Composite specimens of CorCap (Acorn Cardiovascular, Inc, St. Paul, MN) CSD fabric and silicone were constructed in different fiber orientations and tested on a custom-built biaxial stretcher. Silicone controls were made and stretched to detect the parameters of the matrix. CSD coefficients were calculated using the composite and silicone matrix stress-strain data. Stiffness in different fiber orientations was determined. Silicone specimens exerted a linear behavior, with stiffness of 2.57 MPa. For the composites with 1 fiber set aligned with respect to the stretch axes, stiffness in the direction of the aligned fiber set was higher than that in the cross-fiber direction (14.39 MPa versus 5.66 MPa), indicating greater compliance in the cross-fiber direction. When the orientation of the fiber sets in the composite were matched to the expected clinical orientation of the implanted CorCap, the stiffness in the circumferential axis (with respect to the heart) was greater than in the longitudinal axis (10.55 MPa versus 9.70 MPa). The mechanical properties of the CorCap demonstrate directionality with greater stiffness circumferentially than longitudinally. Implantation of the CorCap clinically should take into account the directionality of the biomechanics to optimize ventricular restraint. Copyright © 2013 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Forensic Identification of Decomposed Human Body through Comparison between Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem CT Images of Frontal Sinuses: Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhonan Ferreira Silva

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this paper is to report on a case of positive human identification of a decomposed body after the comparison of ante-mortem (AM and port-mortem (PM computed tomography images of frontal sinus. Case report: An unknown, highly decomposed human body, aged between 30 and 40 years, was found in a forest region in Brazil. The dental autopsy revealed several teeth missing AM and the presence of removable partial prostheses. The search for AM data resulted in a sequence of 20 axial images of the paranasal sinuses obtained by Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT. PM reproduction of the MSCT images was performed in order to enable a comparative identification. After a direct confrontation between AM/PM MSCT, the data were collected for morphological findings, specifically for the lateral expansion of the left lobe, the anteroposterior dimension, and the position of median and accessory septa of the sinuses. Conclusion: The importance of storing and interpreting radiographic medical data properly is highlighted in this text, thus pointing out the importance of application of forensic radiology in the field of law.

  15. Can organic matter hide from decomposers in the labyrinth of soil aggregates? Micro-engineered Soil Chips challenging foraging fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Edith C.; Aleklett, Kristin; Arellano Caicedo, Carlos G.; Bengtsson, Martin; Micaela Mafla Endara, Paola; Ohlsson, Pelle

    2017-04-01

    From the point of view of microorganisms, the soil environment is an enormously complex labyrinth with paths and dead-end streets, where resources and shelters are unevenly distributed. We study foraging strategies of soil organisms, especially fungi, and the possibility of physio-spatial stabilization of organic matter by "hiding" in occluded soil spaces. We manipulate growth habitat microstructure with lab-on-a-chip techniques, where we designed complex environments with channels and obstacle at dimensions of the size of hyphae, and construct them in the transparent, gas-permeable polymer PDMS. We fill those with different nutrient solutions or combine with mineral nutrient gradients, and inoculate them with soil organisms. We analyze organisms and substrates with microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and analytical chemistry. We compared different soil litter decomposers and an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus for their ability to forage through complex air-gap structures and attempt to classify them into functional traits concerning their mycelium directionality, space-exploring approach and ability to grow through acute angles and narrow constrictions. We identified structures which are very difficult to penetrate for most species, and compounds located behind such features may thus be spatially unavailable for decomposers. We discuss our approach in comparison to soil pore space tomographic analyses and findings we made in the pore space of colonized wood biochar.

  16. Electrochemical water splitting using nano-zeolite Y supported tungsten oxide electrocatalysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anis, Shaheen Fatima; Hashaikeh, Raed

    2018-02-01

    Zeolites are often used as supports for metals and metal oxides because of their well-defined microporous structure and high surface area. In this study, nano-zeolite Y (50-150 nm range) and micro-zeolite Y (500-800 nm range) were loaded with WO3, by impregnating the zeolite support with ammonium metatungstate and thermally decomposing the salt thereafter. Two different loadings of WO3 were studied, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% with respect to the overall catalyst. The prepared catalysts were characterized for their morphology, structure, and surface areas through scanning electron microscope (SEM), XRD, and BET. They were further compared for their electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 0.5 M H2SO4. On comparing the bare micro-zeolite particles with the nano-form, the nano-zeolite Y showed higher currents with comparable overpotentials and lower Tafel slope of 62.36 mV/dec. WO3 loading brought about a change in the electrocatalytic properties of the catalyst. The overpotentials and Tafel slopes were observed to decrease with zeolite-3 wt.% WO3. The smallest overpotential of 60 mV and Tafel slope of 31.9 mV/dec was registered for nano-zeolite with 3 wt.% WO3, while the micro-zeolite gave an overpotential of 370 mV and a Tafel slope of 98.1 mV/dec. It was concluded that even with the same metal oxide loading, nano-zeolite showed superior performance, which is attributed to its size and hence easier escape of hydrogen bubbles from the catalyst.

  17. Kemampuan Ganoderma dan Trichoderma Mendekomposisi Serasah Acacia mangium (The Ability of Ganoderma and Trichoderma to Decompose Acacia mangium Litter)

    OpenAIRE

    SAMINGAN, Samingan

    2015-01-01

    Litter decomposition ability of fungi has an important role in forest floor ecosystem. The abilities of Ganoderma sp and Trichoderma sp to decompose Acacia mangium leaf litters at laboratory scale were observed. Litters from L and F layers in the field ca. 100 g were used as substrates in plastic bags. Each fungus was inoculating onto substrates and incubates at room temperature, then observed each month during six months. Weight losses (WL) of litter, lignin and cellulose contents during dec...

  18. Litter type affects the activity of aerobic decomposers in a boreal peatland more than site nutrient and water table regimes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Straková

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Peatlands are carbon (C storage ecosystems sustained by a high water table (WT. High WT creates anoxic conditions that suppress the activity of aerobic decomposers and provide conditions for peat accumulation. Peatland function can be dramatically affected by WT drawdown caused by climate and/or land-use change. Aerobic decomposers are directly affected by WT drawdown through environmental factors such as increased oxygenation and nutrient availability. Additionally, they are indirectly affected via changes in plant community composition and litter quality. We studied the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of WT drawdown on aerobic decomposer activity in plant litter at two stages of decomposition (incubated in the field for 1 or 2 years. We did this by profiling 11 extracellular enzymes involved in the mineralization of organic C, nitrogen (N, phosphorus (P and sulphur. Our study sites represented a three-stage chronosequence from pristine to short-term (years and long-term (decades WT drawdown conditions under two nutrient regimes (bog and fen. The litter types included reflected the prevalent vegetation: Sphagnum mosses, graminoids, shrubs and trees.

    Litter type was the main factor shaping microbial activity patterns and explained about 30 % of the variation in enzyme activities and activity allocation. Overall, enzyme activities were higher in vascular plant litters compared to Sphagnum litters, and the allocation of enzyme activities towards C or nutrient acquisition was related to the initial litter quality (chemical composition. Direct effects of WT regime, site nutrient regime and litter decomposition stage (length of incubation period summed to only about 40 % of the litter type effect. WT regime alone explained about 5 % of the variation in enzyme activities and activity allocation. Generally, enzyme activity increased following the long-term WT drawdown and the activity allocation turned from P

  19. Litter type affects the activity of aerobic decomposers in a boreal peatland more than site nutrient and water table regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straková, P.; Niemi, R. M.; Freeman, C.; Peltoniemi, K.; Toberman, H.; Heiskanen, I.; Fritze, H.; Laiho, R.

    2011-09-01

    Peatlands are carbon (C) storage ecosystems sustained by a high water table (WT). High WT creates anoxic conditions that suppress the activity of aerobic decomposers and provide conditions for peat accumulation. Peatland function can be dramatically affected by WT drawdown caused by climate and/or land-use change. Aerobic decomposers are directly affected by WT drawdown through environmental factors such as increased oxygenation and nutrient availability. Additionally, they are indirectly affected via changes in plant community composition and litter quality. We studied the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of WT drawdown on aerobic decomposer activity in plant litter at two stages of decomposition (incubated in the field for 1 or 2 years). We did this by profiling 11 extracellular enzymes involved in the mineralization of organic C, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulphur. Our study sites represented a three-stage chronosequence from pristine to short-term (years) and long-term (decades) WT drawdown conditions under two nutrient regimes (bog and fen). The litter types included reflected the prevalent vegetation: Sphagnum mosses, graminoids, shrubs and trees. Litter type was the main factor shaping microbial activity patterns and explained about 30 % of the variation in enzyme activities and activity allocation. Overall, enzyme activities were higher in vascular plant litters compared to Sphagnum litters, and the allocation of enzyme activities towards C or nutrient acquisition was related to the initial litter quality (chemical composition). Direct effects of WT regime, site nutrient regime and litter decomposition stage (length of incubation period) summed to only about 40 % of the litter type effect. WT regime alone explained about 5 % of the variation in enzyme activities and activity allocation. Generally, enzyme activity increased following the long-term WT drawdown and the activity allocation turned from P and N acquisition towards C

  20. Incentivizing the public to support invasive species management: eurasian milfoil reduces lakefront property values.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian D Olden

    Full Text Available Economic evaluations of invasive species are essential for providing comprehensive assessments of the benefits and costs of publicly-funded management activities, yet many previous investigations have focused narrowly on expenditures to control spread and infestation. We use hedonic modeling to evaluate the economic effects of Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum invasions on lakefront property values of single-family homes in an urban-suburban landscape. Milfoil often forms dense canopies at the water surface, diminishing the value of ecosystem services (e.g., recreation, fishing and necessitating expensive control and management efforts. We compare 1,258 lakeshore property sale transactions (1995-2006 in 17 lakes with milfoil and 24 un-invaded lakes in King County, Washington (USA. After accounting for structural (e.g., house size, locational (e.g., boat launch, and environmental characteristics (e.g., water clarity of lakes, we found that milfoil has a significant negative effect on property sales price ($94,385 USD lower price, corresponding to a 19% decline in mean property values. The aggregate cost of milfoil invading one additional lake in the study area is, on average, $377,542 USD per year. Our study illustrates that invasive aquatic plants can significantly impact property values (and associated losses in property taxes that reduce local government revenue, justifying the need for management strategies that prevent and control invasions. We recommend coordinated efforts across Lake Management Districts to focus institutional support, funding, and outreach to prevent the introduction and spread of milfoil. This effort will limit opportunities for re-introduction from neighboring lakes and incentivize private landowners and natural resource agencies to commit time and funding to invasive species management.

  1. Incentivizing the public to support invasive species management: eurasian milfoil reduces lakefront property values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olden, Julian D; Tamayo, Mariana

    2014-01-01

    Economic evaluations of invasive species are essential for providing comprehensive assessments of the benefits and costs of publicly-funded management activities, yet many previous investigations have focused narrowly on expenditures to control spread and infestation. We use hedonic modeling to evaluate the economic effects of Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) invasions on lakefront property values of single-family homes in an urban-suburban landscape. Milfoil often forms dense canopies at the water surface, diminishing the value of ecosystem services (e.g., recreation, fishing) and necessitating expensive control and management efforts. We compare 1,258 lakeshore property sale transactions (1995-2006) in 17 lakes with milfoil and 24 un-invaded lakes in King County, Washington (USA). After accounting for structural (e.g., house size), locational (e.g., boat launch), and environmental characteristics (e.g., water clarity) of lakes, we found that milfoil has a significant negative effect on property sales price ($94,385 USD lower price), corresponding to a 19% decline in mean property values. The aggregate cost of milfoil invading one additional lake in the study area is, on average, $377,542 USD per year. Our study illustrates that invasive aquatic plants can significantly impact property values (and associated losses in property taxes that reduce local government revenue), justifying the need for management strategies that prevent and control invasions. We recommend coordinated efforts across Lake Management Districts to focus institutional support, funding, and outreach to prevent the introduction and spread of milfoil. This effort will limit opportunities for re-introduction from neighboring lakes and incentivize private landowners and natural resource agencies to commit time and funding to invasive species management.

  2. Mechanical properties of electron beam welds of 316LN austenitic steels at low temperature for ITER gravity support system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, P.Y.; Huo, B.L.; Kuai, K.W.

    2007-01-01

    The gravity support system in ITER not only sustains magnet system, the vacuum vessel and in-vessel components, but also endures several large forces, such as electromagnetic force, thermal load and seismic loads. Based on the ITER design report, the maximum displacement of the gravity support system is estimated to be 32 mm in radial direction at the top flange of the flexible plates during the TF coil cool down from room temperature to 80 k. Welds are located in the peak stress region and subject to cyclic loads in the top flange is a potential problem. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the welds are extremely important for this system. 316LN austenitic stainless steel has been selected as the gravity support structure materials. However, there is still lack of the related mechanical data of the welding components of 316LN stainless steel at present. In this study, we are systematically investigated the mechanical properties of the welding components at low temperature. (authors)

  3. Mitigating climate change: Decomposing the relative roles of energy conservation, technological change, and structural shift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, Gouri Shankar; Zakerinia, Saleh; Yeh, Sonia; Teter, Jacob; Morrison, Geoff

    2014-01-01

    We decompose the contribution of five drivers of energy use and CO 2 emissions reductions in achieving climate change goals over 2005–2100 for various climate policy scenarios. This study contributes to the decomposition literature in three ways. First, it disaggregates drivers of energy demand into technological progress and demand for energy services, represented in terms of useful energy, allowing us to estimate their contributions independently — an improvement over other economy-wide decomposition studies. Secondly, this approach reduces the ambiguity present in many previous measures of structural change. We delineate structural shifts into two separate measures: changes in fuel mix within a given resource or service pathway; and changes in mix among distinct energy resources or end-use services. Finally, this study applies decomposition methods to energy and emission trajectories from two mutually informing perspectives: (i) primary energy resources — crude oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables; and (ii) end-uses of energy services — residential and commercial buildings, industry, and transportation. Our results show that technological improvements and energy conservation are important in meeting climate goals in the first half of the coming century; and that nuclear and renewable energy and CCS technology are crucial in meeting more stringent goals in the second half of the century. We examine the relative roles of the drivers in reducing CO 2 emissions separately for developed and developing regions. Although the majority of energy and emission growth – and by extension the greatest opportunities for mitigation – will occur in developing countries, the decomposition shows that the relative roles of the five drivers are broadly consistent between these two regions. - Highlights: • We decompose the contribution of five drivers of energy use and CO2 emissions reductions in achieving climate change goals • We analyze differences

  4. Synthesis of Graphene-Based Sensors and Application on Detecting SF6 Decomposing Products: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoxing Zhang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Graphene-based materials have aroused enormous focus on a wide range of engineering fields because of their unique structure. One of the most promising applications is gas adsorption and sensing. In electrical engineering, graphene-based sensors are also employed as detecting devices to estimate the operation status of gas insulated switchgear (GIS. This paper reviews the main synthesis methods of graphene, gas adsorption, and sensing mechanism of its based sensors, as well as their applications in detecting SF6 decomposing products, such as SO2, H2S, SO2F2, and SOF2, in GIS. Both theoretical and experimental researches on gas response of graphene-based sensors to these typical gases are summarized. Finally, the future research trend about graphene synthesis technique and relevant perspective are also given.

  5. Decomposing the time-frequency representation of EEG using non-negative matrix and multi-way factorization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørup, Morten; Hansen, Lars Kai; Parnas, Josef

    2006-01-01

    We demonstrate how non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) can be used to decompose the inter trial phase coherence (ITPC) of multi-channel EEG to yield a unique decomposition of time-frequency signatures present in various degrees in the recording channels. The NMF optimization is easily...... generalized to a parallel factor (PARAFAC) model to form a non-negative multi-way factorization (NMWF). While the NMF can examine subject specific activities the NMWF can effectively extract the most similar activities across subjects and or conditions. The methods are tested on a proprioceptive stimulus...... consisting of a weight change in a handheld load. While somatosensory gamma oscillations have previously only been evoked by electrical stimuli we hypothesized that a natural proprioceptive stimulus also would be able to evoke gamma oscillations. ITPC maxima were determined by visual inspection...

  6. Experimentally simulated global warming and nitrogen enrichment effects on microbial litter decomposers in a marsh

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flury, Sabine; Gessner, Mark

    2011-01-01

    obtained by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) indicated that simulated global warming induced a shift in bacterial community structure. In addition, warming reduced fungal biomass, whereas bacterial biomass was unaffected. The mesh size of the litter bags and sampling date also had......Atmospheric warming and increased nitrogen deposition can lead to changes of microbial communities with possible consequences for biogeochemical processes. We used an enclosure facility in a freshwater marsh to assess the effects on microbes associated with decomposing plant litter under conditions...... of simulated climate warming and pulsed nitrogen supply. Standard batches of litter were placed in coarse-mesh and fine-mesh bags and submerged in a series of heated, nitrogen-enriched, and control enclosures. They were retrieved later and analyzed for a range of microbial parameters. Fingerprinting profiles...

  7. Psychometric Properties of Social Support Questionnaire to Measure Empowerment in Elderly Patients with Cardiovascular Disease in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Musavinasab

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Chronic diseases and functional decline can affect empowerment among the elderly in the lifestyle management to benefit from social support. Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the psychometric properties of Social Support Questionnaire to measure empowerment in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease in Iran. Method: This study was conducted on 250 elderly patients with cardiovascular disease referring to the medical centers of Bushehr city, Iran, using the convenience sampling method. Results: Content validity index and content validity ratio were calculated as 0.94 and 0.96 respectively. Based on the exploratory factor analysis, the number of the questionnaire items was reduced to 23 items. Empowerment was classified under seven factors. The internal and external reliabilities of the questionnaire were estimated as 0.85 and 0.83, respectively. Implications for Practice: The final questionnaire had appropriate psychometric properties and strength of factor structure. Therefore, this tool can be used by the healthcare providers in the health care systems of Iran.

  8. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Anja; John, Katharina; Arida, Gertrudo; Auge, Harald; Brandl, Roland; Horgan, Finbarr G; Hotes, Stefan; Marquez, Leonardo; Radermacher, Nico; Settele, Josef; Wolters, Volkmar; Schädler, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices.

  9. Characterization and photocatalytic properties of cotton fibers modified with ZnO nanoparticles using sol–gel spin coating technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Shaban

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs were prepared using the sol–gel method. Cotton fibers were loaded with ZnO nanoparticles using sol–gel spin coating technique. The prepared ZnO NPs and ZnO-coated cotton were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX. The self-cleaning property of ZnO-coated cotton and the photocatalytic removal of methyl orange dye from the contaminated water and cotton fibers were studied by measuring the optical absorbance after exposure to sunlight and Philips 200W lamp illumination. The results showed that the cotton loaded with ZnO nanoparticles could efficiently decompose 73% of methyl orange dye in the sunlight and 30.7% in the lamp illumination after 12 hours. ZnO nanoparticles decomposed methyl orange dye by 92.7% in the sunlight and 26.4% in the lamp illumination after 7 hours.

  10. Advanced oxidation processes of decomposing dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid in water

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG Kun-ping; GUO Jin-song; YANG Min; JUNJI Hirotsuji; DENG Rong-sen; LIU Wei

    2008-01-01

    We studied the decomposition of two haloacetic acids (HAAs), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), in water by single oxidants ozone (O3) and ultraviolet radiation (UV) and the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) constituted by the combinations of O3/UV, H2O2/UV, O3 /H2O2, and O3/H2O2/UV. The concentrations of HAAs were analyzed at specified time intervals to track their decomposition. Except for O3 and UV, the four combined oxidation processes remarkably enhance the decomposition of DCAA and TCAA owing to the generated very reactive hydroxyl radicals. The fastest decomposition process is O3/H2O2/UV, closely followed by O3/UV. DCAA is much easier to decompose than TCAA. The kinetics of HAA decomposition by O3/UV can be described well by a pseudo first-order reaction model under a constant initial dissolved O3 concentration and fixed UV radiation. Humic acids and HCO3- in the reaction system both decrease the decomposition rate constants for DCAA and TCAA. The amount of H2O2 accumulates in the presence of humic acids in the O3/UV process.

  11. Adsorption of SF6 decomposed gas on anatase (101) and (001) surfaces with oxygen defect: A density functional theory study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoxing; Chen, Qinchuan; Tang, Ju; Hu, Weihua; Zhang, Jinbin

    2014-01-01

    The detection of partial discharge by analyzing the components of SF6 gas in gas-insulated switchgears is important to the diagnosis and assessment of the operational state of power equipment. A gas sensor based on anatase TiO2 is used to detect decomposed gases in SF6. In this paper, first-principle density functional theory calculations are adopted to analyze the adsorption of SO2, SOF2, and SO2F2, the primary decomposition by-products of SF6 under partial discharge, on anatase (101) and (001) surfaces. Simulation results show that the perfect anatase (001) surface has a stronger interaction with the three gases than that of anatase (101), and both surfaces are more sensitive and selective to SO2 than to SOF2 and SO2F2. The selection of a defect surface to SO2, SOF2, and SO2F2 differs from that of a perfect surface. This theoretical result is corroborated by the sensing experiment using a TiO2 nanotube array (TNTA) gas sensor. The calculated values are analyzed to explain the results of the Pt-doped TNTA gas sensor sensing experiment. The results imply that the deposited Pt nanoparticles on the surface increase the active sites of the surface and the gas molecules may decompose upon adsorption on the active sites. PMID:24755845

  12. [Electronic and structural properties of individual nanometer-size supported metallic clusters]. Final performance report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reifenberger, R.

    1993-09-01

    This report summarizes the work performed under contract DOE-FCO2-84ER45162. During the past ten years, our study of electron emission from laser-illuminated field emission tips has taken on a broader scope by addressing problems of direct interest to those concerned with the unique physical and chemical properties of nanometer-size clusters. The work performed has demonstrated that much needed data can be obtained on individual nanometer-size clusters supported on a wide-variety of different substrates. The work was performed in collaboration with R.P. Andres in the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. The Multiple Expansion Cluster Source developed by Andres and his students was essential for producing the nanometer-size clusters studied. The following report features a discussion of these results. This report provides a motivation for studying the properties of nanometer-size clusters and summarizes the results obtained.

  13. Technical support for GEIS: radioactive waste isolation in geologic formations. Volume 5. Baseline rock properties-granite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-04-01

    This volume, Y/OWI/TM-36/5, Baseline Rock Properties--Granite, is one of a 23-volume series, ''Technical Support for GEIS: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-36'' which supplements a ''Contribution to Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Commercial Waste Management: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-44.'' The series provides a more complete technical basis for the preconceptual designs, resource requirements, and environmental source terms associated with isolating commercial LWR wastes in underground repositories in salt, granite, shale and basalt. Wastes are considered from three fuel cycles: uranium and plutonium recycling, no recycling of spent fuel and uranium-only recycling. This report, on the rock properties of typical granites, includes an evaluation of the various test results reported in the literature. Firstly, a literature survey was made in order to obtain a feel for the range of rock properties encountered. Then, granites representative of different geologic ages and from different parts of the United States were selected and studied in further detail. Some of the special characteristics of granite, such as anisotropy, creep and weathering were also investigated. Lastly, intact properties for a typical granite were selected and rock mass properties were derived using appropriate correction factors

  14. Bacteria associated with decomposing dead wood in a natural temperate forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tláskal, Vojtech; Zrustová, Petra; Vrška, Tomáš; Baldrian, Petr

    2017-12-01

    Dead wood represents an important pool of organic matter in forests and is one of the sources of soil formation. It has been shown to harbour diverse communities of bacteria, but their roles in this habitat are still poorly understood. Here, we describe the bacterial communities in the dead wood of Abies alba, Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica in a temperate natural forest in Central Europe. An analysis of environmental factors showed that decomposing time along with pH and water content was the strongest drivers of community composition. Bacterial biomass positively correlated with N content and increased with decomposition along with the concurrent decrease in the fungal/bacterial biomass ratio. Rhizobiales and Acidobacteriales were abundant bacterial orders throughout the whole decay process, but many bacterial taxa were specific either for young (<15 years) or old dead wood. During early decomposition, bacterial genera able to fix N2 and to use simple C1 compounds (e.g. Yersinia and Methylomonas) were frequent, while wood in advanced decay was rich in taxa typical of forest soils (e.g. Bradyrhizobium and Rhodoplanes). Although the bacterial contribution to dead wood turnover remains unclear, the community composition appears to reflect the changing conditions of the substrate and suggests broad metabolic capacities of its members. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. The detailed orbital-decomposed electronic structures of tetragonal ZrO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yan; Ji, Vincent; Xu, Ke-Wei

    2013-01-01

    The detailed orbital-decomposed electronic structures of the tetragonal zirconia have been investigated by using the first-principles projector augmented wave (PAW) potential within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) as well as taking into account the on-site Coulomb repulsive interaction (GGA+U). The deviation of the minimization energy from d z =0 to d z =±0.032 for experimental lattice constants (a=3.605 Å and c=5.180 Å) confirms the alternating displacement of the oxygen atoms, which causes half of the Zr---O bonds stronger and the other half weaker compared with the bonds in symmetric (d z =0) zirconia. The distorted tetragonal environment of the eight oxygen anions around Zr site splits the five-fold degenerate d states of a free Zr atom into triply degenerate t 2g (d xy , d yz and d zx ) states and doubly degenerate e g (d z 2 and d x 2 -y 2 ) states. The additional covalent character upon Zr-O ionic bonds are resulted from the hybridization between the O(2s), O(2p) and Zr(5s), triply degenerate t 2g (d xy , d yz and d zx ) states of Zr(4d). The O(2s) and O(2p) states are clearly separated and no hybrid bonding states are formed

  16. Litter decay controlled by temperature, not soil properties, affecting future soil carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregorich, Edward G; Janzen, Henry; Ellert, Benjamin H; Helgason, Bobbi L; Qian, Budong; Zebarth, Bernie J; Angers, Denis A; Beyaert, Ronald P; Drury, Craig F; Duguid, Scott D; May, William E; McConkey, Brian G; Dyck, Miles F

    2017-04-01

    Widespread global changes, including rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, climate warming and loss of biodiversity, are predicted for this century; all of these will affect terrestrial ecosystem processes like plant litter decomposition. Conversely, increased plant litter decomposition can have potential carbon-cycle feedbacks on atmospheric CO 2 levels, climate warming and biodiversity. But predicting litter decomposition is difficult because of many interacting factors related to the chemical, physical and biological properties of soil, as well as to climate and agricultural management practices. We applied 13 C-labelled plant litter to soil at ten sites spanning a 3500-km transect across the agricultural regions of Canada and measured its decomposition over five years. Despite large differences in soil type and climatic conditions, we found that the kinetics of litter decomposition were similar once the effect of temperature had been removed, indicating no measurable effect of soil properties. A two-pool exponential decay model expressing undecomposed carbon simply as a function of thermal time accurately described kinetics of decomposition. (R 2  = 0.94; RMSE = 0.0508). Soil properties such as texture, cation exchange capacity, pH and moisture, although very different among sites, had minimal discernible influence on decomposition kinetics. Using this kinetic model under different climate change scenarios, we projected that the time required to decompose 50% of the litter (i.e. the labile fractions) would be reduced by 1-4 months, whereas time required to decompose 90% of the litter (including recalcitrant fractions) would be reduced by 1 year in cooler sites to as much as 2 years in warmer sites. These findings confirm quantitatively the sensitivity of litter decomposition to temperature increases and demonstrate how climate change may constrain future soil carbon storage, an effect apparently not influenced by soil properties. © 2016 Her Majesty

  17. Supported Zeolite Beta Layers via an Organic Template-Free Preparation Route

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Reuss

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Layers of high silica zeolites, synthesized with an organic structure directing agent (OSDA and grown onto porous support structures, frequently suffer from the thermal stress during the removal of OSDA via the calcination process. The different thermal expansion coefficients of the zeolite and the support material, especially when stainless steel is used as a support, causes enormous tension resulting in defect formation in the zeolite layer. However, the calcination is an easy procedure to decompose the OSDA in the pore system of the zeolite. Recently, methods to synthesize zeolite beta without the use of an organic structure directing agent have been described. In the present study, a seed-directed synthesis is used to prepare OSDA-free zeolite beta layers on stainless steel supports via an in situ preparation route. For the application as membrane, a porous stainless steel support has been chosen. The beta/stainless steel composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. To prove its possible application as a membrane, the beta/stainless steel composites were also tested by single gas permeances of H2, He, CO2, N2, and CH4.

  18. Supported Zeolite Beta Layers via an Organic Template-Free Preparation Route.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuss, Stephanie; Sanwald, Dirk; Schülein, Marion; Schwieger, Wilhelm; Al-Thabaiti, Shaeel A; Mokhtar, Mohamed; Basahel, Sulaiman N

    2018-01-21

    Layers of high silica zeolites, synthesized with an organic structure directing agent (OSDA) and grown onto porous support structures, frequently suffer from the thermal stress during the removal of OSDA via the calcination process. The different thermal expansion coefficients of the zeolite and the support material, especially when stainless steel is used as a support, causes enormous tension resulting in defect formation in the zeolite layer. However, the calcination is an easy procedure to decompose the OSDA in the pore system of the zeolite. Recently, methods to synthesize zeolite beta without the use of an organic structure directing agent have been described. In the present study, a seed-directed synthesis is used to prepare OSDA-free zeolite beta layers on stainless steel supports via an in situ preparation route. For the application as membrane, a porous stainless steel support has been chosen. The beta/stainless steel composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To prove its possible application as a membrane, the beta/stainless steel composites were also tested by single gas permeances of H₂, He, CO₂, N₂, and CH₄.

  19. US Progress on Property Characterization to Support LEU U-10 Mo Monolithic Fuel Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, James Irvin [Idaho National Laboratory; Rabin, Barry H [Idaho National Laboratory; Smith, James Arthur [Idaho National Laboratory; Scott, Clark Landon [Idaho National Laboratory; Benefiel, Bradley Curtis [Idaho National Laboratory; Larsen, Eric David [Idaho National Laboratory; Lind, Robert Paul [Idaho National Laboratory; Sell, David Alan [Idaho National Laboratory

    2016-03-01

    The US High Performance Research Reactor program is pursuing development and qualification of a new high density monolithic LEU fuel to facilitate conversion of five higher power research reactors located in the US (ATR, HFIR, NBSR, MIT and MURR). In order to support fabrication development and fuel performance evaluations, new testing capabilities are being developed to evaluate the properties of fuel specimens. Residual stress and fuel-cladding bond strength are two characteristics related to fuel performance that are being investigated. In this overview, new measurement capabilities being developed to assess these characteristics in both fresh and irradiated fuel are described. Progress on fresh fuel testing is summarized and on-going hot-cell implementation efforts to support future PIE campaigns are detailed. It is anticipated that benchmarking of as-fabricated fuel characteristics will be critical to establishing technical bases for specifications that optimize fuel fabrication and ensure acceptable in-reactor fuel performance.

  20. Stoichiometric imbalances between terrestrial decomposer communities and their resources: mechanisms and implications of microbial adaptations to their resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria eMooshammer

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Terrestrial microbial decomposer communities thrive on a wide range of organic matter types that rarely ever meet their elemental demands. In this review we synthesize the current state-of-the-art of microbial adaptations to resource stoichiometry, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between heterotrophic microbial communities and their chemical environment. The stoichiometric imbalance between microbial communities and their organic substrates generally decreases from wood to leaf litter and further to topsoil and subsoil organic matter. Microbial communities can respond to these imbalances in four ways: first, they adapt their biomass composition towards their resource in a non-homeostatic behaviour. Such changes are, however, only moderate, and occur mainly because of changes in microbial community structure and less so due to cellular storage of elements in excess. Second, microbial communities can mobilize resources that meet their elemental demand by producing specific extracellular enzymes, which, in turn, is restricted by the C and N requirement for enzyme production itself. Third, microbes can regulate their element use efficiencies (ratio of element invested in growth over total element uptake, such that they release elements in excess depending on their demand (e.g., respiration and N mineralization. Fourth, diazotrophic bacteria and saprotrophic fungi may trigger the input of external N and P to decomposer communities. Theoretical considerations show that adjustments in element use efficiencies may be the most important mechanism by which microbes regulate their biomass stoichiometry. This review summarizes different views on how microbes cope with imbalanced supply of C, N and P, thereby providing a framework for integrating and linking microbial adaptation to resource imbalances to ecosystem scale fluxes across scales and ecosystems.

  1. L2 speakers decompose morphologically complex verbs: fMRI evidence from priming of transparent derived verbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie eDe Grauwe

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this fMRI long-lag priming study, we investigated the processing of Dutch semantically transparent, derived prefix verbs. In such words, the meaning of the word as a whole can be deduced from the meanings of its parts, e.g. wegleggen ‘put aside’. Many behavioral and some fMRI studies suggest that native (L1 speakers decompose transparent derived words. The brain region usually implicated in morphological decomposition is the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG. In non-native (L2 speakers, the processing of transparent derived words has hardly been investigated, especially in fMRI studies, and results are contradictory: Some studies find more reliance on holistic (i.e. non-decompositional processing by L2 speakers; some find no difference between L1 and L2 speakers. In this study, we wanted to find out whether Dutch transparent derived prefix verbs are decomposed or processed holistically by German L2 speakers of Dutch. Half of the derived verbs (e.g. omvallen ‘fall down’ were preceded by their stem (e.g. vallen ‘fall’ with a lag of 4 to 6 words (‘primed’; the other half (e.g. inslapen ‘fall asleep’ were not (‘unprimed’. L1 and L2 speakers of Dutch made lexical decisions on these visually presented verbs. Both ROI analyses and whole-brain analyses showed that there was a significant repetition suppression effect for primed compared to unprimed derived verbs in the LIFG. This was true both for the analyses over L2 speakers only and for the analyses over the two language groups together. The latter did not reveal any interaction with language group (L1 vs. L2 in the LIFG. Thus, L2 speakers show a clear priming effect in the LIFG, an area that has been associated with morphological decomposition. Our findings are consistent with the idea that L2 speakers engage in decomposition of transparent derived verbs rather than processing them holistically.

  2. Human-Assisted-Manufacturing Model Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-01

    N) 1.5.2 Wage (USD/hr) 3.2.2.3 Tooling Module While designing the tooling module we assumed that it is easier to buy machine tools from...7.4.3 Differential settlements 7.4.4 Protection and Support of Adjoining Property 7.4.5 Impacts on adjoining 7.4.6 property...foundry X make or buy subsystem S of product Y? How should foundry X decompose product Y into subsystems S and T? How should foundry X assemble

  3. Supporting of mine workings and design of support systems. Madenlerde tahkimat isleri ve tasarmi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biron, C; Arioglu, E; (Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Maden Fakultesi)

    1980-01-01

    This article deals with elements of elasticity in rocks and examines the engineering properties of rocks. It includes stress distributions around mine openings and deformations of mine openings. Strata control concept in coal mining is explained. Support systems in stone drifts, gateways, shafts and longwalls are discussed; timber supports, steel arches, articulated arches, roof bolting, concrete supports, supports on mechanized faces are detailed. Emphasis is placed upon engineering properties of materials of support systems. The design concepts of mine support systems are described. The objects of the design are expressed with several numerical examples. It concludes with stowing: pneumatic stowing, and hydraulic stowing in metal and coal mining.

  4. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Schmidt

    Full Text Available Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices.

  5. Peat decomposability in managed organic soils in relation to land use, organic matter composition and temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bader, Cédric; Müller, Moritz; Schulin, Rainer; Leifeld, Jens

    2018-02-01

    Organic soils comprise a large yet fragile carbon (C) store in the global C cycle. Drainage, necessary for agriculture and forestry, triggers rapid decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM), typically increasing in the order forest accrual of labile crop residues. A comparison with published CO2 rates from incubated mineral soils indicated no difference in SOM decomposability between these soil classes, suggesting that accumulation of recent, labile plant materials that presumably account for most of the evolved CO2 is not systematically different between mineral and organic soils. In our data set, temperature sensitivity of decomposition (Q10 on average 2.57 ± 0.05) was the same for all land uses but lowest below 60 cm in croplands and grasslands. This, in turn, indicates a relative accumulation of recalcitrant peat in topsoils.

  6. Atomic iodine production in a gas flow by decomposing methyl iodide in a dc glow discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikheyev, P A; Shepelenko, A A; Voronov, A I; Kupryaev, Nikolai V

    2002-01-01

    The production of atomic iodine for an oxygen - iodine laser is studied by decomposing methyl iodide in a dc glow discharge in a vortex gas flow. The concentration of iodine atoms in discharge products was measured from the atomic iodine absorption of the radiation of a single-frequency tunable diode laser at a wavelength of 1.315 μm. Atomic iodine concentrations sufficient for the operation of an oxygen - iodine laser were obtained. The concentration of atomic iodine amounted to 3.6 x 10 15 cm -3 for a pressure of the carrying argon gas of 15 Torr. The discharge stabilisation by a vortex gas flow allowed the glow discharge to be sustained in a strongly electronegative halogen-containing gas mixture for pressures up to 20 Torr. (active media)

  7. Poly (L-lactic acid) porous scaffold-supported alginate hydrogel with improved mechanical properties and biocompatibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Jiaqi; Zeng, Shaodong; Gao, Liyang; Groth, Thomas; Li, Zhiwen; Kong, Junchao; Zhao, Mingyan; Li, Lihua

    2016-10-10

    Polymer porous scaffolds and hydrogels have been separately employed and explored for a wide range of applications including cell encapsulation, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. In this study, a three-dimensional poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffold with interconnected and homogeneously distributed pores was fabricated to support the alginate hydrogel (Alg). The gels were filled into the porous scaffold, which acted as an analogue of native extracellular matrix (ECM) for entrapment of cells within a support of predefined shape. The mechanical strength of the composite scaffold was characterized by compression testing. The chondrocyte behavior in the scaffold was determined by inverted microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and MTT viability assay. The repair efficiency of such a composite scaffold was further investigated in dog spinal defects by histological evaluation after implantation for 4 weeks. Results showed that the composite scaffold possessed superior mechanical properties and hierarchical porous structure in comparison to pure Alg. Cell culture revealed that the cells presented a specific cartilage status in the composite scaffold in line with higher adherence and proliferation ratio. The histological analyses suggested that the composite scaffold substantially promotes its integration in the host tissue accompanied with a low inflammatory reaction and new tissue formation. The method thus provides a useful pathway for scaffold preparation that can simultaneously achieve suitable mechanical properties and good biocompatibility.

  8. Physicians' acceptance of electronic medical records exchange: an extension of the decomposed TPB model with institutional trust and perceived risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Pi-Jung

    2015-01-01

    Electronic medical records (EMRs) exchange improves clinical quality and reduces medical costs. However, few studies address the antecedent factors of physicians' intentions to use EMR exchange. Based on institutional trust and perceived risk integrated with the decomposed theory of planned behavior (TPB) model, we propose a theoretical model to explain the intention of physicians to use an EMR exchange system. We conducted a field survey in Taiwan to collect data from physicians who had experience using the EMR exchange systems. A valid sample of 191 responses was collected for data analysis. To test the proposed research model, we employed structural equation modeling using the partial least squares method. The study findings show that the following five factors have a significant influence on the physicians' intentions to use EMR exchange systems: (a) attitude; (b) subjective norm; (c) perceived behavior control; (d) institutional trust; and (e) perceived risk. These five factors are predictable by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and compatibility, interpersonal and governmental influence, facilitating conditions and self-efficacy, situational normality and structural assurance, and institutional trust, respectively. The results also indicate that institutional trust and perceived risk integrated with the decomposed TPB model improve the prediction of physician's intentions to use EMR exchange. The results of this study indicate that our research model effectively predicts the intention of physicians to use EMR exchange, and provides valuable implications for academics and practitioners. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Technical support for GEIS: radioactive waste isolation in geologic formations. Volume 7. Baseline rock properties-basalt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-04-01

    This volume, Y/OWI/TM-36/7 Baseline Rock Properties--Basalt, is one of a 23-volume series, ''Technical Support for GEIS: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-36'' which supplements a ''Contribution to Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Commercial Waste Management: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-44.'' The series provides a more complete technical basis for the preconceptual designs, resource requirements, and environmental source terms associated with isolating commercial LWR wastes in underground repositories in salt, granite, shale and basalt. Wastes are considered from three fuel cycles: uranium and plutonium recycling, no recycling of spent fuel and uranium-only recycling. This report contains an evaluation of the results of a literature survey to define the rock mass properties of a generic basalt, which could be considered as a geological medium for storing radioactive waste. The general formation and structure of basaltic rocks is described. This is followed by specific descriptions and rock property data for the Dresser Basalt, the Amchitka Island Basalt, the Nevada Test Site Basalt and the Columbia River Group Basalt. Engineering judgment has been used to derive the rock mass properties of a typical basalt from the relevant intact rock property data and the geological information pertaining to structural defects, such as joints and faults

  10. Large variability of biochar stability and biochar properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmann, J.; Nguyen, B.; Hanley, K.; Enders, A.

    2008-12-01

    In general, charring or purposeful pyrolysis increases the stability of biomass. It is less clear, however, to what extent biochar properties influence its stability. Chemical and physical properties of biochars and biomass-derived black carbons (BC) vary greatly as a function of the type of biomass it was generated from and of the production temperature. We show that these properties greatly affect the stability of BC is a function of both these factors, with highly significant interactions. BC produced from corn stalks produced at 350°C decomposed much quicker when incubated at field capacity at 30°C for one year than those produced at 600°C. In contrast, there was hardly a difference noted between those two temperatures if oak was the precursor biomass. Such differences in labile carbon not only affect the proportion of stable carbon in BC, but also influence the quantification of long-term stability. Extrapolation from short-term decay to long-term stability may require prior knowledge about the decay rate of the labile fraction of BC. Some indications are provided for the short-term oxidation of BC.

  11. Technical support for GEIS: radioactive waste isolation in geologic formations. Volume 6. Baseline rock properties-shale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-04-01

    This volume, Y/OWI/TM36/6 Baseline Rock Properties--Shale, is one of a 23-volume series, ''Technical Support for GEIS: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-36'' which supplements a ''Contribution to Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Commercial Waste Management: Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geologic Formations, Y/OWI/TM-44.'' The series provides a more complete technical basis for the preconceptual designs, resource requirements, and environmental source terms associated with isolating commercial LWR wastes in underground repositories in salt, granite, shale and basalt. Wastes are considered from three fuel cycles: uranium and plutonium recycling, no recycling of spent fuel and uranium-only recycling. The report is a result of a literature survey of the rock properties of shales occurring in the United States. Firstly, data were collected from a wide variety of sources in order to obtain a feel for the range of properties encountered. Secondly, some typical shales were selected for detailed review and these are written up as separate chapters in this report. Owing to the wide variability in lithology and properties of shales occurring in the United States, it became necessary to focus the study on consolidated illite shales. Using the specific information already generated, a consistent set of intact properties for a typical, consolidated illite shale was obtained. Correction factors, largely based on geological considerations, were then applied to the intact data in order to yield typical rock mass properties for this type of shale. Lastly, excavation problems in shale formations were reviewed and three tunnel jobs were written up as case histories

  12. The emergence of nonbulk properties in supported metal clusters: negative thermal expansion and atomic disorder in Pt nanoclusters supported on gamma-Al2O3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, Sergio I; Menard, Laurent D; Bram, Ariella; Kang, Joo H; Small, Matthew W; Nuzzo, Ralph G; Frenkel, Anatoly I

    2009-05-27

    The structural dynamics-cluster size and adsorbate-dependent thermal behaviors of the metal-metal (M-M) bond distances and interatomic order-of Pt nanoclusters supported on a gamma-Al(2)O(3) are described. Data from scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies reveal that these materials possess a dramatically nonbulklike nature. Under an inert atmosphere small, subnanometer Pt/gamma-Al(2)O(3) clusters exhibit marked relaxations of the M-M bond distances, negative thermal expansion (NTE) with an average linear thermal expansion coefficient alpha = (-2.4 +/- 0.4) x 10(-5) K(-1), large static disorder and dynamical bond (interatomic) disorder that is poorly modeled within the constraints of classical theory. The data further demonstrate a significant temperature-dependence to the electronic structure of the Pt clusters, thereby suggesting the necessity of an active model to describe the cluster/support interactions mediating the cluster's dynamical structure. The quantitative dependences of these nonbulklike behaviors on cluster size (0.9 to 2.9 nm), ambient atmosphere (He, 4% H(2) in He or 20% O(2) in He) and support identity (gamma-Al(2)O(3) or carbon black) are systematically investigated. We show that the nonbulk structural, electronic and dynamical perturbations are most dramatically evidenced for the smallest clusters. The adsorption of hydrogen on the clusters leads to an increase of the Pt-Pt bondlengths (due to a lifting of the surface relaxation) and significant attenuation of the disorder present in the system. Oxidation of these same clusters has the opposite effect, leading to an increase in Pt-Pt bond strain and subsequent enhancement in nonbulklike thermal properties. The structural and electronic properties of Pt nanoclusters supported on carbon black contrast markedly with those of the Pt/gamma-Al(2)O(3) samples in that neither NTE nor comparable levels of atomic disorder are observed. The Pt

  13. Decomposing the Site Frequency Spectrum: The Impact of Tree Topology on Neutrality Tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferretti, Luca; Ledda, Alice; Wiehe, Thomas; Achaz, Guillaume; Ramos-Onsins, Sebastian E

    2017-09-01

    We investigate the dependence of the site frequency spectrum on the topological structure of genealogical trees. We show that basic population genetic statistics, for instance, estimators of θ or neutrality tests such as Tajima's D , can be decomposed into components of waiting times between coalescent events and of tree topology. Our results clarify the relative impact of the two components on these statistics. We provide a rigorous interpretation of positive or negative values of an important class of neutrality tests in terms of the underlying tree shape. In particular, we show that values of Tajima's D and Fay and Wu's H depend in a direct way on a peculiar measure of tree balance, which is mostly determined by the root balance of the tree. We present a new test for selection in the same class as Fay and Wu's H and discuss its interpretation and power. Finally, we determine the trees corresponding to extreme expected values of these neutrality tests and present formulas for these extreme values as a function of sample size and number of segregating sites. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  14. Obesity inequality in Malaysia: decomposing differences by gender and ethnicity using quantile regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Richard A; Tan, Andrew K G; Nayga, Rodolfo M

    2012-01-01

    Obesity prevalence is unequally distributed across gender and ethnic group in Malaysia. In this paper, we examine the role of socioeconomic inequality in explaining these disparities. The body mass index (BMI) distributions of Malays and Chinese, the two largest ethnic groups in Malaysia, are estimated through the use of quantile regression. The differences in the BMI distributions are then decomposed into two parts: attributable to differences in socioeconomic endowments and attributable to differences in responses to endowments. For both males and females, the BMI distribution of Malays is shifted toward the right of the distribution of Chinese, i.e., Malays exhibit higher obesity rates. In the lower 75% of the distribution, differences in socioeconomic endowments explain none of this difference. At the 90th percentile, differences in socioeconomic endowments account for no more than 30% of the difference in BMI between ethnic groups. Our results demonstrate that the higher levels of income and education that accrue with economic development will likely not eliminate obesity inequality. This leads us to conclude that reduction of obesity inequality, as well the overall level of obesity, requires increased efforts to alter the lifestyle behaviors of Malaysians.

  15. Effect of antimicrobial on mechanical, barrier and optical properties of corn starch based self-supporting edible film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanima Chowdhury

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Antimicrobials like potassium sorbate, sodium propionate, and benzoic acid were incorporated in corn starch based formulation to investigate their effect on mechanical, water vapour barrier and optical properties of the developed self supporting edible film. The film was prepared by casting technique. When incorporated at 1.40% and above, potassium sorbate decreased the tensile strength (about 22% and increased the elongation (about 55% of control film; whereas, it increased the water vapour permeability by 15% only when added at 2.66%. At 2.66%, benzoic acid reduced the tensile strength by 24% and sodium propionate increased elongation by 17%. These two antimicrobials did not change the water vapour permeability. However, all the three antimicrobials adversely affected the optical properties by decreasing the whiteness index, increasing yellowness index, and reducing the surface gloss, with potassium sorbate showing the maximum effect. Among the three antimicrobials, sodium propionate appeared to be the best with minimum deterioration of film properties.

  16. Study of Supported Nickel Catalysts Prepared by Aqueous Hydrazine Method. Hydrogenating Properties and Hydrogen Storage: Support Effect. Silver Additive Effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wojcieszak, R.

    2006-06-01

    We have studied Ni or NiAg nano-particles obtained by the reduction of nickel salts (acetate or nitrate) by hydrazine and deposited by simple or EDTA-double impregnation on various supports (γ-Al 2 O 3 , amorphous or crystallized SiO 2 , Nb 2 O 5 , CeO 2 and carbon). Prepared catalysts were characterized by different methods (XRD, XPS, low temperature adsorption and desorption of N 2 , FTIR and FTIR-Pyridine, TEM, STEM, EDS, H 2 -TPR, H 2 -adsorption, H 2 -TPD, isopropanol decomposition) and tested in the gas phase hydrogenation of benzene or as carbon materials in the hydrogen storage at room temperature and high pressure. The catalysts prepared exhibited better dispersion and activity than classical catalysts. TOF's of NiAg/SiO 2 or Ni/carbon catalysts were similar to Pt catalysts in benzene hydrogenation. Differences in support acidity or preparation method and presence of Ag as metal additive play a crucial role in the chemical reduction of Ni by hydrazine and in the final properties of the materials. Ni/carbon catalysts could store significant amounts of hydrogen at room temperature and high pressure (0.53%/30 bars), probably through the hydrogen spillover effect. (author)

  17. Perceived Breastfeeding Support Assessment Tool (PBSAT): development and testing of psychometric properties with Pakistani urban working mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirani, Shela Akbar Ali; Karmaliani, Rozina; Christie, Thomas; Parpio, Yasmin; Rafique, Ghazala

    2013-06-01

    breast feeding is an essential source of nutrition among young babies; however, in Pakistan a gradual decline in prevalence of breast feeding, especially among urban working mothers, has been reported. Previous studies among Pakistani urban working mothers have revealed that ensuring exclusivity and continuation of breast feeding is challenging if social and/or workplace environmental support is minimal or absent. This problem indicated a crucial need to assess availability of breast-feeding support for Pakistani urban working mothers by using a comprehensive, reliable, and validated tool in their national language (Urdu). to develop and test the psychometric properties of the 'Perceived Breastfeeding Support Assessment Tool' (PBSAT) that can gauge Pakistani urban working mothers' perceptions about breast-feeding support. this methodological research was undertaken in five phases. During phase I, a preliminary draft of the PBSAT was developed by using the Socio-ecological model, reviewing literature, and referring to two United States based tools. In Phase II, the instrument was evaluated by seven different experts, and, in Phase III, the instrument was revised, translated, and back translated. In Phase IV, the tool was pilot tested among 20 participants and then modified on the basis of statistical analysis. In Phase V, the refined instrument was tested on 200 breast-feeding working mothers recruited through purposive sampling from the government and private health-care settings in Karachi, Pakistan. Approvals were received from the Ethical Review Committees of the identified settings. the 29-item based PBSAT revealed an acceptable inter-rater reliability of 0.95, and an internal consistency reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.85. A construct validity assessment through Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed that the PBSAT has two dimensions, 'workplace environmental support' (12 items; α=0.86) and 'social environmental support' (17 items; α=0.77). the

  18. Analyzing spatial variability of soil properties in the urban park before and after reconstruction to support decision-making in landscaping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romzaikina, Olga; Vasenev, Viacheslav; Khakimova, Rita

    2017-04-01

    On-going urbanization stresses a necessity for structural and aesthetically organized urban landscapes to improve citizen's life quality. Urban soils and vegetation are the main components of urban ecosystems. Urban greenery regulates the climate, controls and air quality and supports biodiversity in urban areas. Soils play a key role in supporting urban greenery. However, soils of urban parks also perform other important environmental functions. Urban soils are influenced by a variety of environmental and anthropogenic factors and, in the result, are highly heterogeneous and dynamic. Reconstructions of green zones and urban parks, usually occurring in cities, alter soil properties. Analyzing spatial variability and dynamics of soil properties is important to support decision-making in landscaping. Therefore, the research aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of the key soil properties (acidity, soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrient contents) in the urban park before and after reconstruction to support decision-making in selecting ornamental plants for landscaping. The research was conducted in the urban park named after Artyom Borovik in Moscow before (2012) and after (2014) the reconstruction. Urban soil's properties maps for both periods were created by interpolation of the field data. The observed urban soils included recreazems, urbanozems and constuctozems. Before the reconstruction soils were sampled using the uniform design (the net with 100 m side and key plots with 50m size). After the reconstructions the additional samples were collected at locations, where the land cover and functional zones changed in a result of the reconstruction.We sample from the depths 0-30, 30-50 and 50-100 cm. The following soil properties were measured: pH, SOC, K2O and P2O5. The maps of the analyzed properties were developed using open QGIS2.4 software by IDW. The vegetation in the park was examined using the scale of the visual assessment. The results of the visual

  19. Physical properties of the Schur complement of local covariance matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haruna, L F; Oliveira, M C de

    2007-01-01

    General properties of global covariance matrices representing bipartite Gaussian states can be decomposed into properties of local covariance matrices and their Schur complements. We demonstrate that given a bipartite Gaussian state ρ 12 described by a 4 x 4 covariance matrix V, the Schur complement of a local covariance submatrix V 1 of it can be interpreted as a new covariance matrix representing a Gaussian operator of party 1 conditioned to local parity measurements on party 2. The connection with a partial parity measurement over a bipartite quantum state and the determination of the reduced Wigner function is given and an operational process of parity measurement is developed. Generalization of this procedure to an n-partite Gaussian state is given, and it is demonstrated that the n - 1 system state conditioned to a partial parity projection is given by a covariance matrix such that its 2 x 2 block elements are Schur complements of special local matrices

  20. Characterization of porosity in support of mechanical property analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, R.H.; Martin, R.J. III; Boyd, P.J.

    1992-01-01

    Previous laboratory investigations of tuff have shown that porosity has a dominant, general effect on mechanical properties. As a result, it is very important for the interpretation of mechanical property data that porosity is measured on each sample tested. Porosity alone, however, does not address all of the issues important to mechanical behavior. Variability in size and distribution of pore space produces significantly different mechanical properties. A nondestructive technique for characterizing the internal structure of the sample prior to testing is being developed and the results are being analyzed. The information obtained from this technique can help in both qualitative and quantitative interpretation of test results

  1. resin as polymer-supported synthesis support

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    molecules since it offers advantages such as the ease of reaction work-up and automation.1 The success of a SPOS strategy depends on the properties of the solid supports in many critical ways.2 The solid sup- ports used most widely in ...

  2. Properties of Neurons in External Globus Pallidus Can Support Optimal Action Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogacz, Rafal; Martin Moraud, Eduardo; Abdi, Azzedine; Magill, Peter J.; Baufreton, Jérôme

    2016-01-01

    The external globus pallidus (GPe) is a key nucleus within basal ganglia circuits that are thought to be involved in action selection. A class of computational models assumes that, during action selection, the basal ganglia compute for all actions available in a given context the probabilities that they should be selected. These models suggest that a network of GPe and subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons computes the normalization term in Bayes’ equation. In order to perform such computation, the GPe needs to send feedback to the STN equal to a particular function of the activity of STN neurons. However, the complex form of this function makes it unlikely that individual GPe neurons, or even a single GPe cell type, could compute it. Here, we demonstrate how this function could be computed within a network containing two types of GABAergic GPe projection neuron, so-called ‘prototypic’ and ‘arkypallidal’ neurons, that have different response properties in vivo and distinct connections. We compare our model predictions with the experimentally-reported connectivity and input-output functions (f-I curves) of the two populations of GPe neurons. We show that, together, these dichotomous cell types fulfil the requirements necessary to compute the function needed for optimal action selection. We conclude that, by virtue of their distinct response properties and connectivities, a network of arkypallidal and prototypic GPe neurons comprises a neural substrate capable of supporting the computation of the posterior probabilities of actions. PMID:27389780

  3. Polystyrene-Supported Acyclic Diaminocarbene Palladium Complexes in Sonogashira Cross-Coupling: Stability vs. Catalytic Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir N. Mikhaylov

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Two types of immobilized on the amino-functionalized polystyrene-supported acyclic diaminocarbene palladium complexes (ADC-PdII are investigated under Sonogashira cross-coupling conditions. Depending on substituents in the diaminocarbene fragment immobilized ADC-PdII, systems are found to have different catalytic activity and stability regarding Pd-leaching. PdII-diaminocarbenes possessing protons at both nitrogen atoms smoothly decompose into Pd0-containing species providing a catalytic “cocktail system” with high activity and ability to reuse within nine runs. Polymer-supported palladium (II complex bearing NBn–Ccarbene–NH-moiety exhibits greater stability while noticeably lower activity under Sonogashira cross-coupling. Four molecular ADC-PdII complexes are also synthesized and investigated with the aim of confirming proposed base-promoted pathway of ADC-PdII conversion through carbodiimide into an active Pd0 forms.

  4. Investigation on the Activity Activation and Cementitious Property of Coal Gangue with High Iron and Silica Contents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hong; Li, Yu; Teng, Min; Yang, Yu

    2017-11-01

    The activity of coal gangue by thermal activation and composite activation technologies was investigated. The crystal composition, framework structure and morphology change were analyzed by XRD, FT-IR and SEM, respectively. The cementitious property of coal gangue was measured by strength test. The results showed that thermal activation decomposed kaolinite in coal gangue, and formed the metastable structure with a porous state, multiple internal broken bonds and large specific surface areas. Based on thermal activation, the added lime provided the alkaline environment, then this reduced the bond energy of reactant particles and the degree of crystallinity of quartz in coal gangue. The two activation methods could effectively improve the cementitious property of coal gangue based unburned bricks, and that the composite activation technology was superior performance.

  5. Application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takuya Hishinuma

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR spectroscopy was applied to coarse woody debris (CWD in different stages of decomposition and collected from forest floor of a subtropical, a cool temperate, and a subalpine forest in Japan. The purpose was to test its applicability to characterize organic chemical composition of CWD of broad-leaved and coniferous trees from different climatic conditions. O-alkyl-C, mainly representing carbohydrates, was the predominant component of CWD at the three sites, accounting for 43.5-58.1% of the NMR spectra. Generally, the relative area under the signals for aromatic-C and phenolic-C, mainly representing lignin, increased, whereas the relative area for O-alkyl-C decreased, as the decay class advanced. The relative area under NMR chemical shift regions was significantly correlated with the chemical properties examined with proximate analyses. That is, O-alkyl-C and di-O-alkyl-C NMR signal areas were positively correlated with the volumetric density of CWD and the content of total carbohydrates. Methoxyl-C, aromatic-C, phenolic-C, carboxyl-C, and carbonyl-C were positively correlated with the contents of acid-unhydrolyzable residues (lignin, tannins, and cutin and nitrogen. Lignin-C calculated from NMR signals increased, and polysaccharide-C decreased, with the decay class of CWD at the three study sites. A review of previous studies on 13C NMR spectroscopy for decomposing CWD suggested further needs of its application to broad-leaved trees from tropical and subtropical regions.

  6. Development of Tubular Type Underwater Discharge Reactor to decompose Fe-EDTA from aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Duck-Won; Kim, Seok-Tae; Kim, Jin Kil; Ki, Hyung-Dong

    2007-01-01

    In case of a nuclear industry, the wastewater is hardly generated in normal operating conditions aside from laundry rooms, particularly for wastewater contaminated by radioactive materials. However if the steam generator (SG) chemical cleaning works are carrying out, it is another story. In this case we have to predict wastewater production at least from several tons to several hundreds tons during the works. Actually Kori Unit 4 in Korea is preparing the advanced sludge conditioning agents (ASCAs) project at the next overhaul period, June-2007, to remove the tube sheet scale, and we are predicting that the 200 . 250 tons waste solutions are going to produce during this works. SG chemical cleaning waste solution containing chelating agents such as EDTA is hardly easy to purify and radioactive materials included in this solution make much harder. Therefore we must have technologies to purify this chemical cleaning waste solution. The best wastewater treatment system should have great adaptability, low environmental impact, low amount of hazardous waste, and low capital and operating costs. In this study we developed the underwater spark discharge system (USDS) to decompose Fe-EDTA from aqueous solution which is contaminated with radioactive materials

  7. Transfer of N and P from intact or decomposing roots of pea to barley interconnected by an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, A.; Jensen, E.S.

    1996-01-01

    of growth. In half of the containers, the donor-plant shoot was removed 42 d after the start of labelling and the roots were left in the soil to decompose. The reverse transfer of N and P, from barley donor to pea receiver plants was also measured to allow calculation of the net transfer through hyphae...... by G, intraradices. The results for P transfer followed the same patterns as was observed for N, although in smaller proportions. The results indicate that arbuscular mycorrhizas may play a significant role in the flow of N and P between two plants interconnected by hyphae, when the root system of one...

  8. Trend Prediction and Decomposed Driving Factors of Carbon Emissions in Jiangsu Province during 2015–2020

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Decai Tang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available According to the economic and energy consumption statistics in Jiangsu Province, we combined the GM (1, 1 grey model and polynomial regression to forecast carbon emissions. Historical and projected emissions were decomposed using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI approach to assess the relative contribution of different factors to emission variability. The results showed that carbon emissions will continue to increase in Jiangsu province during 2015–2020 period and cumulative carbon emissions will increase by 39.5487 million tons within the forecast period. The growth of gross domestic product (GDP per capita plays the greatest positive role in driving carbon emission growth. Furthermore, the improvement of energy usage efficiency is the primary factor responsible for reducing carbon emissions. Factors of population, industry structure adjustment and the optimization of fuel mix also help to reduce carbon emissions. Based on the LMDI analysis, we provide some advice for policy-makers in Jiangsu and other provinces in China.

  9. Particle Communication and Domain Neighbor Coupling: Scalable Domain Decomposed Algorithms for Monte Carlo Particle Transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Brien, M. J.; Brantley, P. S.

    2015-01-20

    In order to run Monte Carlo particle transport calculations on new supercomputers with hundreds of thousands or millions of processors, care must be taken to implement scalable algorithms. This means that the algorithms must continue to perform well as the processor count increases. In this paper, we examine the scalability of:(1) globally resolving the particle locations on the correct processor, (2) deciding that particle streaming communication has finished, and (3) efficiently coupling neighbor domains together with different replication levels. We have run domain decomposed Monte Carlo particle transport on up to 221 = 2,097,152 MPI processes on the IBM BG/Q Sequoia supercomputer and observed scalable results that agree with our theoretical predictions. These calculations were carefully constructed to have the same amount of work on every processor, i.e. the calculation is already load balanced. We also examine load imbalanced calculations where each domain’s replication level is proportional to its particle workload. In this case we show how to efficiently couple together adjacent domains to maintain within workgroup load balance and minimize memory usage.

  10. Effect of support structure on CO2 adsorption properties of pore-expanded hyperbranched aminosilicas

    KAUST Repository

    Drese, Jeffrey H.; Choi, Sunho; Didas, Stephanie A.; Bollini, Praveen; Gray, McMahan L.; Jones, Christopher W.

    2012-01-01

    Hyperbranched aminosilica (HAS) CO 2 adsorbents are prepared by the ring-opening polymerization of aziridine from SBA-15 mesoporous silica, as in the original synthesis of HAS materials, as well as over an array of new support materials with substantially larger average pore diameters to elucidate the effect of support porosity on final adsorbent properties. Pore-expanded hyperbranched aminosilica (PEHAS) CO 2 adsorbents are prepared from several different pore-expanded, ordered mesoporous silicas including pore-expanded SBA-15, mesocellular foam, and a large-pore commercial silica. The effect of the nature of the silica support is determined by examining the degree of aziridine polymerization and the CO 2 adsorption kinetics and capacities of the resulting organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Comparisons are made to non-pore-expanded SBA-15 based HAS adsorbents, reported previously, where pores become blocked at higher amine loadings. The PEHAS materials unexpectedly possess lower amine loadings than the previously reported HAS materials and do not exhibit pore blocking. The use of acetic acid as a catalyst during PEHAS synthesis only marginally increases amine loading. The adsorption kinetics of PEHAS adsorbents are similar to HAS adsorbents with low amine loadings and do not show the detrimental effects of pore-blocking. However, the inability to synthesize PEHAS adsorbents with high amine loadings via this approach limits the total amount of CO 2 captured per gram of material, compared to HAS adsorbents with high amine loadings. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Effect of support structure on CO2 adsorption properties of pore-expanded hyperbranched aminosilicas

    KAUST Repository

    Drese, Jeffrey H.

    2012-03-01

    Hyperbranched aminosilica (HAS) CO 2 adsorbents are prepared by the ring-opening polymerization of aziridine from SBA-15 mesoporous silica, as in the original synthesis of HAS materials, as well as over an array of new support materials with substantially larger average pore diameters to elucidate the effect of support porosity on final adsorbent properties. Pore-expanded hyperbranched aminosilica (PEHAS) CO 2 adsorbents are prepared from several different pore-expanded, ordered mesoporous silicas including pore-expanded SBA-15, mesocellular foam, and a large-pore commercial silica. The effect of the nature of the silica support is determined by examining the degree of aziridine polymerization and the CO 2 adsorption kinetics and capacities of the resulting organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Comparisons are made to non-pore-expanded SBA-15 based HAS adsorbents, reported previously, where pores become blocked at higher amine loadings. The PEHAS materials unexpectedly possess lower amine loadings than the previously reported HAS materials and do not exhibit pore blocking. The use of acetic acid as a catalyst during PEHAS synthesis only marginally increases amine loading. The adsorption kinetics of PEHAS adsorbents are similar to HAS adsorbents with low amine loadings and do not show the detrimental effects of pore-blocking. However, the inability to synthesize PEHAS adsorbents with high amine loadings via this approach limits the total amount of CO 2 captured per gram of material, compared to HAS adsorbents with high amine loadings. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Cost Forecasting of Substation Projects Based on Cuckoo Search Algorithm and Support Vector Machines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongxiao Niu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Accurate prediction of substation project cost is helpful to improve the investment management and sustainability. It is also directly related to the economy of substation project. Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD can decompose variables with non-stationary sequence signals into significant regularity and periodicity, which is helpful in improving the accuracy of prediction model. Adding the Gauss perturbation to the traditional Cuckoo Search (CS algorithm can improve the searching vigor and precision of CS algorithm. Thus, the parameters and kernel functions of Support Vector Machines (SVM model are optimized. By comparing the prediction results with other models, this model has higher prediction accuracy.

  13. 197Au Moessbauer study of nano-sized gold catalysts supported on Mg(OH)2 and TiO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Y.; Nasu, S.; Tsubota, S.; Haruta, M.

    2000-01-01

    We have studied nano-sized Au catalysts supported on Mg(OH) 2 and TiO 2 using 197 Au Moessbauer spectroscopy. 197 Au Moessbauer spectra observed for Au/Mg(OH) 2 catalysts can be decomposed into one singlet with zero isomer shift and several doublets. One of the doublets shows an isomer shift that is typical for Au I , and other doublets are due to Au III . The relative area of the Au I component shows the maximum value for a specimen calcined at 523 K, which also shows the highest catalytic activity

  14. Thermal decomposition of nitrate salts liquid waste for the lagoon sludge treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, D. S.; Oh, J. H.; Kim, Y. K.; Lee, K. Y.; Choi, Y. D.; Hwang, S. T.; Park, J. H.

    2004-01-01

    This study investigated the thermal decomposition property of nitrate salts liquid waste which is produced in a series of the processes for the sludge treatment. Thermal decomposition property was analyzed by TG/DTA and XRD. Most ammonium nitrate in the nitrate salts liquid waste was decomposed at 250 .deg. C and calcium nitrate was decomposed and converted into calcium oxide at 550 .deg. C. Sodium nitrate was decomposed at 700 .deg. C and converted into sodium oxide which reacts with water easily. But sodium oxide was able to convert into a stable compound by adding alumina. Therefore, nitrate salts liquid waste can be treated by two steps as follows. First, ammonium nitrate is decomposed at 250 .deg. C. Second, alumina is added in residual solid sodium nitrate and calcium nitrate and these are decomposed at 900 .deg. C. Final residue consists of calcium oxide and Na 2 O.Al 2 O 3 and can be stored stably

  15. Metal and nutrient dynamics in decomposing tree litter on a metal contaminated site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Nevel, Lotte; Mertens, Jan; Demey, Andreas; De Schrijver, An; De Neve, Stefaan; Tack, Filip M.G.; Verheyen, Kris

    2014-01-01

    In a forest on sandy, metal polluted soil, we examined effects of six tree species on litter decomposition rates and accompanied changes in metal (Cd, Zn) and nutrient (base cations, N, C) amounts. Decomposition dynamics were studied by means of a litterbag experiment lasting for 30 months. The decomposition peak occurred within the first year for all tree species, except for aspen. During litter decomposition, high metal litter types released part of their accumulated metals, whereas low metal litter types were characterized by a metal enrichment. Base cations, N and C were released from all litter types. Metal release from contaminated litter might involve risks for metal dispersion towards the soil. On the other hand, metal enrichment of uncontaminated litter may be ecologically relevant as it can be easily transported or serve as food source. - Highlights: • Litter decomposition peak occurred within the first year for all tree species, except for aspen. • Base cations, N and C were released from all litter types during decomposition. • Cd and Zn were released from the high metal litter types. • Low metal litter types were characterized by a net Cd and Zn enrichment. • Metal and nutrient releases were reflected in topsoil characteristics. - Litter decomposition rates, as well as enrichment and release dynamics of metals and nutrients in decomposing litter were divergent under the different tree species

  16. Ce, Ti modified MCM-48 mesoporous photocatalysts: Effect of the synthesis route on support and metal ion properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mureseanu, Mihaela; Filip, Mihaela; Somacescu, Simona; Baran, Adriana; Carja, Gabriela; Parvulescu, Viorica

    2018-06-01

    New Ti-MCM-48 and CeTi-MCM-48 photocatalysts were obtained by impregnation of the MCM-48 silica support synthesized by a hydrothermal process with aqueous solution of Ti and Ce precursors. The immobilization of metal cations presented a low effect on the porosity, morphology and structure of MCM-48 mesoporous silica support as was evidenced by N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction, SEM and TEM electron microscopy. EDAX analysis and X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) indicated that titanium cations were present on the mesoporous silica surface only as Ti4+ species and the effect of ceria on titanium speciation was different, compared to the CeTi-MCM-48 sample, previously obtained by direct synthesis. The photocatalytic properties of mono- and bimetallic catalysts were evaluated in degradation of phenol from water and correlated with the active metallic species concentration, distribution, speciation and their interaction with the support or each other. An advanced oxidation mechanism for phenol degradation by radical species was proposed.

  17. Fabrication and electrochemical properties of cathode-supported solid oxide fuel cells via slurry spin coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Min; Luo Jingli; Chuang, Karl T.; Sanger, Alan R.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► LSM cathode-supported cell prepared by slurry spin coating. ► Optimizing porosity in CFL resulting in power density of 0.58 W cm −2 at 850 °C. ► Activation polarization govern the impedance arcs measured under the OCV condition. ► Concentration polarization can induce the change of activation polarization. ► Four kinds of polarizations of our cells are separated and investigated. - Abstract: A cathode-supported SOFC consisting of LSM (La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3−δ ) cathode supporter, LSM–Sm 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 2−δ (SDC) cathode functional layer (CFL), yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/SDC bi-layered electrolyte and Ni-YSZ anode layer was fabricated by a slurry spin coating technique. The influence of the porosity in both the CFL and cathode supporter on the electrochemical properties of the cells has been investigated. It was found that properly controlling the porosity in the CFL would improve the performance of the cells using O 2 in the cathode side (O 2 -cells), with a maximum power density (MPD) value achieving as high as 0.58 W cm −2 at 850 °C. However, this improvement is not so evident for the cells using air in the cathode side (air-cells). When increasing the porosity in the cathode-supporter, a significant increase of the power density for the air cells due to the decreasing R conc,c (cathode concentration polarization to the cell resistance) can be ascertained. In terms of our analysis on various electrochemical parameters, the R act (activation polarization to the cell resistance) is assumed to be mainly responsible for the impedance arcs measured under the OCV condition, with a negligible R conc,c value being able to be detected in our impedances. In this case, a significant decreasing size of the impedance arcs due to the increasing porosity in the cathode supporter would correspond to a decrease of the R act values, which was proved to be induced by the decreasing R conc,c .

  18. Properties of POPC/POPE supported lipid bilayers modified with hydrophobic quantum dots on polyelectrolyte cushions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolasinska-Sojka, Marta; Wlodek, Magdalena; Szuwarzynski, Michal; Kereiche, Sami; Kovacik, Lubomir; Warszynski, Piotr

    2017-10-01

    The formation and properties of supported lipid bilayers (SLB) containing hydrophobic nanoparticles (NP) was studied in relation to underlying cushion obtained from selected polyelectrolyte multilayers. Lipid vesicles were formed from zwitterionic 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and negatively charged 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE) in phosphate buffer (PBS). As hydrophobic nanoparticles - quantum dots (QD) with size of 3.8nm (emission wavelength of 420nm) were used. Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) were constructed by the sequential, i.e., layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption of alternately charged polyelectrolytes from their solutions. Liposomes and Liposome-QDs complexes were studied with Transmission Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM) to verify the quality of vesicles and the position of QD within lipid bilayer. Deposition of liposomes and liposomes with quantum dots on polyelectrolyte films was studied in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. The fluorescence emission spectra were analyzed for both: suspension of liposomes with nanoparticles and for supported lipid bilayers containing QD on PEM. It was demonstrated that quantum dots are located in the hydrophobic part of lipid bilayer. Moreover, we proved that such QD-modified liposomes formed supported lipid bilayers and their final structure depended on the type of underlying cushion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Support influence on the properties of the alumina ceramic membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clar, C.; Scian, A.N.; Aglietti, E.F.

    2003-01-01

    The ceramic substrates used as supports for the formation of a top layer membrane must meet several requirements.Some of them are: have an average pore size and a suitable surface rugosity to obtain a homogenous top layer preventing the penetration of the membrane precursor particles into the support pores.This work analyzes the performance of the three α-Al 2 O 3 supports, with different average pore sizes and surface textures, for the formation of a membrane top layer by the dipcoating technique from colloids in suspension of aluminum basic acetate and later thermal treatment at 1000degC.The pore size distribution of the supports, the support-membrane systems and the top layer membrane was obtained by the mercury intrusion porosimetry technique.The microstructural differences of the supports and the top layer thickness were observed by MEB.It could be observed that for numerous deposits the membrane layer pore size obtained is independent on the support used and that the thickness of the last layer is lower for the greater pore size supports.The possibility of an intermediate layer between the support and the top layer was considered in every case

  20. Characterization of porosity in support of mechanical property analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, R.H.; Martin, R.J. III; Boyd, P.J.

    1993-01-01

    The general applicability of laboratory data for engineering purposes is a prime concern for the design and licensing of a potential repository of high level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. In order for the results of experiments to be applicable to the repository scale, the data must be scaled to in situ size and conditions. Previous laboratory investigations of tuff have shown that porosity has a dominant, general effect on mechanical properties. As a result, it is very important for the interpretation of mechanical property data that porosity is measured on each sampled test. Porosity alone, however, does not address all of the issues important to mechanical behavior. Variability in size and distribution of pore space produces significantly different mechanical properties. A nondestructive technique for characterizing the internal structure of the sample prior to testing is being developed and the results are being analyzed. The information obtained from this technique can help in both qualitative and quantitative interpretation of test results

  1. A Statistics-Based Material Property Analysis to Support TPS Characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copeland, Sean R.; Cozmuta, Ioana; Alonso, Juan J.

    2012-01-01

    Accurate characterization of entry capsule heat shield material properties is a critical component in modeling and simulating Thermal Protection System (TPS) response in a prescribed aerothermal environment. The thermal decomposition of the TPS material during the pyrolysis and charring processes is poorly characterized and typically results in large uncertainties in material properties as inputs for ablation models. These material property uncertainties contribute to large design margins on flight systems and cloud re- construction efforts for data collected during flight and ground testing, making revision to existing models for entry systems more challenging. The analysis presented in this work quantifies how material property uncertainties propagate through an ablation model and guides an experimental test regimen aimed at reducing these uncertainties and characterizing the dependencies between properties in the virgin and charred states for a Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) based TPS. A sensitivity analysis identifies how the high-fidelity model behaves in the expected flight environment, while a Monte Carlo based uncertainty propagation strategy is used to quantify the expected spread in the in-depth temperature response of the TPS. An examination of how perturbations to the input probability density functions affect output temperature statistics is accomplished using a Kriging response surface of the high-fidelity model. Simulations are based on capsule configuration and aerothermal environments expected during the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) entry sequence. We identify and rank primary sources of uncertainty from material properties in a flight-relevant environment, show the dependence on spatial orientation and in-depth location on those uncertainty contributors, and quantify how sensitive the expected results are.

  2. Variations in the microstructure and properties of Mn-Ti multiple-phase steel with high strength under different tempering temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dazhao; Li, Xiaonan; Cui, Tianxie; Li, Jianmin; Wang, Yutian; Fu, Peimao

    2015-03-01

    There are few relevant researches on coils by tempering, and the variations of microstructure and properties of steel coil during the tempering process also remain unclear. By using thermo-mechanical control process(TMCP) technology, Mn-Ti typical HSLA steel coils with yield strength of 920 MPa are produced on the 2250 hot rolling production line. Then, the samples are taken from the coils and tempered at the temperatures of 220 °C, 350 °C, and 620 °C respectively. After tempering the strength, ductility and toughness of samples are tested, and meanwhile microstructures are investigated. Precipitates initially emerge inside the ferrite laths and the density of the dislocation drops. Then, the lath-shaped ferrites begin to gather, and the retained austenite films start to decompose. Finally, the retained austenite films are completely decomposed into coarse and short rod-shape precipitates composed of C and Ti compounds. The yield strength increases with increasing tempering temperature due to the pinning effect of the precipitates, and the dislocation density decreases. The yield strength is highest when the steel is tempered at 220 °C because of pinning of the precipitates to dislocations. The total elongation increases in all samples because of the development of ferrites during tempering. The tensile strength and impact absorbed energy decline because the effect of impeding crack propagation weakens as the retained austenite films completely decompose and the precipitates coarsen. This paper clarifies the influence of different tempering temperatures on phase transformation characteristics and process of Mn-Ti typical multiphase steels, as well as its resulting performance variation rules.

  3. Molten salt actinide recycler and transforming system without and with Th–U support: Fuel cycle flexibility and key material properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ignatiev, V.; Feynberg, O.; Gnidoi, I.; Merzlyakov, A.; Surenkov, A.; Uglov, V.; Zagnitko, A.; Subbotin, V.; Sannikov, I.; Toropov, A.; Afonichkin, V.; Bovet, A.; Khokhlov, V.; Shishkin, V.; Kormilitsyn, M.; Lizin, A.; Osipenko, A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We examine feasibility of MOSART system without and with U–Th support. • We experimentally studied key material properties to prove MOSART flowsheet. • MOSART potential as the system with flexible fuel cycle scenarios is emphasized. • MOSART can operate with different TRU loadings in transmuter or even breeder modes. - Abstract: A study is under progress to examine the feasibility of MOlten Salt Actinide Recycler and Transforming (MOSART) system without and with U–Th support fuelled with different compositions of transuranic elements (TRU) trifluorides from spent LWR fuel. New design options with homogeneous core and fuel salt with high enough solubility for transuranic elements trifluorides are being examined because of new goals. The paper has the main objective of presenting the fuel cycle flexibility of the MOSART system while accounting technical constrains and experimental data received in this study. A brief description is given of the experimental results on key physical and chemical properties of fuel salt and combined materials compatibility to satisfy MOSART system requirements

  4. Support functions and the integration of set-valued mappings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodman, G.S.

    1976-01-01

    l. Definition of support functions; 2. Characteristic properties of support functions; 3. Examples of support functions; 4. Directional derivatives of support functions; 5. Further properties of h(y*; x*); 6. Extremal faces and their support functions; 7. The fundamental equations in Rsup(n); 8. Consequences of the fundamental equations in Rsup(n); 9. Extreme points; 10. Theorem of Kudo; 11. Comments on Kudo's theorem. (author)

  5. Removal and mineralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by litter-decomposing basidiomycetous fungi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steffen, K T; Hatakka, A [Dept. of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Hofrichter, M [Unit of Environmental Biotechnology, International Graduate School Zittau, Zittau (Germany)

    2003-07-01

    Nine strains of litter-decomposing fungi, representing eight species of agaric basidiomycetes, were tested for their ability to remove a mixture of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (total 60 mg l{sup -1}) comprising anthracene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in liquid culture. All strains were able to convert this mixture to some extent, but considerable differences in degradative activity were observed depending on the species, the Mn(II) concentration, and the particular PAH. Stropharia rugosoannulata was the most efficient degrader, removing or transforming BaP almost completely and about 95% of anthracene and 85% of pyrene, in cultures supplemented with 200 {mu}M Mn(II), within 6 weeks. In contrast less than 40, 18, and 50% BaP, anthracene and pyrene, respectively, were degraded in the absence of supplemental Mn(II). In the case of Stropharia coronilla, the presence of Mn(II) led to a 20-fold increase of anthracene conversion. The effect of manganese could be attributed to the stimulation of manganese peroxidase (MnP). The maximum activity of MnP increased in S. rugosoannulata cultures from 10 U l{sup -1} in the absence of Mn(II) to 320 U l{sup -1} in Mn(II)-supplemented cultures. The latter degraded about 6% of a {sup 14}C-labeled BaP into {sup 14}CO{sub 2} whereas only 0.7% was mineralized in the absence of Mn(II). In solid-state straw cultures, S. rugosoannulata, S. coronilla and Agrocybe praecox mineralized between 4 and 6% of {sup 14}C-labeled BaP within 12 weeks. (orig.)

  6. Removal and mineralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by litter-decomposing basidiomycetous fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steffen, K T; Hatakka, A; Hofrichter, M

    2002-10-01

    Nine strains of litter-decomposing fungi, representing eight species of agaric basidiomycetes, were tested for their ability to remove a mixture of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (total 60 mg l(-1)) comprising anthracene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in liquid culture. All strains were able to convert this mixture to some extent, but considerable differences in degradative activity were observed depending on the species, the Mn(II) concentration, and the particular PAH. Stropharia rugosoannulata was the most efficient degrader, removing or transforming BaP almost completely and about 95% of anthracene and 85% of pyrene, in cultures supplemented with 200 micro M Mn(II), within 6 weeks. In contrast less than 40, 18, and 50% BaP, anthracene and pyrene, respectively, were degraded in the absence of supplemental Mn(II). In the case of Stropharia coronilla, the presence of Mn(II) led to a 20-fold increase of anthracene conversion. The effect of manganese could be attributed to the stimulation of manganese peroxidase (MnP). The maximum activity of MnP increased in S. rugosoannulata cultures from 10 U l(-1) in the absence of Mn(II) to 320 U l(-1) in Mn(II)-supplemented cultures. The latter degraded about 6% of a (14)C-labeled BaP into (14)CO(2) whereas only 0.7% was mineralized in the absence of Mn(II). In solid-state straw cultures, S. rugosoannulata, S. coronilla and Agrocybe praecox mineralized between 4 and 6% of (14)C-labeled BaP within 12 weeks.

  7. DISSECTING THE QUASAR MAIN SEQUENCE: INSIGHT FROM HOST GALAXY PROPERTIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Jiayi; Shen, Yue

    2015-01-01

    The diverse properties of broad-line quasars appear to follow a well-defined main sequence along which the optical Fe ii strength increases. It has been suggested that this sequence is mainly driven by the Eddington ratio (L/L Edd ) of the black hole (BH) accretion. Shen and Ho demonstrated with quasar clustering analysis that the average BH mass decreases with increasing Fe ii strength when quasar luminosity is fixed, consistent with this suggestion. Here we perform an independent test by measuring the stellar velocity dispersion σ * (hence, the BH mass via the M–σ * relation) from decomposed host spectra in low-redshift Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars. We found that at fixed quasar luminosity, σ * systematically decreases with increasing Fe ii strength, confirming that the Eddington ratio increases with Fe ii strength. We also found that at fixed luminosity and Fe ii strength, there is little dependence of σ * on the broad Hβ FWHM. These new results reinforce the framework that the Eddington ratio and orientation govern most of the diversity seen in broad-line quasar properties

  8. The Effect of Visual and Etymological Treatments on Learning Decomposable Idioms among EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nassim Golaghaei

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The present study endeavors to investigate the impact of visual and etymological treatments on learning idioms among English language learners. Seventy-nine intermediate students at Rooz Academy Language School in Babol were selected from among a total number of 116 learners based on their performances on the Longman complete course for the TOEFL test to fulfill the purpose of the study. The students were then assigned into three experimental groups. Initially, a pre-test of idiomatic expressions including 48 idiomatic items was administered to the participants in all groups. During the instructional period, the groups were taught a group of abnormally decomposable idioms through different treatments, namely, visual, etymological, and a combination of visual-etymological elaboration. At the end of the instructional period, the participants in all groups were given a posttest which was the same as the pretest. The design of this study is quasi-experimental. The data obtained was analyzed using one-way ANOVA analysis. The results of data analysis revealed that the etymological treatment was more effective than visual aids on learning idioms among intermediate English language learners. However, the visual-etymological treatment was the most effective one. The findings of this study have implications for EFL teachers, students, and materials developers.

  9. Relationships between soil properties and community structure of soil macroinvertebrates in oak-history forests along an acidic deposition gradient

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuperman, R.G. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Assessment Div.

    1996-02-01

    Soil macroinvertebrate communities were studied in ecologically analogous oak-hickory forests across a three-state atmospheric pollution gradient in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The goal was to investigate changes in the community structure of soil fauna in study sites receiving different amounts of acidic deposition for several decades and the possible relationships between these changes and physico-chemical properties of soil. The study revealed significant differences in the numbers of soil animals among the three study sites. The sharply differentiated pattern of soil macroinvertebrate fauna seems closely linked to soil chemistry. Significant correlations of the abundance of soil macroinvertebrates with soil parameters suggest that their populations could have been affected by acidic deposition in the region. Abundance of total soil macroinvertebrates decreased with the increased cumulative loading of acidic deposition. Among the groups most sensitive to deposition were: earthworms gastropods, dipteran larvae, termites, and predatory beetles. The results of the study support the hypothesis that chronic long-term acidic deposition could aversely affect the soil decomposer community which could cause lower organic matter turnover rates leading to an increase in soil organic matter content in high deposition sites.

  10. Adaptive image denoising based on support vector machine and wavelet description

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Feng-Ping; Zhou, Xian-Wei

    2017-12-01

    Adaptive image denoising method decomposes the original image into a series of basic pattern feature images on the basis of wavelet description and constructs the support vector machine regression function to realize the wavelet description of the original image. The support vector machine method allows the linear expansion of the signal to be expressed as a nonlinear function of the parameters associated with the SVM. Using the radial basis kernel function of SVM, the original image can be extended into a MEXICAN function and a residual trend. This MEXICAN represents a basic image feature pattern. If the residual does not fluctuate, it can also be represented as a characteristic pattern. If the residuals fluctuate significantly, it is treated as a new image and the same decomposition process is repeated until the residuals obtained by the decomposition do not significantly fluctuate. Experimental results show that the proposed method in this paper performs well; especially, it satisfactorily solves the problem of image noise removal. It may provide a new tool and method for image denoising.

  11. Effect of carbides on the creep properties of a Ni-base superalloy M963

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, L.Z.; Zheng, Q.; Sun, X.F.; Guan, H.R.; Hu, Z.Q.; Tieu, A.K.; Lu, C.; Zhu, H.T.

    2005-01-01

    Effect of carbides on the creep properties of a cast Ni-base superalloy M963 tested at 800 and 900 deg. C over a broad stress range has been investigated. Correlation between the carbides and creep properties of the alloy is enabled through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). During high temperature creep tests, the primary MC carbide decomposes sluggishly and a large amount of secondary carbides precipitate. The cubic and acicular M 6 C carbide precipitates at the dendritic core region. Extremely fine chromium-rich M 23 C 6 carbide precipitates preferentially at grain boundaries. The M 6 C and M 23 C 6 carbides are found to be beneficial to the creep properties of the alloy. At lower temperature (800 deg. C), the interface of MC carbide with matrix is one of the principal sites for crack initiation. At higher temperature (900 deg. C), the oxidation and the precipitation of μ phase are the main factors for significant loss in creep strength of the alloy

  12. Prediction of enthalpy and standard Gibbs energy of vaporization of haloaromatics from atomic properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monte, M J S; Almeida, A R R P; Liebman, J F

    2015-11-01

    Halogenated benzenes form a class of pollutants with a huge number of members - 1504 distinct benzene compounds, where one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by halogens, may exist theoretically. This study presents a user friendly method for accurate prediction of vapor pressures and enthalpies of vaporization, at 298.15 K, of any mono or poly halobenzene compound. The derived equations for the prediction of those vaporization properties depend just on the number of each constituent halogen atom. This is a consequence of the absence of intramolecular interactions between the halogen atoms, revealed after examining vaporization results of ca. 40 halogenated benzenes. In order to rationalize the estimation equations, the contribution of the halogen atoms for the referred to above properties of vaporization was decomposed into two atomic properties - the volume and electron affinity. Extension of the applicability of the estimation method to substituted benzenes containing other substituent groups beyond halogen atoms as well as to some polycyclic aromatic species was tested with success. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Local geology determines responses of stream producers and fungal decomposers to nutrient enrichment: A field experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mykrä, Heikki; Sarremejane, Romain; Laamanen, Tiina; Karjalainen, Satu Maaria; Markkola, Annamari; Lehtinen, Sirkku; Lehosmaa, Kaisa; Muotka, Timo

    2018-04-16

    We examined how short-term (19 days) nutrient enrichment influences stream fungal and diatom communities, and rates of leaf decomposition and algal biomass accrual. We conducted a field experiment using slow-releasing nutrient pellets to increase nitrate (NO 3 -N) and phosphate (PO 4 -P) concentrations in a riffle section of six naturally acidic (naturally low pH due to catchment geology) and six circumneutral streams. Nutrient enrichment increased microbial decomposition rate on average by 14%, but the effect was significant only in naturally acidic streams. Nutrient enrichment also decreased richness and increased compositional variability of fungal communities in naturally acidic streams. Algal biomass increased in both stream types, but algal growth was overall very low. Diatom richness increased in response to nutrient addition by, but only in circumneutral streams. Our results suggest that primary producers and decomposers are differentially affected by nutrient enrichment and that their responses to excess nutrients are context dependent, with a potentially stronger response of detrital processes and fungal communities in naturally acidic streams than in less selective environments.

  14. Decomposable pseudodistances and applications in statistical estimation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Broniatowski, M.; Vajda, Igor

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 142, č. 9 (2012), s. 2574-2585 ISSN 0378-3758 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Parametric model * Pseudodistance * Influence function Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.713, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/SI/vajda-0436865.pdf

  15. Structural and luminescence properties of europium(III)-doped zirconium carbonates and silica-supported Eu3+-doped zirconium carbonate nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sivestrini, S.; Riello, P.; Freris, I.; Cristofori, D.; Enrichi, F.; Benedetti, A.

    2010-01-01

    The synthesis, morphology and luminescence properties of europium(III)-doped zirconium carbonates prepared as bulk materials and as silica-supported nanoparticles with differing calcination treatments are reported. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses have, respectively, been used to study the morphology and to quantify the atomic amount of europium present in the optically active phases of the variously prepared nanomaterials. Rietveld analysis was used to quantify the constituting phases and to determinate the europium content. Silica particles with an approximate size of 30 nm were coated with 2 nm carbonate nanoparticles, prepared in situ on the surface of the silica core. Luminescence measurements revealed the role of different preparation methods and of europium-doping quantities on the optical properties observed.

  16. Directional support value of Gaussian transformation for infrared small target detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Changcai; Ma, Jiayi; Qi, Shengxiang; Tian, Jinwen; Zheng, Sheng; Tian, Xin

    2015-03-20

    Robust small target detection is one of the key techniques in IR search and tracking systems for self-defense or attacks. In this paper we present a robust solution for small target detection in a single IR image. The key ideas of the proposed method are to use the directional support value of Gaussian transform (DSVoGT) to enhance the targets, and use the multiscale representation provided by DSVoGT to reduce the false alarm rate. The original image is decomposed into sub-bands in different orientations by convolving the image with the directional support value filters, which are deduced from the weighted mapped least-squares-support vector machines (LS-SVMs). Based on the sub-band images, a support value of Gaussian matrix is constructed, and the trace of this matrix is then defined as the target measure. The corresponding multiscale correlations of the target measures are computed for enhancing target signal while suppressing the background clutter. We demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method on real IR images and compare the results against those obtained from standard detection approaches, including the top-hat filter, max-mean filter, max-median filter, min-local-Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) filter, as well as LS-SVM. The experimental results on various cluttered background images show that the proposed method outperforms other detectors.

  17. Analysis of dextromethorphan and dextrorphan in decomposed skeletal tissues by microwave assisted extraction, microplate solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (MAE-MPSPE-GCMS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Candice D; Cornthwaite, Heather M; Watterson, James H

    2015-08-01

    Analysis of decomposed skeletal tissues for dextromethorphan (DXM) and dextrorphan (DXT) using microwave assisted extraction (MAE), microplate solid-phase extraction (MPSPE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is described. Rats (n = 3) received 100 mg/kg DXM (i.p.) and were euthanized by CO2 asphyxiation roughly 20 min post-dose. Remains decomposed to skeleton outdoors and vertebral bones were recovered, cleaned, and pulverized. Pulverized bone underwent MAE using methanol as an extraction solvent in a closed microwave system, followed by MPSPE and GC-MS. Analyte stability under MAE conditions was assessed and found to be stable for at least 60 min irradiation time. The majority (>90%) of each analyte was recovered after 15 min. The MPSPE-GCMS method was fit to a quadratic response (R(2)  > 0.99), over the concentration range 10-10 000 ng⋅mL(-1) , with coefficients of variation <20% in triplicate analysis. The MPSPE-GCMS method displayed a limit of detection of 10 ng⋅mL(-1) for both analytes. Following MAE for 60 min (80 °C, 1200 W), MPSPE-GCMS analysis of vertebral bone of DXM-exposed rats detected both analytes in all samples (DXM: 0.9-1.5 µg⋅g(-1) ; DXT: 0.5-1.8 µg⋅g(-1) ). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Reversibility and Viscoelastic Properties of Micropillar Supported and Oriented Magnesium Bundled F-Actin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Maier

    Full Text Available Filamentous actin is one of the most important cytoskeletal elements. Not only is it responsible for the elastic properties of many cell types, but it also plays a vital role in cellular adhesion and motility. Understanding the bundling kinetics of actin filaments is important in the formation of various cytoskeletal structures, such as filopodia and stress fibers. Utilizing a unique pillar-structured microfluidic device, we investigated the time dependence of bundling kinetics of pillar supported free-standing actin filaments. Microparticles attached to the filaments allowed the measurement of thermal motion, and we found that bundling takes place at lower concentrations than previously found in 3-dimensional actin gels, i.e. actin filaments formed bundles in the presence of 5-12 mM of magnesium chloride in a time-dependent manner. The filaments also displayed long term stability for up to hours after removing the magnesium ions from the buffer, which suggests that there is an extensive hysteresis between cation induced crosslinking and decrosslinking.

  19. Temperature dependence and P/Ti ratio in phosphoric acid treatment of titanium dioxide and powder properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onoda, H; Matsukura, A

    2015-02-01

    Titanium dioxide has photocatalytic activity and is used as a white pigment for cosmetics. A certain degree of sebum on the skin is decomposed by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. In this work, titanium dioxide was shaken with phosphoric acid to synthesize a white pigment for cosmetics. Titanium dioxide was treated with 0.1 mol/L of phosphoric acid at various P/Ti molar ratios, and then shaken in hot water for 1 h. The chemical composition, powder properties, photocatalytic activity, colour phase, and smoothness of the obtained powder were studied. The obtained materials indicated XRD peaks of titanium dioxide, however the peaks diminished subsequent to phosphoric acid treatment. The samples included small particles with sub-micrometer size. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained powders decreased, decomposing less sebum on the skin. Samples prepared at high P/Ti ratio with high shaking temperature indicated low whiteness in in L*a*b* colour space. The shaking and heating temperature and P/Ti ratio had influence on the smoothness of the obtained materials. Phosphoric acid treatment of titanium dioxide is an effective method to inhibit photocatalytic activity for a white pigment. © 2014 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

  20. Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of pehuen cellulosic husk and its pehuen-starch based composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaño, J; Rodríguez-Llamazares, S; Carrasco, C; Bouza, R

    2012-11-06

    Pehuen cellulosic husk was characterized and employed as reinforcement for composite materials. In this research, thermoplastic pehuen starch (TPS) and TPS/poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composites, reinforced with 5 and 10% of pehuen husk, were prepared by melt-blending. Comparative samples of pehuen TPS and TPS/PLA/PVA blend were also studied. Physical, thermal, structural and mechanical properties of composites were evaluated. Pehuen husk mainly consists of cellulose (50 wt%), hemicellulose (30 wt%) and lignin (14 wt%). In respect to lipids, this husk has only a 0.6 wt%. Its surface is smooth and damage-free and it is decomposed above 325 °C. The incorporation of pehuen husk improved considerably the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the studied composites, mainly in TPS composites. Their thermal stability enhances since biofiber hinders the "out-diffusion" of volatile molecules from the polymer matrix, while mechanical properties could raise due to the natural affinity between husk and starch in the pehuen seed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Support for Alzheimer's Caregivers: Psychometric Evaluation of Familial and Friend Support Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilks, Scott E.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: Information on the shortened, 20-item version of the Perceived Social Support Scale (S-PSSS) is scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the S-PSSS Family (SSfa) and Friends (SSfr) subscales. Method: Because of their common coping method of social support, a cross-sectional sample of Alzheimer's…

  2. Decomposing the Hounsfield unit: probabilistic segmentation of brain tissue in computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemmling, A; Wersching, H; Berger, K; Knecht, S; Groden, C; Nölte, I

    2012-03-01

    The aim of this study was to present and evaluate a standardized technique for brain segmentation of cranial computed tomography (CT) using probabilistic partial volume tissue maps based on a database of high resolution T1 magnetic resonance images (MRI). Probabilistic tissue maps of white matter (WM), gray matter (GM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were derived from 600 normal brain MRIs (3.0 Tesla, T1-3D-turbo-field-echo) of 2 large community-based population studies (BiDirect and SEARCH Health studies). After partial tissue segmentation (FAST 4.0), MR images were linearly registered to MNI-152 standard space (FLIRT 5.5) with non-linear refinement (FNIRT 1.0) to obtain non-binary probabilistic volume images for each tissue class which were subsequently used for CT segmentation. From 150 normal cerebral CT scans a customized reference image in standard space was constructed with iterative non-linear registration to MNI-152 space. The inverse warp of tissue-specific probability maps to CT space (MNI-152 to individual CT) was used to decompose a CT image into tissue specific components (GM, WM, CSF). Potential benefits and utility of this novel approach with regard to unsupervised quantification of CT images and possible visual enhancement are addressed. Illustrative examples of tissue segmentation in different pathological cases including perfusion CT are presented. Automated tissue segmentation of cranial CT images using highly refined tissue probability maps derived from high resolution MR images is feasible. Potential applications include automated quantification of WM in leukoaraiosis, CSF in hydrocephalic patients, GM in neurodegeneration and ischemia and perfusion maps with separate assessment of GM and WM.

  3. Stoichiometric controls of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in decomposing beech leaf litter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooshammer, Maria; Wanek, Wolfgang; Schnecker, Jörg; Wild, Birgit; Leitner, Sonja; Hofhansl, Florian; Blöchl, Andreas; Hämmerle, Ieda; Frank, Alexander H; Fuchslueger, Lucia; Keiblinger, Katharina M; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Richter, Andreas

    2012-04-01

    Resource stoichiometry (C:N:P) is an important determinant of litter decomposition. However, the effect of elemental stoichiometry on the gross rates of microbial N and P cycling processes during litter decomposition is unknown. In a mesocosm experiment, beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) litter with natural differences in elemental stoichiometry (C:N:P) was incubated under constant environmental conditions. After three and six months, we measured various aspects of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. We found that gross protein depolymerization, N mineralization (ammonification), and nitrification rates were negatively related to litter C:N. Rates of P mineralization were negatively correlated with litter C:P. The negative correlations with litter C:N were stronger for inorganic N cycling processes than for gross protein depolymerization, indicating that the effect of resource stoichiometry on intracellular processes was stronger than on processes catalyzed by extracellular enzymes. Consistent with this, extracellular protein depolymerization was mainly limited by substrate availability and less so by the amount of protease. Strong positive correlations between the interconnected N and P pools and the respective production and consumption processes pointed to feed-forward control of microbial litter N and P cycling. A negative relationship between litter C:N and phosphatase activity (and between litter C:P and protease activity) demonstrated that microbes tended to allocate carbon and nutrients in ample supply into the production of extracellular enzymes to mine for the nutrient that is more limiting. Overall, the study demonstrated a strong effect of litter stoichiometry (C:N:P) on gross processes of microbial N and P cycling in decomposing litter; mineralization of N and P were tightly coupled to assist in maintaining cellular homeostasis of litter microbial communities.

  4. WMe6 tamed by silica: Si-O-WMe5 as an efficient, well-defined species for alkane metathesis, leading to the observation of a supported W-methyl/methylidyne species

    KAUST Repository

    Samantaray, Manoja

    2014-01-22

    The synthesis and full characterization of a well-defined silica-supported ≡Si-O-W(Me)5 species is reported. Under an inert atmosphere, it is a stable material at moderate temperature, whereas the homoleptic parent complex decomposes above -20 °C, demonstrating the stabilizing effect of immobilization of the molecular complex. Above 70 °C the grafted complex converts into the two methylidyne surface complexes [(≡SiO-)W(≡CH) Me2] and [(≡SiO-)2W(≡CH)Me]. All of these silica-supported complexes are active precursors for propane metathesis reactions. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

  5. WMe6 tamed by silica: Si-O-WMe5 as an efficient, well-defined species for alkane metathesis, leading to the observation of a supported W-methyl/methylidyne species

    KAUST Repository

    Samantaray, Manoja; Callens, Emmanuel; Abou-Hamad, Edy; Rossini, Aaron J.; Widdifield, Cory M.; Dey, Raju; Emsley, Lyndon; Basset, Jean-Marie

    2014-01-01

    The synthesis and full characterization of a well-defined silica-supported ≡Si-O-W(Me)5 species is reported. Under an inert atmosphere, it is a stable material at moderate temperature, whereas the homoleptic parent complex decomposes above -20 °C, demonstrating the stabilizing effect of immobilization of the molecular complex. Above 70 °C the grafted complex converts into the two methylidyne surface complexes [(≡SiO-)W(≡CH) Me2] and [(≡SiO-)2W(≡CH)Me]. All of these silica-supported complexes are active precursors for propane metathesis reactions. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

  6. Preparation of SnO{sub 2}-CNTs supported Pt catalysts and their electrocatalytic properties for ethanol oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pang, H.L.; Lu, J.P. [State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China); Chen, J.H. [State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China)], E-mail: chenjinhua@hnu.cn; Huang, C.T.; Liu, B.; Zhang, X.H. [State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China)

    2009-03-30

    SnO{sub 2}-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composites were prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Due to high stability in diluted acidic solution, SnO{sub 2}-CNTs composites were selected as the catalyst support and second catalyst for ethanol electrooxidation. The electrocatalytic properties of the SnO{sub 2}-CNTs supported platinum (Pt) catalyst (Pt/SnO{sub 2}-CNTs) for ethanol oxidation have been investigated by typical electrochemical methods. Under the same mass loading of Pt, the Pt/SnO{sub 2}-CNTs catalyst shows higher electrocatalytic activity and better long-term cycle stability than Pt/SnO{sub 2} catalyst. Additionally, the effect of the mass ratio of CNTs to SnO{sub 2} on the electrocatalytic activity of the electrode for ethanol oxidation was investigated, and the optimum mass ratio of CNTs to SnO{sub 2} in the Pt/SnO{sub 2}-CNTs catalyst is 1/6.3.

  7. Evolution in fluctuating environments: decomposing selection into additive components of the Robertson-Price equation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engen, Steinar; Saether, Bernt-Erik

    2014-03-01

    We analyze the stochastic components of the Robertson-Price equation for the evolution of quantitative characters that enables decomposition of the selection differential into components due to demographic and environmental stochasticity. We show how these two types of stochasticity affect the evolution of multivariate quantitative characters by defining demographic and environmental variances as components of individual fitness. The exact covariance formula for selection is decomposed into three components, the deterministic mean value, as well as stochastic demographic and environmental components. We show that demographic and environmental stochasticity generate random genetic drift and fluctuating selection, respectively. This provides a common theoretical framework for linking ecological and evolutionary processes. Demographic stochasticity can cause random variation in selection differentials independent of fluctuating selection caused by environmental variation. We use this model of selection to illustrate that the effect on the expected selection differential of random variation in individual fitness is dependent on population size, and that the strength of fluctuating selection is affected by how environmental variation affects the covariance in Malthusian fitness between individuals with different phenotypes. Thus, our approach enables us to partition out the effects of fluctuating selection from the effects of selection due to random variation in individual fitness caused by demographic stochasticity. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  8. Investigation by phosphorus-32 isotope the capabilities of mushrooms to decompose insoluble phosphoric compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takhtobin, K.S.; Tashpulatov, D.T.; Shulman, T.S.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: One of global ecological problems of agriculture is the problem 'phosphatization' of soils. Only of 10% - 25% of phosphorus, introduced by the way fertilizers to acquire by plants, the other main part, as a result of chemical changes in soil, transforms in insoluble, hard-to-reach for plants forms. The study of possibility to extract the phosphorus from this insoluble forms is very important. Our investigations devoted to study of some strains of soil mushrooms which are capable to decompose insoluble phosphoric compounds, secreting an acids and enzymes. Soil mushrooms have symbiotic relationship with roots systems of plants and other microorganisms, they augment the contents of solvable phosphorus in soil, which is easy assimilate by plants. It increases efficiency of other kinds of fertilizers, keeping nitrogen, the potassium and as a whole leads to favourable, balanced composition of soil. In order to investigate quantitatively the capacity of different strains of soil mushrooms to canker insoluble forms of phosphorus we are introduce an isotope phosphorus-32 in such compound as Ca 3 (PO 4) 2. We are investigate by an isotope phosphorus-32 some characteristics of strains, in particular, the absorption capabilities of phosphorus-32 from Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 . It find out that the part of mushrooms absorbed phosphorus from Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 , in particular, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium sp., Fusarium solani. (author)

  9. Moessbauer spectroscopic characterisation of catalysts obtained by interaction between tetra-n-butyl-tin and silica or silica supported rhodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millet, J.M.M.; Toyir, J.; Didillon, B.; Candy, J.P.; Nedez, C.; Basset, J.M.

    1997-01-01

    Moessbauer spectroscopy at 78 K was used to study the interaction between tetra-n-butyl-tin and the surfaces of silica or silica supported rhodium. At room temperature, the tetra-n-butyl-tin was physically adsorbed on the surfaces. After reaction under hydrogen at 373 K, the formation of grafted organometallic fragments on the Rh surface was confirmed whereas with pure silica, ≡SiO-Sn(n-C 4 H 9 ) 3 moieties were observed. After treatment at 523 K, the rhodium grafted organometallic species was completely decomposed and there was formation of a defined bimetallic RhSn compound

  10. Bacterial succession on decomposing leaf litter exhibits a specific occurrence pattern of cellulolytic taxa and potential decomposers of fungal mycelia

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tláskal, Vojtěch; Voříšková, Jana; Baldrian, Petr

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 92, č. 11 (2016), fiw177 ISSN 0168-6496 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP504/12/1288; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015055 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : bacteria * leaf litter * decomposition Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 3.720, year: 2016

  11. Fabrication of palladium nanoparticles immobilized on an amine-functionalized ceramic membrane support using a nanoparticulate colloidal impregnation method with enhanced catalytic properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Yan; Chen, Rizhi [Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing (China)

    2015-09-15

    An efficient and reusable catalyst was developed by depositing palladium nanoparticles on an amine-functionalized ceramic membrane support using a nanoparticulate colloidal impregnation method. The as-prepared Pdloaded ceramic membrane support was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, XPS, ICP, and its catalytic properties were investigated in the liquid-phase p-nitrophenol hydrogenation. A comparative study was also made with the palladium nanoparticles deposited on an amine-functionalized ceramic membrane support by an impregnation-reduction method. The palladium nanoparticles could be homogeneously immobilized on the ceramic membrane support surface, and exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the p-nitrophenol hydrogenation. The catalytic activity of the Pdloaded ceramic membrane support prepared by the nanoparticulate colloidal impregnation method increased by 16.6% compared to that of impregnation-reduction method. In the nanoparticulate colloidal impregnation method, palladium nanoparticles were presynthesized, higher loading of Pd(0) could be obtained, resulting in better catalytic activity. The as-prepared Pd-loaded ceramic membrane support could be easily reused for several cycles without appreciable degradation of catalytic activity.

  12. Automatic inspection of textured surfaces by support vector machines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahanbin, Sina; Bovik, Alan C.; Pérez, Eduardo; Nair, Dinesh

    2009-08-01

    Automatic inspection of manufactured products with natural looking textures is a challenging task. Products such as tiles, textile, leather, and lumber project image textures that cannot be modeled as periodic or otherwise regular; therefore, a stochastic modeling of local intensity distribution is required. An inspection system to replace human inspectors should be flexible in detecting flaws such as scratches, cracks, and stains occurring in various shapes and sizes that have never been seen before. A computer vision algorithm is proposed in this paper that extracts local statistical features from grey-level texture images decomposed with wavelet frames into subbands of various orientations and scales. The local features extracted are second order statistics derived from grey-level co-occurrence matrices. Subsequently, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier is trained to learn a general description of normal texture from defect-free samples. This algorithm is implemented in LabVIEW and is capable of processing natural texture images in real-time.

  13. Predicting catalyst-support interactions between metal nanoparticles and amorphous silica supports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing, Christopher S.; Veser, Götz; McCarthy, Joseph J.; Lambrecht, Daniel S.; Johnson, J. Karl

    2016-10-01

    Metal-support interactions significantly affect the stability and activity of supported catalytic nanoparticles (NPs), yet there is no simple and reliable method for estimating NP-support interactions, especially for amorphous supports. We present an approach for rapid prediction of catalyst-support interactions between Pt NPs and amorphous silica supports for NPs of various sizes and shapes. We use density functional theory calculations of 13 atom Pt clusters on model amorphous silica supports to determine linear correlations relating catalyst properties to NP-support interactions. We show that these correlations can be combined with fast discrete element method simulations to predict adhesion energy and NP net charge for NPs of larger sizes and different shapes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this approach can be successfully transferred to Pd, Au, Ni, and Fe NPs. This approach can be used to quickly screen stability and net charge transfer and leads to a better fundamental understanding of catalyst-support interactions.

  14. An Extended Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour to Predict the Usage Intention of the Electric Car: A Multi-Group Comparison

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrid Moons

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available An Extended Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB is developed that integrates emotions towards car driving and electric cars as well as car driving habits of the DTPB, and is empirically validated in a Belgian sample (n = 1023. Multi-group comparisons explore how the determinants of usage intention are different between groups of consumers differing in environmentally-friendly behaviour, environmental concern, innovativeness and personal values. Besides attitudes, media, perceived complexity, compatibility and relative advantage, emotions towards the electric car and reflective emotions towards car driving have a strong effect on usage intention. Car driving habits and perceived behavioural control (facilitators and constraints do not substantially affect usage intention. Only people differing in personal values show a different motivational structure for a number of important drivers of usage intention.

  15. Decomposing variation in dairy profitability: the impact of output, inputs, prices, labour and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, P

    2011-08-01

    The UK dairy sector has undergone considerable structural change in recent years, with a decrease in the number of producers accompanied by an increased average herd size and increased concentrate use and milk yields. One of the key drivers to producers remaining in the industry is the profitability of their herds. The current paper adopts a holistic approach to decomposing the variation in dairy profitability through an analysis of net margin data explained by physical input-output measures, milk price variation, labour utilization and managerial behaviours and characteristics. Data are drawn from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) for England in 2007/08 for 228 dairy enterprises. Average yields are 7100 litres/cow/yr, from a herd size of 110 cows that use 0·56 forage ha/cow/yr and 43·2 labour h/cow/yr. An average milk price of 22·57 pence per litre (ppl) produced milk output of £1602/cow/yr, which after accounting for calf sales, herd replacements and quota leasing costs, gave an average dairy output of £1516/cow/yr. After total costs of £1464/cow/yr this left an economic return of £52/cow/yr (0·73 ppl) net margin profit. There is wide variation in performance, with the most profitable (as measured by net margin per cow) quartile of producers achieving 2000 litres/cow/yr more than the least profitable quartile, returning a net margin of £335/cow/yr compared to a loss of £361/cow/yr for the least profitable. The most profitable producers operate larger, higher yielding herds and achieve a greater milk price for their output. In addition, a significantly greater number of the most profitable producers undertake financial benchmarking within their businesses and operate specialist dairy farms. When examining the full data set, the most profitable enterprises included significantly greater numbers of organic producers. The most profitable tend to have a greater reliance on independent technical advice, but this finding is not statistically significant

  16. Pectinase Production by Bacillus and Paenibacillus sp. Isolated from Decomposing Wood Residues in the Lagos Lagoon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Busayo Tosin Akinyemi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Three wood decomposing bacteria isolated from the Lagos lagoon, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus bataviensis and Paenibacillus sp. were screened for their pectinase producing abilities using pectin as substrate under submerged fermentation (SMF conditions. The results showed that all three isolates produced appreciable pectinolytic activities. Paenibacillus sp. showed the highest pectinase activity when compared with the other two isolates. The optimum pH for pectinase activity for both B. megaterium and B. bataviensis was 8.0 while it was 6.5 for Paenibacillus sp., B. bataviensis, and B. megaterium showed optimum pectinase activity at 60°C and Paenibacillus sp. at 40°C. Metal ions such as Na+ and K+ improved the activity of pectinase produced by the three isolates when compared to the effect of Zn2+ and Mn2+. The molecular weights of the enzymes were also estimated by gel filtration as 29,512 da, 32,359 da, and 25,119 da for Paenibacillus sp., B. megaterium and B. bataviensis respectively. The study has provided a platform for further investigation into the biochemical characterization of the enzyme, and optimization of culture conditions to scale up pectinase production for commercial exploitation.

  17. Strategies to prepare TiO2 thin films, doped with transition metal ions, that exhibit specific physicochemical properties to support osteoblast cell adhesion and proliferation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhayal, Marshal; Kapoor, Renu; Sistla, Pavana Goury; Pandey, Ravi Ranjan; Kar, Satabisha; Saini, Krishan Kumar; Pande, Gopal

    2014-01-01

    Metal ion doped titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) thin films, as bioactive coatings on metal or other implantable materials, can be used as surfaces for studying the cell biological properties of osteogenic and other cell types. Bulk crystallite phase distribution and surface carbon–oxygen constitution of thin films, play an important role in determining the biological responses of cells that come in their contact. Here we present a strategy to control the polarity of atomic interactions between the dopant metal and TiO 2 molecules and obtain surfaces with smaller crystallite phases and optimal surface carbon–oxygen composition to support the maximum proliferation and adhesion of osteoblast cells. Our results suggest that surfaces, in which atomic interactions between the dopant metals and TiO 2 were less polar, could support better adhesion, spreading and proliferation of cells. - Highlights: • Electrochemical properties of dopants control the nature of TiO 2 thin films. • A model explains the correlation of dopant properties and behaviour of TiO 2 films. • Dopants with less polar interaction with TiO 2 exhibit better biological activity

  18. Functional and Structural Succession of Soil Microbial Communities below Decomposing Human Cadavers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobaugh, Kelly L.; Schaeffer, Sean M.; DeBruyn, Jennifer M.

    2015-01-01

    The ecological succession of microbes during cadaver decomposition has garnered interest in both basic and applied research contexts (e.g. community assembly and dynamics; forensic indicator of time since death). Yet current understanding of microbial ecology during decomposition is almost entirely based on plant litter. We know very little about microbes recycling carcass-derived organic matter despite the unique decomposition processes. Our objective was to quantify the taxonomic and functional succession of microbial populations in soils below decomposing cadavers, testing the hypotheses that a) periods of increased activity during decomposition are associated with particular taxa; and b) human-associated taxa are introduced to soils, but do not persist outside their host. We collected soils from beneath four cadavers throughout decomposition, and analyzed soil chemistry, microbial activity and bacterial community structure. As expected, decomposition resulted in pulses of soil C and nutrients (particularly ammonia) and stimulated microbial activity. There was no change in total bacterial abundances, however we observed distinct changes in both function and community composition. During active decay (7 - 12 days postmortem), respiration and biomass production rates were high: the community was dominated by Proteobacteria (increased from 15.0 to 26.1% relative abundance) and Firmicutes (increased from 1.0 to 29.0%), with reduced Acidobacteria abundances (decreased from 30.4 to 9.8%). Once decay rates slowed (10 - 23 d postmortem), respiration was elevated, but biomass production rates dropped dramatically; this community with low growth efficiency was dominated by Firmicutes (increased to 50.9%) and other anaerobic taxa. Human-associated bacteria, including the obligately anaerobic Bacteroides, were detected at high concentrations in soil throughout decomposition, up to 198 d postmortem. Our results revealed the pattern of functional and compositional succession

  19. Chemical Properties of Dialkyl Halonium Ions (R2Hal+) and Their Neutral Analogues, Methyl Carboranes, CH3-(CHB11Hal11), Where Hal = F, Cl.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoyanov, Evgenii S

    2017-04-20

    Chloronium cations in their salts (C n H 2n+1 ) 2 Cl + {CHB 11 Cl 11 - }, with n = 1 to 3 and exceptionally stable carborane anions, are stable at ambient and elevated temperatures. The temperature at which they decompose to carbocations with HCl elimination (below 150 °C) decreases with the increasing n from 1 to 3 because of increasing ionicity of C-Cl bonds in the C-Cl + -C bridge. At room temperature, the salts of cations with n ≥ 4 [starting from t-Bu 2 Cl + or (cyclo-C 5 H 11 ) 2 Cl + ] are unstable and decompose. With decreasing chloronium ion stability, their ability to interact with chloroalkanes to form oligomeric cations increases. It was shown indirectly that unstable salt of fluoronium ions (CH 3 ) 2 F + (CHB 11 F 11 - ) must exist at low temperatures. The proposed (CH 3 ) 2 F + cation is much more reactive than the corresponding chloronium, showing at room temperature chemical properties expected of (CH 3 ) 2 Cl + at elevated temperatures.

  20. Origin of pingo-like features on the Beaufort Sea shelf and their possible relationship to decomposing methane gas hydrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paull, C.K.; Ussler, W.; Dallimore, S.R.; Blasco, S.M.; Lorenson, T.D.; Melling, H.; Medioli, B.E.; Nixon, F.M.; McLaughlin, F.A.

    2007-01-01

    The Arctic shelf is currently undergoing dramatic thermal changes caused by the continued warming associated with Holocene sea level rise. During this transgression, comparatively warm waters have flooded over cold permafrost areas of the Arctic Shelf. A thermal pulse of more than 10??C is still propagating down into the submerged sediment and may be decomposing gas hydrate as well as permafrost. A search for gas venting on the Arctic seafloor focused on pingo-like-features (PLFs) on the Beaufort Sea Shelf because they may be a direct consequence of gas hydrate decomposition at depth. Vibracores collected from eight PLFs had systematically elevated methane concentrations. ROV observations revealed streams of methane-rich gas bubbles coming from the crests of PLFs. We offer a scenario of how PLFs may be growing offshore as a result of gas pressure associated with gas hydrate decomposition. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

  1. A Novel Empirical Mode Decomposition With Support Vector Regression for Wind Speed Forecasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Ye; Suganthan, Ponnuthurai Nagaratnam; Srikanth, Narasimalu

    2016-08-01

    Wind energy is a clean and an abundant renewable energy source. Accurate wind speed forecasting is essential for power dispatch planning, unit commitment decision, maintenance scheduling, and regulation. However, wind is intermittent and wind speed is difficult to predict. This brief proposes a novel wind speed forecasting method by integrating empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector regression (SVR) methods. The EMD is used to decompose the wind speed time series into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residue. Subsequently, a vector combining one historical data from each IMF and the residue is generated to train the SVR. The proposed EMD-SVR model is evaluated with a wind speed data set. The proposed EMD-SVR model outperforms several recently reported methods with respect to accuracy or computational complexity.

  2. Termites and flooding affect microbial communities in decomposing wood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael D. Ulyshen; Susan V. Diehl; Dragica Jeremic

    2016-01-01

    Wood properties and microbial community characteristics were compared between loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) logs protected or unprotected from termites (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae: Reticulitermes spp.) and other arthropods for two years in seasonally flooded and unflooded forests in the southeastern United States. Significant compositional differences were observed...

  3. Classification of jet fuel properties by near-infrared spectroscopy using fuzzy rule-building expert systems and support vector machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhanfeng; Bunker, Christopher E; Harrington, Peter de B

    2010-11-01

    Monitoring the changes of jet fuel physical properties is important because fuel used in high-performance aircraft must meet rigorous specifications. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a fast method to characterize fuels. Because of the complexity of NIR spectral data, chemometric techniques are used to extract relevant information from spectral data to accurately classify physical properties of complex fuel samples. In this work, discrimination of fuel types and classification of flash point, freezing point, boiling point (10%, v/v), boiling point (50%, v/v), and boiling point (90%, v/v) of jet fuels (JP-5, JP-8, Jet A, and Jet A1) were investigated. Each physical property was divided into three classes, low, medium, and high ranges, using two evaluations with different class boundary definitions. The class boundaries function as the threshold to alarm when the fuel properties change. Optimal partial least squares discriminant analysis (oPLS-DA), fuzzy rule-building expert system (FuRES), and support vector machines (SVM) were used to build the calibration models between the NIR spectra and classes of physical property of jet fuels. OPLS-DA, FuRES, and SVM were compared with respect to prediction accuracy. The validation of the calibration model was conducted by applying bootstrap Latin partition (BLP), which gives a measure of precision. Prediction accuracy of 97 ± 2% of the flash point, 94 ± 2% of freezing point, 99 ± 1% of the boiling point (10%, v/v), 98 ± 2% of the boiling point (50%, v/v), and 96 ± 1% of the boiling point (90%, v/v) were obtained by FuRES in one boundaries definition. Both FuRES and SVM obtained statistically better prediction accuracy over those obtained by oPLS-DA. The results indicate that combined with chemometric classifiers NIR spectroscopy could be a fast method to monitor the changes of jet fuel physical properties.

  4. Synthesis and magnetic property of T4 virus-supported gold-coated iron ternary nanocomposite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu Ziming; Sun Hongjing; Gao Faming, E-mail: fmgao@ysu.edu.cn; Hou Li; Li Na [Yanshan University, Key Laboratory of Applied Chemistry (China)

    2012-12-15

    Herein, we present a novel method based on the use of the symmetrical T4 bacteriophage capsid as a scaffold for preparing the gold-coated iron ternary core/shell nanostructure. Results showed that the thick gold shell was obtained to effectively protect Fe core from oxidation. Magnetic measurements showed that the nanocomposites were superparamagnetic at room temperature with a blocking temperature of about 35 K. At 3 K, its coercivity of 1142.86 Oe was larger than the existing experimental values. The magnetic property of Au/T4 was also tested, demonstrating the source of the magnetic sample arising from the Fe core only. The absorption spectrum of the Fe-Au/T4 complex was measured and compared with gold/virus. Different thickness gold shells were controlled in the synthesis by tuning the Au salt addition. On the basis of results and discussion, we further speculated the general growing mechanism of the template-supported Fe-Au process.

  5. Synthesis and magnetic property of T4 virus-supported gold-coated iron ternary nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ziming; Sun, Hongjing; Gao, Faming; Hou, Li; Li, Na

    2012-12-01

    Herein, we present a novel method based on the use of the symmetrical T4 bacteriophage capsid as a scaffold for preparing the gold-coated iron ternary core/shell nanostructure. Results showed that the thick gold shell was obtained to effectively protect Fe core from oxidation. Magnetic measurements showed that the nanocomposites were superparamagnetic at room temperature with a blocking temperature of about 35 K. At 3 K, its coercivity of 1142.86 Oe was larger than the existing experimental values. The magnetic property of Au/T4 was also tested, demonstrating the source of the magnetic sample arising from the Fe core only. The absorption spectrum of the Fe@Au/T4 complex was measured and compared with gold/virus. Different thickness gold shells were controlled in the synthesis by tuning the Au salt addition. On the basis of results and discussion, we further speculated the general growing mechanism of the template-supported Fe@Au process.

  6. Mechanical and physical properties of 2 1/4 Cr--1 Mo steel in support of CRBRP steam generator design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brinkman, C.R.; Williams, R.K.; Klueh, R.L.; Hebble, T.L.

    1975-01-01

    Mechanical and physical property tests on annealed 2 1 / 4 Cr-1 Mo steel were conducted in an effort to define behavior in support of the design of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP) steam generator design. Interim empirical expressions and/or data are reported from the results of tensile, creep, fatigue, creep-fatigue, subcritical crack growth, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal expansion tests and analysis. These expressions cover behavior, where appropriate, over a range of temperatures from 25 to as high as 700 0 C. Comparisons between thermal conductivity and diffusivity values and those found in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code indicated that the new values were significantly higher than those found presently in the Code. The importance and complexity of obtaining valid mechanical and physical properties for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP) steam generator are discussed. (U.S.)

  7. Psychometric Properties of a Scale Designed to Measure Perceived Social Support in Chilean Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Salvador Ortiz Parada

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Zimet et al.’ Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS, in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM (n = 76 from Temuco City, Chile. The total scale shown appropriate levels of internal consistency (0,849. An exploratory factorial analysis, with Varimax rotation, was performed over the MSPSS measures. In agreement with the original Scale, three factors were obtained explaining 66,8% of the variance. These results suggest that MSPSS is a psychometrically sound instrument that can be applied to patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

  8. Experimental Investigation for Fault Diagnosis Based on a Hybrid Approach Using Wavelet Packet and Support Vector Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengfei Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available To deal with the difficulty to obtain a large number of fault samples under the practical condition for mechanical fault diagnosis, a hybrid method that combined wavelet packet decomposition and support vector classification (SVC is proposed. The wavelet packet is employed to decompose the vibration signal to obtain the energy ratio in each frequency band. Taking energy ratios as feature vectors, the pattern recognition results are obtained by the SVC. The rolling bearing and gear fault diagnostic results of the typical experimental platform show that the present approach is robust to noise and has higher classification accuracy and, thus, provides a better way to diagnose mechanical faults under the condition of small fault samples.

  9. Support vector machine based fault classification and location of a long transmission line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Papia Ray

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates support vector machine based fault type and distance estimation scheme in a long transmission line. The planned technique uses post fault single cycle current waveform and pre-processing of the samples is done by wavelet packet transform. Energy and entropy are obtained from the decomposed coefficients and feature matrix is prepared. Then the redundant features from the matrix are taken out by the forward feature selection method and normalized. Test and train data are developed by taking into consideration variables of a simulation situation like fault type, resistance path, inception angle, and distance. In this paper 10 different types of short circuit fault are analyzed. The test data are examined by support vector machine whose parameters are optimized by particle swarm optimization method. The anticipated method is checked on a 400 kV, 300 km long transmission line with voltage source at both the ends. Two cases were examined with the proposed method. The first one is fault very near to both the source end (front and rear and the second one is support vector machine with and without optimized parameter. Simulation result indicates that the anticipated method for fault classification gives high accuracy (99.21% and least fault distance estimation error (0.29%.

  10. Enhanced visible-light photocatalysis and gas sensor properties of polythiophene supported tin doped titanium nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, M. Ravi; Siva Prasada Reddy, P.; Rao, T. Siva; Pammi, S. V. N.; Siva Kumar, K.; Vijay Babu, K.; Kiran Kumar, Ch.; Hemalatha, K. P. J.

    2017-06-01

    The polythiophene supported tin doped titanium nanocomposites (PTh/Sn-TiO2) were synthesized by modified sol-gel process through oxidative polymerization of thiophene. The fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) analysis confirms the existence of synergetic interaction between metal oxide and polymer along with extension of absorption edge to visible region. The composites are found to be in spherical form with core-shell structure, which is confirmed by scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, the presence of all respective elements of composite are proven by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The importance of polythiophene on surface of metal oxide has been were studied as a function of photocatalytic activity for degradation of organic pollutant congo red and gas sensor behavior towards liquid petroleum gas (LPG). All the composites are photocatalytically active and the composite with 1.5 wt% thiophene degrades the pollutant congo red within 120 min when compared to remaining catalysts under visible light irradiation. On the other hand, same composite have shown potential gas sensor properties towards LPG at 300 °C. Considering all the results, it can be noted that polythiophene acts as good sensitizer towards LPG and supporter for the tin doped titania that improve the photocatalytic activity under visible light.

  11. Child support and alimony: 1981.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, R A

    1985-02-01

    This report presents information (including 13 tables) as of spring 1982 on payments made to mothers for child support by fathers not living in the same household, and information on support payments and property settlement awards for women involved in marital dissolution. As of spring 1982, 8.4 million mothers were living with a child under 21 years of age whose father was not living with them; 59% of these women were or would be awarded child support payments than black women (34%) or those of Spanish origin (44%). College educated women were more likely to be awarded and to receive child support payments than women with only a high school education. The average amount of child support received in 1981 was $2,110, a decrease of about 16% from the 1978 level of $2,510. Of the 2.6 million women below the poverty level with children present from an absent father, about 40% received child support. Among the poor, 806,000 women were due child support in 1981 but only 61% received some amount of payment. As of spring 1982, only about 15% of the 17 million divorced or separated women received alimony. In 1981 alimony averaged $3,000, a 25% decrease from the 1978 level of $3,980. In spring 1982, about 42% of the 14.2 million divorced women reported receiving some form of property settlement.

  12. Psychometric properties of the revised Malay version Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey using confirmatory factor analysis among postpartum mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norhayati, Mohd Noor; Aniza, Abd Aziz; Nik Hazlina, Nik Hussain; Azman, Mohd Yacob

    2015-12-01

    Social support is an essential component for the physical and emotional well-being of postpartum mothers. The objective of this study is to determine the psychometric properties of the revised Malay version Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey using a confirmatory validity approach. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 144 postpartum mothers attending Obstetric and Gynecology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital. Construct validity and internal consistency assessment was performed after the translation, content validity and face validity process. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and AMOS 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The original questionnaire consists of four domains (emotional/informational support, tangible support, affectionate support and positive social interaction) and 19 items. Affectionate support domain with three items only was treated as a separate construct and was not included in the factor analysis. The final confirmatory model with three constructs and 13 items demonstrated acceptable factor loadings, domain to domain correlation and best fit; (χ2[df]=1.665 [61]; P-value=0.001; Tucker-Lewis Index=0.944; comparative fit index=0.956; root mean square error of approximation=0.068). Composite reliability, average variance extracted and Cronbach's α of the domains ranged from 0.649 to 0.903; 0.390 to 0.699; 0.616 to 0.902, respectively. The study suggested that the four-factor model with 16 items (including one separate factor of affectionate) of the revised Malay version MOS Social Support Survey was acceptable to be used to measure social support after childbirth because it is valid, reliable and simple. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  13. Wavelet analysis to decompose a vibration simulation signal to improve pre-distribution testing of packaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, K. R.; Hicks, B. J.; Keogh, P. S.; Shires, D.

    2016-08-01

    In general, vehicle vibration is non-stationary and has a non-Gaussian probability distribution; yet existing testing methods for packaging design employ Gaussian distributions to represent vibration induced by road profiles. This frequently results in over-testing and/or over-design of the packaging to meet a specification and correspondingly leads to wasteful packaging and product waste, which represent 15bn per year in the USA and €3bn per year in the EU. The purpose of the paper is to enable a measured non-stationary acceleration signal to be replaced by a constructed signal that includes as far as possible any non-stationary characteristics from the original signal. The constructed signal consists of a concatenation of decomposed shorter duration signals, each having its own kurtosis level. Wavelet analysis is used for the decomposition process into inner and outlier signal components. The constructed signal has a similar PSD to the original signal, without incurring excessive acceleration levels. This allows an improved and more representative simulated input signal to be generated that can be used on the current generation of shaker tables. The wavelet decomposition method is also demonstrated experimentally through two correlation studies. It is shown that significant improvements over current international standards for packaging testing are achievable; hence the potential for more efficient packaging system design is possible.

  14. Optical spectral properties of active galactic nuclei and quasars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yee, H.K.C.

    1981-01-01

    Four separate investigations dealing with the properties of optical continuum and emission-lines of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and quasars are presented. Multichannel scans of 3CR radio galaxies are decomposed by using a two-component model-an elliptical galaxy and a power-law nonthermal component. It is found that there is a strong correlation between the luminosity of the power-law component and the strength of the Balmer emission-lines. In most cases, by extrapolating to the Lyman continuum, the power-law models derived provide enough ionizing radiation to account for the Balmer line strengths. Extending the study of radio galaxies to include Seyfert galaxies and quasars, it is found that there is a strong continuity between broad-line AGN's and quasars in terms of similarities in the correlations between line luminosities and nonthermal continuum luminosity. Next, a study of the variability of absolute optical energy distribution and emission-lines of the N-galaxies 3C382 and 3C390.3 is made. Lastly, a preliminary study of surface photometry of Markarian Seyfert galaxies are presented. It is found that the properties of the underlying galaxies such as scale-length and surface brightness of the disk, color, and total brightness, do not depart systematically from those of luminous normal spiral galaxies

  15. Gabor windows supported on [-1,1] and compactly supported dual windows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Ole; Kim, H. O.; Rae Young, Kim

    2010-01-01

    window. More precisely, we show that if b window supported on [-N, N]. Under the additional assumption that g is continuous and only has a finite number of zeros on inverted left perpendicular-1, 1inverted right perpendicular, we...... characterize the frame property of {E(mb)T(n)g}(m,n is an element of Z). As a consequence we obtain easily verifiable criteria for a function g to generate a Gabor frame with a dual window having compact support of prescribed size....

  16. Estimating and decomposing productivity growth of the electricity generation industry in Malaysia: A stochastic frontier analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    See, Kok Fong; Coelli, Tim

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the total factor productivity (TFP) growth of the Malaysian electricity generation industry over the 1998 to 2005 period. The stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) approach is used to measure TFP change and decompose TFP growth into efficiency change and technical progress. We find that it achieved average annual TFP growth of 2.34%, with technical change contributing the most to the TFP growth over the eight year period. We hence hypothesise that the new power plants with their newer capital-embodied technologies commencing during the sample period are likely to be the main reason for this strong technical change. In addition, it is also noted that this estimate for the Malaysian electricity generation industry is larger than the estimate obtained for the electricity sector as a whole, where we obtain 1.34% per year for a comparable period. -- Highlights: •This is the first empirical study that examines the TFP growth of the Malaysian electricity generation industry using the SFA method. •An average annual TFP change of the Malaysian electricity generation industry over eight years (1998-2005) has been achieved at 2.34% per year. •The technical progress contributing the most to the TFP growth and technical efficiency change and scale change making small contributions over the sample period

  17. Influence of TiO{sub 2} Surface Properties on Water Pollution Treatment and Photocatalytic Activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeng, Min [Southwest Univ. of Science and Technology, Mianyang (China)

    2013-03-15

    The titania surface showed different characteristics depending on the charge of the dye molecules. Compared with the MB molecules, the negatively charged MO molecules strongly adsorbed on the titania surface. Furthermore, the decomposition kinetics of the dye molecules by the photocatalytic activity also deepened with the charge of the dye molecules. The relation between the UV irradiation time and the molar ratio of the decomposed dye molecules followed the Avrami equation. According to the results of the analysis by using the Avrami equation, the MO molecules were decomposed on the titania particle surface. In contrast, the MB molecules were decomposed in the aqueous solution. The difference in kinetics was related to the interaction of the dye molecules and the titania surface. These preferential adsorption and decomposition characteristics will improve its applications in water pollution treatment.

  18. Google Home: Experience, Support and Re-Experience of Social Home Activities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijholt, Antinus

    2008-01-01

    Ambient Intelligence research is about ubiquitous computing and about social and intelligent properties of computer-supported environments. These properties aim at providing inhabitants or visitors of ambient intelligence environments with support in their activities. Activities include interactions

  19. Google Home: Experience, Support and Re-Experience of Social Home Activities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijholt, Antinus

    2006-01-01

    Ambient Intelligence research is about ubiquitous computing and about social and intelligent properties of computer-supported environments. These properties aim at providing inhabitants or visitors of ambient intelligence environments with support in their activities. Activities include interactions

  20. Critical properties of some aliphatic symmetrical ethers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikitin, Eugene D.; Popov, Alexander P.; Bogatishcheva, Nataliya S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Critical properties of simple aliphatic ethers were measured. • The ethers decompose at near-critical temperatures. • Pulse-heating method with short residence times was used. -- Abstract: The critical temperatures T c and the critical pressures p c of dihexyl, dioctyl, and didecyl ethers have been measured. According to the measurements, the coordinates of the critical points are T c = (665 ± 7) K, p c = (1.44 ± 0.04) MPa for dihexyl ether, T c = (723 ± 7) K, p c = (1.19 ± 0.04) MPa for dioctyl ether, and T c = (768 ± 8) K, p c = (1.03 ± 0.03) MPa for didecyl ether. All the ethers studied degrade chemically at near-critical temperatures. A pulse-heating method applicable to measuring the critical properties of thermally unstable compounds has been used. The times from the beginning of a heating pulse to the moment of reaching the critical temperature were from 0.06 to 0.46 ms. The short residence times provide little decomposition of the substances in the course of the experiments. The critical properties of the ethers investigated in this work have been discussed together with those of methyl to butyl ethers. The experimental critical constants of the ethers have been compared with those estimated by the group-contribution methods of Wilson and Jasperson and Marrero and Gani. The Wilson/Jasperson method provides a better estimation of the critical temperatures and pressures of simple aliphatic ethers in comparison with the Marrero/Gani method if reliable normal boiling temperatures are used in the method of Wilson and Jasperson

  1. Effect of Macrosegregation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Pressure-Vessel Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Guanghua; Han, Lizhan; Li, Chuanwei; Luo, Xiaomeng; Gu, Jianfeng

    2017-07-01

    Macrosegregation refers to the chemical segregation, which occurs quite commonly in the large forgings such as nuclear reactor pressure vessel. This work assesses the effect of macrosegregation and homogenization treatment on the mechanical properties of a pressure-vessel steel (SA508 Gr.3). It was found that the primary reason for the inhomogeneity of the microstructure was the segregation of Mn, Mo, and Ni. Martensite, and coarse upper bainite with M-A (martensite-austenite) islands have been obtained, respectively, in the positive and negative segregation zone during a simulated quenching process. During tempering, the carbon-rich M-A islands decomposed into a mixture of ferrite and numerous carbides which deteriorated the toughness of the material. The segregation has been substantially minimized by a homogenizing treatment. The results indicate that the material homogenized has a higher impact toughness than the material with segregation, due to the reduction in M-A island in the negative segregation zone. It can be concluded that the microstructure and mechanical properties have been improved remarkably by means of homogenization treatment.

  2. Preparation and tribological properties of inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin/dialkyl pentasulfide as additive in PEG-600 aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan, Jiju; Xu, Xuefeng; Li, Gan; Peng, Wei

    2014-01-01

    The inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and dialkyl pentasulfide (DPS), in which DPS was incorporated into β-CD cavities, was prepared by a co-precipitation method. The tribological properties of the complex used as lubricant additive in PEG 600 aqueous solution were investigated by a four-ball tester. The complex exhibited better tribological properties than β-CD under different loads, and also showed better anti-friction performance than DPS in the latter half of the test duration. The tribological action mechanism of the complex on a steel surface was studied according to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The β-CD molecules of the complexes were decomposed into various molecular fragments and the DPS molecules were released under the friction condition. It revealed that thiolate and ferrous sulfide (FeS) films formed by DPS played a major role, and iron alkoxide and carbon deposition films formed by the friction fragments of β-CD mainly exhibited anti-friction property on FeS-to-FeS interface. The interactions among different films led to the formation of a mixed boundary lubrication film.

  3. THE ULTIMATE STATE CONCEPT APPLIED TO TUNNEL SUPPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mladen Hudec

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available The most questionable are the values of pressures between rock and support resulting from common deformations on the contact area between rock and support. Therefore the modelling and design of the tunnel support is not reliable, if it is based on active rock pressure resulting from this common deformations. The inversion of the design procedure is proposed. Instead of the active extreme pressure of the rock on support, the influence of ultimate reaction of the support on the rock has to be analysed. This procedure can be performed using the ultimate load principle, as proposed by Eurocodc 7 (Geotechnies. Normally, the rock has the tendency to increase the common conver¬gence until the support reaches its ultimate state. So, loading of profile boundary with the ultimate possible reaction of the support is very plausible. The reactive support pressures have to be probable and itself in equilibrium. The ultimate reactive load has to be reduced by Euro-code safety factor for structural elements and applied on the rock with given properties, or alternatively (as proposed by Eurocode 7 the soil or rock properties have to be diminished and calculated with full ultimate support pressures. If the rock with given (or proposed pro¬perties and loaded with ultimate reactive pressures resulting from supposed support, satisfy its failure criterion, then is the compound system support-rock verificatcd. By this procedure, the number of relevant material properties is reduce to the primary stress ratio and the constants defining the failure criterion. The verification can be performed by any of numerical methods, but we prefer here used boundary elements method (the paper is published in Croatian.

  4. Three-dimensional, bioactive, biodegradable, polymer-bioactive glass composite scaffolds with improved mechanical properties support collagen synthesis and mineralization of human osteoblast-like cells in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Helen H; El-Amin, Saadiq F; Scott, Kimberli D; Laurencin, Cato T

    2003-03-01

    In the past decade, tissue engineering-based bone grafting has emerged as a viable alternative to biological and synthetic grafts. The biomaterial component is a critical determinant of the ultimate success of the tissue-engineered graft. Because no single existing material possesses all the necessary properties required in an ideal bone graft, our approach has been to develop a three dimensional (3-D), porous composite of polylactide-co-glycolide (PLAGA) and 45S5 bioactive glass (BG) that is biodegradable, bioactive, and suitable as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering (PLAGA-BG composite). The objectives of this study were to examine the mechanical properties of a PLAGA-BG matrix, to evaluate the response of human osteoblast-like cells to the PLAGA-BG composite, and to evaluate the ability of the composite to form a surface calcium phosphate layer in vitro. Structural and mechanical properties of PLAGA-BG were measured, and the formation of a surface calcium phosphate layer was evaluated by surface analysis methods. The growth and differentiation of human osteoblast-like cells on PLAGA-BG were also examined. A hypothesis was that the combination of PLAGA with BG would result in a biocompatible and bioactive composite, capable of supporting osteoblast adhesion, growth and differentiation, with mechanical properties superior to PLAGA alone. The addition of bioactive glass granules to the PLAGA matrix resulted in a structure with higher compressive modulus than PLAGA alone. Moreover, the PLAGA-BA composite was found to be a bioactive material, as it formed surface calcium phosphate deposits in a simulated body fluid (SBF), and in the presence of cells and serum proteins. The composite supported osteoblast-like morphology, stained positively for alkaline phosphatase, and supported higher levels of Type I collagen synthesis than tissue culture polystyrene controls. We have successfully developed a degradable, porous, polymer bioactive glass composite possessing

  5. TPO characterization of ethanol reduced Pd nanoparticles supported on SiO$_{2}$

    CERN Document Server

    Horváth, A; Sarkany, A; Guczi, L

    2002-01-01

    Silica-supported Pd catalysts were prepared at 298-353 K from Pd(II) chloride or Pd(II) acetate in suspension of SiO/sub 2/ and ethanol- water or ethanol-toluene mixtures, respectively. Reduction of Pd ions diffusing from liquid phase was ensured in an ethanol-rich adsorption layer covering the SiO/sub 2/ particles. Temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) measurements were performed to characterize the organic impurities retained by solid phase. Vapour phase reduction /adsorption experiments with ethanol confirmed that under the reported reduction conditions, the Pd nanoparticles decompose ethanol and the CO formed remains chemisorbed on the Pd sites. Upon contacting the samples with air during the drying process to eliminate the solvent, the CO molecules are immediately removed from Pd sites by O/sub 2/, and thereby, a significant fraction (22-34%) of Pd sites becomes accessible for catalytic reactions. (33 refs).

  6. Further HTGR core support structure reliability studies. Interim report No. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Platus, D.L.

    1976-01-01

    Results of a continuing effort to investigate high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) core support structure reliability are described. Graphite material and core support structure component physical, mechanical and strength properties required for the reliability analysis are identified. Also described are experimental and associated analytical techniques for determining the required properties, a procedure for determining number of tests required, properties that might be monitored by special surveillance of the core support structure to improve reliability predictions, and recommendations for further studies. Emphasis in the study is directed towards developing a basic understanding of graphite failure and strength degradation mechanisms; and validating analytical methods for predicting strength and strength degradation from basic material properties

  7. Correlation between the morphogenetic types of litter and their properties in bog birch forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efremova, T. T.; Efremov, S. P.; Avrova, A. F.

    2010-08-01

    A formalized arrangement of morphogenetic types of litter according to the physicochemical parameters provided their significant grouping in three genetic associations. The litter group (highly decomposed + moderately decomposed) is confined to the tall-grass group of bog birch forests. The rhizomatous (roughly decomposed) litter is formed in the sedge-reed grass bog birch forests. The litter group (peaty + peatified + peat) is associated with the bog-herbaceous-moss group of forest types. The genetic associations of the litters (a) reliably characterize the edaphic conditions of bog birch forests and (b)correspond to formation of the peat of certain ecological groups. We found highly informative the acid-base parameters, the exchangeable cations (Ca2+ + Mg2+) and the total potential acidity, which differentiated the genetic associations of litter practically with 100% probability. The expediency of studying litters under groups of forest types rather than under separate types of bog birch forests was demonstrated.

  8. The Effect of Microporous Polymeric Support Modification on Surface and Gas Transport Properties of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes

    OpenAIRE

    Akhmetshina, Alsu A.; Davletbaeva, Ilsiya M.; Grebenschikova, Ekaterina S.; Sazanova, Tatyana S.; Petukhov, Anton N.; Atlaskin, Artem A.; Razov, Evgeny N.; Zaripov, Ilnaz I.; Martins, Carla F.; Neves, Lu?sa A.; Vorotyntsev, Ilya V.

    2015-01-01

    Microporous polymers based on anionic macroinitiator and toluene 2,4-diisocyanate were used as a support for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([emim][Tf2N]) immobilization. The polymeric support was modified by using silica particles associated in oligomeric media, and the influence of the modifier used on the polymeric structure was studied. The supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) were tested ...

  9. Effect of silver-supported materials on the mechanical and antibacterial properties of reinforced acrylic resin composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Zhihui; Zhu, Bangshang; Chen, Rongrong; Huang, Zhuoli; Zhu, Cailian; Zhang, Xiuyin

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The novel Novaron-nano-ZrO 2 –ABW/PMMA composites was synthesized. • Nano-ZrO 2 and ABWs could increase the mechanical behavior of this composites. • Novaron had synergistic effect to improve the composites mechanical property and the 4 wt% was the optimal proportion. • Novaron could improve the antibacterial properties through their direct contact with the bacteria. • The composites did not have an adverse affect on cell viability. - Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of silver-supported material (Novaron (N)) in acrylic resin (poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)) composites, which reinforced with zirconium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-ZrO 2 ) and aluminum borate whiskers (ABWs), on the mechanical behavior, antibacterial properties and cytotoxicity. Silanized ABWs (4 wt%) and nano-ZrO 2 (2 wt%) were mixed with PMMA powder to obtain nano-ZrO 2 –ABW/PMMA matrices. Various amounts of Novaron particles were incorporated into the matrices and the pure PMMA to test the flexural strength. In addition, Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Canidia albicans (C. albicans) biofilms on the specimen surface and in the culture medium were investigated for metabolic activity and colony-forming units (CFUs). Extracts taken in the cell culture medium of the specimens were used to evaluate cell viability. Results showed that the silanized nano-ZrO 2 and ABWs could improve the flexural strength of composites compared with the pure PMMA. Novaron itself had no mechanical function for composites while it had synergistic effect when it mixed with silanized nano-ZrO 2 and ABWs. And when 4 wt% (N-4) Novaron mixed in nano-ZrO 2 –ABW/PMMA composites, flexural strength achieved an increase of 44%, getting the maximum value. For the antibacterial properties, the values of MTT and CFUs of S. mutans and C. albicans biofilms on the composites surface were greatly reduced (p < 0.05) with the higher proportion of Novaron, and no significant

  10. Ab initio investigation of the structural and electronic properties of the MgFBrxCl1-x quaternary alloy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Ali; Alidoosti, Mohammad

    2014-11-01

    In the present work, we have performed first principles calculations to study the structural and electronic properties of the MgFBrxCl1-x quaternary alloys using the pseudo-potential plane wave approach within the framework of density functional theory. By using the optimized initial parameters, we have obtained the physical quantities such as equilibrium lattice constants a and c, cohesive energy and band gap and then fitted the results by a quadratic expression for all x compositions. The results of bulk modulus exhibit nearly linear concentration dependence (LCD) but other quantities show nonlinear dependence. Finally, we have calculated the total and angular momentum decomposed (partial) density of states and determined the contributions of different orbitals of each atoms.

  11. Pincer-CNC mononuclear, dinuclear and heterodinuclear Au(III) and Pt(II) complexes supported by mono- and poly-N-heterocyclic carbenes: synthesis and photophysical properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonell, S; Poyatos, M; Peris, E

    2016-04-07

    A family of cyclometallated Au(iii) and Pt(ii) complexes containing a CNC-pincer ligand (CNC = 2,6-diphenylpyridine) supported by pyrene-based mono- or bis-NHC ligands have been synthesized and characterized, together with the preparation of a Pt-Au hetero-dimetallic complex based on a Y-shaped tris-NHC ligand. The photophysical properties of all the new species and of two related Ru(ii)-arene complexes were studied and compared. Whereas the pyrene-based complexes only exhibit emission in solution, those containing the Y-shaped tris-NHC ligand are only luminescent when dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). In particular, the pyrene-based complexes were found to be emissive in the range of 373-440 nm, with quantum yields ranging from 3.1 to 6.3%, and their emission spectra were found to be almost superimposable, pointing to the fluorescent pyrene-centered nature of the emission. This observation suggests that the emission properties of the pyrene fragment may be combined with some of the numerous applications of NHCs as supporting ligands allowing, for instance, the design of biological luminescent agents.

  12. Vanadium oxides supported on hydrotalcite-type precursors: the effect of acid-base properties on the oxidation of isopropanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. M. Meira

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Vanadium oxide supported on hydrotalcite-type precursors was studied in the oxidation of isopropanol. Hydrotalcites with different y = Mg/Al ratios were synthesized by the method of coprecipitation nitrates of Mg and Al cations with K2CO3 as precipitant. The decomposition of these hydrotalcite precursors at 450°C yielded homogeneous MgyAlOx mixed oxides that contain the Al+3 cations totally incorporated into the MgO framework. The materials were characterized by chemical analysis, BET superficial area, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR and the reaction of isopropanol, a probe molecule used to evaluate the acid-base properties. The results of TPR showed that the reducibility of V+5 decreased with the increase in magnesium loading in catalysts. The X-ray diffraction patterns of Al-rich hydrotalcite precursors showed the presence of crystalline phases of brucite and gibbsite. It was shown that chemical composition, texture, acid-base properties of the active sites and also Mg/Al ratio strongly affect the formation of the products in the oxidation of isopropanol. The Al-rich catalysts were much more active than the Mg-rich ones, converting isopropanol mainly to propylene.

  13. Vanadium oxides supported on hydrotalcite-type precursors: the effect of acid base properties on the oxidation of isopropanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meira, D.M.; Cortez, G.G. [Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica de Lorena, Lorena, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Quimica. Lab. de Catalise II]. E-mail: cortez@dequi.faenquil.br; Monteiro, W.R.; Rodrigues, J.A.J. [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil). Lab. Associado de Combustao e Propulsao]. E-mail: jajr@lcp.inpe.br

    2006-07-15

    Vanadium oxide supported on hydrotalcite-type precursors was studied in the oxidation of isopropanol. Hydrotalcites with different y = Mg/Al ratios were synthesized by the method of coprecipitation nitrates of Mg and Al cations with K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} as precipitant. The decomposition of these hydrotalcite precursors at 450 deg C yielded homogeneous MgyAlOx mixed oxides that contain the Al{sup +3} cations totally incorporated into the MgO framework. The materials were characterized by chemical analysis, BET superficial area, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and the reaction of isopropanol, a probe molecule used to evaluate the acid-base properties. The results of TPR showed that the reducibility of V{sup +5} decreased with the increase in magnesium loading in catalysts. The X-ray diffraction patterns of Al-rich hydrotalcite precursors showed the presence of crystalline phases of brucite and gibbsite. It was shown that chemical composition, texture, acid-base properties of the active sites and also Mg/Al ratio strongly affect the formation of the products in the oxidation of isopropanol. The Al-rich catalysts were much more active than the Mg-rich ones, converting isopropanol mainly to propylene. (author)

  14. Evolution of material properties during free radical photopolymerization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jiangtao; Zhao, Zeang; Hamel, Craig M.; Mu, Xiaoming; Kuang, Xiao; Guo, Zaoyang; Qi, H. Jerry

    2018-03-01

    Photopolymerization is a widely used polymerization method in many engineering applications such as coating, dental restoration, and 3D printing. It is a complex chemical and physical process, through which a liquid monomer solution is rapidly converted to a solid polymer. In the most common free-radical photopolymerization process, the photoinitiator in the solution is exposed to light and decomposes into active radicals, which attach to monomers to start the polymerization reaction. The activated monomers then attack Cdbnd C double bonds of unsaturated monomers, which leads to the growth of polymer chains. With increases in the polymer chain length and the average molecular weight, polymer chains start to connect and form a network structure, and the liquid polymer solution becomes a dense solid. During this process, the material properties of the cured polymer change dramatically. In this paper, experiments and theoretical modeling are used to investigate the free-radical photopolymerization reaction kinetics, material property evolution and mechanics during the photopolymerization process. The model employs the first order chemical reaction rate equations to calculate the variation of the species concentrations. The degree of monomer conversion is used as an internal variable that dictates the mechanical properties of the cured polymer at different curing states, including volume shrinkage, glass transition temperature, and nonlinear viscoelastic properties. To capture the nonlinear behavior of the cured polymer under low temperature and finite deformation, a multibranch nonlinear viscoelastic model is developed. A phase evolution model is used to describe the mechanics of the coupling between the crosslink network evolution and mechanical loading during the curing process. The comparison of the model and the experimental results indicates that the model can capture property changes during curing. The model is further applied to investigate the internal stress

  15. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the thermal properties of polycarbonate / polyester blend

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zarie, K.A.

    2007-01-01

    The effect of electron beam irradiation on the thermal properties of Bayfol (polycarbonate/polyester blend) solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) was investigated. Non-isothermal studies were carried out using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) to obtain the activation energy of thermal decomposition for Bayfol detector. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the Bayfol samples were decomposed in one main break down stage. Samples of 250 μm thickness sheets were exposed to electron beam irradiations in the dose range 20-600 KGy. The variation of melting temperatures with the electron dose was determined using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicated that the electron irradiation in the dose range 200-600 KGy decreases the melting temperature of the Bayfol samples and this is most suitable for applications requiring the molding of this polymer at lower temperatures

  16. Permafrost carbon−climate feedback is sensitive to deep soil carbon decomposability but not deep soil nitrogen dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koven, Charles D.; Lawrence, David M.; Riley, William J.

    2015-01-01

    Permafrost soils contain enormous amounts of organic carbon whose stability is contingent on remaining frozen. With future warming, these soils may release carbon to the atmosphere and act as a positive feedback to climate change. Significant uncertainty remains on the postthaw carbon dynamics of permafrost-affected ecosystems, in particular since most of the carbon resides at depth where decomposition dynamics may differ from surface soils, and since nitrogen mineralized by decomposition may enhance plant growth. Here we show, using a carbon−nitrogen model that includes permafrost processes forced in an unmitigated warming scenario, that the future carbon balance of the permafrost region is highly sensitive to the decomposability of deeper carbon, with the net balance ranging from 21 Pg C to 164 Pg C losses by 2300. Increased soil nitrogen mineralization reduces nutrient limitations, but the impact of deep nitrogen on the carbon budget is small due to enhanced nitrogen availability from warming surface soils and seasonal asynchrony between deeper nitrogen availability and plant nitrogen demands. Although nitrogen dynamics are highly uncertain, the future carbon balance of this region is projected to hinge more on the rate and extent of permafrost thaw and soil decomposition than on enhanced nitrogen availability for vegetation growth resulting from permafrost thaw. PMID:25775603

  17. [Spectralsignatures of nickel and vanadium supported photocatalysts and their photocatalytic properties].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hai, Feng; Zhang, Qian-Cheng; Wang, Zhi-Wei; Jian, Li

    2011-04-01

    Using SiO2, activated carbon (AC) and Al2O3 as supports, the supported photocatalysts Ni-V-O/SiO2, Ni-V-O/AC and Ni-V-O/Al2O3 were prepared by impregnation method, and their spectralsignatures were investigated. The carbonylation of methanol with CO2 under UV irradiation was used as a probe reaction to compare the photocatalytic performance of the prepared catalysts. Integrated with the testing results of carbonylation, the effects of different supports on selectivity for the carbonylation products of methyl formate (MF) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) were discussed by pyridine-IR and UV-Vis techniques. XRD results showed that the particles of nickel and vanadium supported on SiO2 had the highest degree of dispersion. Results of pyridine-IR indicated that all catalysts retained Lewis acid sites. The acid strength was different from catalyst samples with different supports but with the same active components. The acid strengths could be arranged as follows: Ni-V-O/SiO2 > Ni-V-O/Al2 O3 > Ni-V-O/AC. Different acid strengths exhibited different influence on the selectivity of products MF and DMC of carbonylation. The surface acid strengths of catalysts were the major factor influencing the selectivity of carbonylation products.

  18. Cooperative and supportive neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sree Hari Rao, V.; Raja Sekhara Rao, P.

    2007-01-01

    This Letter deals with the concepts of co-operation and support among neurons existing in a network which contribute to their collective capabilities and distributed operations. Activational dynamical properties of these networks are discussed

  19. Supportability Analysis in LCI Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Dragan Vasiljevic; Ana Horvat

    2013-01-01

    Starting from the basic pillars of the supportability analysis this paper queries its characteristics in LCI (Life Cycle Integration) environment. The research methodology contents a review of modern logistics engineering literature with the objective to collect and synthesize the knowledge relating to standards of supportability design in e-logistics environment. The results show that LCI framework has properties which are in fully compatibility with the requirement of s...

  20. Unsaturated hydraulic properties of Sphagnum moss and peat reveal trimodal pore-size distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Tobias K. D.; Iden, Sascha C.; Durner, Wolfgang

    2017-01-01

    In ombrotrophic peatlands, the moisture content of the vadose zone (acrotelm) controls oxygen diffusion rates, redox state, and the turnover of organic matter. Whether peatlands act as sinks or sources of atmospheric carbon thus relies on variably saturated flow processes. The Richards equation is the standard model for water flow in soils, but it is not clear whether it can be applied to simulate water flow in live Sphagnum moss. Transient laboratory evaporation experiments were conducted to observe evaporative water fluxes in the acrotelm, containing living Sphagnum moss, and a deeper layer containing decomposed moss peat. The experimental data were evaluated by inverse modeling using the Richards equation as process model for variably-saturated flow. It was tested whether water fluxes and time series of measured pressure heads during evaporation could be simulated. The results showed that the measurements could be matched very well providing the hydraulic properties are represented by a suitable model. For this, a trimodal parametrization of the underlying pore-size distribution was necessary which reflects three distinct pore systems of the Sphagnum constituted by inter-, intra-, and inner-plant water. While the traditional van Genuchten-Mualem model led to great discrepancies, the physically more comprehensive Peters-Durner-Iden model which accounts for capillary and noncapillary flow, led to a more consistent description of the observations. We conclude that the Richards equation is a valid process description for variably saturated moisture fluxes over a wide pressure range in peatlands supporting the conceptualization of the live moss as part of the vadose zone.

  1. Fishery landing forecasting using EMD-based least square support vector machine models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabri, Ani

    2015-05-01

    In this paper, the novel hybrid ensemble learning paradigm integrating ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and least square support machine (LSSVM) is proposed to improve the accuracy of fishery landing forecasting. This hybrid is formulated specifically to address in modeling fishery landing, which has high nonlinear, non-stationary and seasonality time series which can hardly be properly modelled and accurately forecasted by traditional statistical models. In the hybrid model, EMD is used to decompose original data into a finite and often small number of sub-series. The each sub-series is modeled and forecasted by a LSSVM model. Finally the forecast of fishery landing is obtained by aggregating all forecasting results of sub-series. To assess the effectiveness and predictability of EMD-LSSVM, monthly fishery landing record data from East Johor of Peninsular Malaysia, have been used as a case study. The result shows that proposed model yield better forecasts than Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), LSSVM and EMD-ARIMA models on several criteria..

  2. Preparation and Hydrogen Storage Properties of Mg-Rich Mg-Ni Ultrafine Particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianxin Zou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present work, Mg-rich Mg-Ni ultrafine powders were prepared through an arc plasma method. The phase components, microstructure, and hydrogen storage properties of the powders were carefully investigated. It is found that Mg2Ni and MgNi2 could be obtained directly from the vapor state reactions between Mg and Ni, depending on the local vapor content in the reaction chamber. A nanostructured MgH2 + Mg2NiH4 hydrogen storage composite could be generated after hydrogenation of the Mg-Ni ultrafine powders. After dehydrogenation, MgH2 and Mg2NiH4 decomposed into nanograined Mg and Mg2Ni, respectively. Thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC analyses showed that Mg2NiH4 phase may play a catalytic role in the dehydriding process of the hydrogenated Mg ultrafine particles.

  3. Heterogeneity in Social Dilemmas: The Case of Social Support

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vogt, S.B.

    2007-01-01

    “Heterogeneous Social Dilemmas: The Case of Social Support” studies the level of social support between heterogeneous actors. We consider heterogeneity with respect to several individual properties: the likelihood of needing support, the costs of providing support, and the benefits from receiving

  4. Oxidative desulfurization of synthetic diesel using supported catalysts. Part 3. Support effect on vanadium-based catalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cedeno-Caero, Luis; Gomez-Bernal, Hilda; Fraustro-Cuevas, Adriana; Guerra-Gomez, Hector D.; Cuevas-Garcia, Rogelio [UNICAT, Facultad de Quimica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Cd. Universitaria 04510, Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

    2008-04-15

    Oxidesulfurization (ODS) of benzothiophenic compounds prevailing in diesel was conducted with hydrogen peroxide in presence of various catalysts, using a model diesel and actual diesel fuel. ODS activities of dibenzothiophenes (DBTs) in hexadecane for a series of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} catalysts supported on alumina, titania, ceria, niobia and silica, were evaluated. Results show that the oxidation activity of DBTs depends on the support used. It was observed that the sulfone yield is not proportional to textural properties or V content. For all catalysts, ODS of benzothiophene (BT), dibenzothiophene (DBT), 4-methyl dibenzothiophene (4-MDBT) and 4,6-dimethyl dibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) decreased in the following order: DBT > 4-MDBT > 4,6-DMDBT > BT. This trend does not depend on the catalyst used or the textural properties of the catalysts and supports. In presence of indole ODS activities diminish, except with catalysts supported on alumina-titania mixed oxide, whereas with V{sub 2}O{sub 5}/TiO{sub 2} catalyst the performance is the highest. ODS of Mexican diesel fuel was carried out in presence of this catalyst and S level was diminished in about 99%. (author)

  5. Impersonality of the Connectivity Index and Recomposition of Topological Indices According to Different Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Zeng Liang

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available The connectivity index χ can be regarded as the sum of bond contributions. Inthis article, boiling point (bp-oriented contributions for each kind of bond are obtainedby decomposing the connectivity indices into ten connectivity character bases and thendoing a linear regression between bps and the bases. From the comparison of bp-orientedcontributions with the contributions assigned by χ, it can be found that they are verysimilar in percentage, i.e. the relative importance of each particular kind of bond is nearlythe same in the two forms of combinations (one is obtained from the regression withboiling point, and the other is decided by the constructor of the χ index. This coincidenceshows an impersonality of χ on bond weighting and may provide us another interpretationof the efficiency of the connectivity index on many quantitative structure–activity/property relationship (QSAR or QSPR results. However, we also found that χ’sweighting formula may not be appropriate for some other properties. In fact, there is nouniversal weighting formula appropriate for all properties/activities. Recomposition ofsome topological indices by adjusting the weights upon character bases according todifferent properties/activities is suggested. This idea of recomposition is applied to thefirst Zagreb group index M1 and a large improvement has been achieved.

  6. Decomposing neural synchrony: toward an explanation for near-zero phase-lag in cortical oscillatory networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajasimhan Rajagovindan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Synchronized oscillation in cortical networks has been suggested as a mechanism for diverse functions ranging from perceptual binding to memory formation to sensorimotor integration. Concomitant with synchronization is the occurrence of near-zero phase-lag often observed between network components. Recent theories have considered the importance of this phenomenon in establishing an effective communication framework among neuronal ensembles. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two factors, among possibly others, can be hypothesized to contribute to the near-zero phase-lag relationship: (1 positively correlated common input with no significant relative time delay and (2 bidirectional interaction. Thus far, no empirical test of these hypotheses has been possible for lack of means to tease apart the specific causes underlying the observed synchrony. In this work simulation examples were first used to illustrate the ideas. A quantitative method that decomposes the statistical interdependence between two cortical areas into a feed-forward, a feed-back and a common-input component was then introduced and applied to test the hypotheses on multichannel local field potential recordings from two behaving monkeys. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The near-zero phase-lag phenomenon is important in the study of large-scale oscillatory networks. A rigorous mathematical theorem is used for the first time to empirically examine the factors that contribute to this phenomenon. Given the critical role that oscillatory activity is likely to play in the regulation of biological processes at all levels, the significance of the proposed method may extend beyond systems neuroscience, the level at which the present analysis is conceived and performed.

  7. Thickness dependent ferromagnetism in thermally decomposed NiO thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ravikumar, Patta; Kisan, Bhagaban; Perumal, Alagarsamy, E-mail: perumal@iitg.ernet.in

    2016-11-15

    We report the effects of film thickness, annealing temperature and annealing environments on thermal decomposition behavior and resulting magnetic properties of NiO (t=50–300 nm) thin films. All the NiO films were prepared directly on thermally oxidized Si at ambient temperature using magnetron sputtering technique and post annealed at different temperatures (T{sub A}) under vacuum and oxygen atmospheres. As-deposited films exhibit face centered cubic structure with large lattice constant due to strain induced during sputtering process. With increasing T{sub A}, the lattice constant decreases due to the release of strain and thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction of NiO into Ni has been observed for the NiO films annealed at 500 °C under vacuum condition. As a result, the antiferromagnetic nature of the as-deposited NiO films transforms into ferromagnetic one with dominant thickness dependent ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. In addition, the existence of both Ni and NiO phases in the annealed NiO films shows noticeable exchange bias under field cooling condition. The behavior of thermal decomposition was not observed for the NiO films annealed under oxygen condition which results in no detectable change in the magnetic properties. The observed results are discussed on the basis of thickness dependent thermal decomposition in NiO films with increasing T{sub A} and changing annealing conditions. - Highlights: • Preparation of highly strained single layer NiO films with different thicknesses. • Study the effects of annealing under different environments on crystal structure. • Understanding the origin of thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction. • Investigate the role of thermal decomposition reaction on the magnetic properties. • Study the interaction between NiO and Ni phases on the exchange bias mechanism.

  8. Decomposing interference during Stroop performance into different conflict factors: an event-related fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melcher, Tobias; Gruber, Oliver

    2009-02-01

    In the current event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we sought to trace back Stroop-interference to circumscribed properties of task-irrelevant word information - response-incompatibility, semantic incongruency and task-reference - that we conceive as conflict factors. Thereby, we particularly wanted to disentangle intermingled contributions of semantic conflict and response conflict to the overall Stroop-interference effect. To delineate neural substrates of single factors, we referred to the logics of cognitive subtraction and cognitive conjunction. Moreover, in a second step, we conducted correlation analyses to determine the relationship between neural activations and behavioral interference costs (i.e., conflict-related reaction time (RT) slowing) so as to further elucidate the functional role of the respective brain regions in conflict processing. Response-incompatibility was associated with activation in the left premotor cortex which can be interpreted as indicating motor competition or conflict, i.e., the presence of competing response tendencies. Accordingly, this activation was positively correlated with behavioral conflict costs. Semantic incongruency exhibited specific activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the bilateral insula, and thalamus as well as in left somatosensory cortex. As supported by the consistent negative correlation with behavioral conflict costs, these activations most probably reflect strengthened control efforts to overcome interference and to ensure adequate task performance. Finally, task-reference elicited activation in the left temporo-polar cortex (TPC) and the right medial superior as well as in left rostroventral prefrontal cortex (rvPFC, sub-threshold activation). As strongly supported by prior studies' findings, this neural activation pattern may underlie residual semantic processing of the task-irrelevant word information.

  9. Making and Breaking Property Rights

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Mogens Kamp

    2015-01-01

    This paper analyzes why some governments protect property rights while others do not. Although institutional constraints may affect government incentives to protect property rights, the paper emphasizes that different political institutions have dissimilar effects. Coalition institutions that make...... governments accountable to large groups in society are particularly important, whereas division of powers between veto players is hypothesized to have more ambiguous effects on property rights. Empirical analyses of panel data support the proposition that coalition institutions matter for property-rights...

  10. Drying of residue and separation of nitrate salts in the sludge waste for the lagoon sludge treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, D. S.; Lee, K. I.; Choi, Y. D.; Hwang, S. T.; Park, J. H.

    2003-01-01

    This study investigated the dissolution property of nitrate salts in the dissolution process by water and the drying property of residue after separating nitrates in a series of the processes for the sludge treatment. Desalination was carried out with the adding ratio of water and drying property was analyzed by TG/DTA, FTIR, and XRD. Nitrate salts involved in the sludge were separated over 97% at the water adding ratio of 2.5. But a small quantity of calcium and sodium nitrate remained in the residue These were decomposed over 600 .deg. C and calcium carbonate, which was consisted mainly of residue, was decomposed into calcium oxide over 750 .deg. C. The residue have to be decomposed over 800 .deg. C to converse uranyl nitrate of six value into the stable U 3 O 8 of four value. As a result of removing the nitrates at the water adding ratio of 2.5 and drying the residue over 900 .deg. C, volume of the sludge waste decreased over 80%

  11. Treatment of Lagoon sludge waste generated from Uranium Conversion Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, D.S.; Oh, J.H.; Lee, K.I.; Choi, Y.D.; Hwang, S.T.; Park, J.H.

    2003-01-01

    This study investigated the dissolution property of nitrate salts in the desalination process by water and the drying property of residual solid after separating nitrates in a series of processes for the sludge treatment. Desalination was carried out with the adding ratio of water and drying property was analyzed by TG/DTA, FTIR, and XRD. Nitrate salts involved in the sludge were separated over 97 % at the water adding ratio of 2.5. But a small quantity of calcium and sodium nitrate remained in the residue. These were decomposed over 600 deg. C while calcium carbonate, which was a main compound of residual solid, was decomposed into calcium oxide over 750 deg. C. The residual solid has to be decomposed over 800 deg. C to converse uranyl nitrate of six values into the stable U 3 O 8 of four values. As a result of removing the nitrates at the adding ratio of 2.5 and drying the residue over 900 deg. C, volume of the sludge waste decreased over 80 %. (authors)

  12. Decomposing transverse momentum balance contributions for quenched jets in PbPb collisions at $\\sqrt{s_\\mathrm{NN}} = $ 2.76 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Khachatryan, Vardan; Tumasyan, Armen; Adam, Wolfgang; Aşılar, Ece; Bergauer, Thomas; Brandstetter, Johannes; Brondolin, Erica; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Flechl, Martin; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hartl, Christian; Hörmann, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; König, Axel; Krätschmer, Ilse; Liko, Dietrich; Matsushita, Takashi; Mikulec, Ivan; Rabady, Dinyar; Rad, Navid; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Herbert; Schieck, Jochen; Strauss, Josef; Treberer-Treberspurg, Wolfgang; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Mossolov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Alderweireldt, Sara; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Lauwers, Jasper; Van De Klundert, Merijn; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Abu Zeid, Shimaa; Blekman, Freya; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Daci, Nadir; De Bruyn, Isabelle; Deroover, Kevin; Heracleous, Natalie; Lowette, Steven; Moortgat, Seth; Moreels, Lieselotte; Olbrechts, Annik; Python, Quentin; Tavernier, Stefaan; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Parijs, Isis; Brun, Hugues; Caillol, Cécile; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Delannoy, Hugo; Fasanella, Giuseppe; Favart, Laurent; Goldouzian, Reza; Grebenyuk, Anastasia; Karapostoli, Georgia; Lenzi, Thomas; Léonard, Alexandre; Luetic, Jelena; Maerschalk, Thierry; Marinov, Andrey; Randle-conde, Aidan; Seva, Tomislav; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Yonamine, Ryo; Zenoni, Florian; Zhang, Fengwangdong; Cimmino, Anna; Cornelis, Tom; Dobur, Didar; Fagot, Alexis; Garcia, Guillaume; Gul, Muhammad; Poyraz, Deniz; Salva Diblen, Sinem; Schöfbeck, Robert; Tytgat, Michael; Van Driessche, Ward; Yazgan, Efe; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Bakhshiansohi, Hamed; Beluffi, Camille; Bondu, Olivier; Brochet, Sébastien; Bruno, Giacomo; Caudron, Adrien; De Visscher, Simon; Delaere, Christophe; Delcourt, Martin; Forthomme, Laurent; Francois, Brieuc; Giammanco, Andrea; Jafari, Abideh; Jez, Pavel; Komm, Matthias; Lemaitre, Vincent; Magitteri, Alessio; Mertens, Alexandre; Musich, Marco; Nuttens, Claude; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Quertenmont, Loic; Selvaggi, Michele; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Wertz, Sébastien; Beliy, Nikita; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Alves, Fábio Lúcio; Alves, Gilvan; Brito, Lucas; Hensel, Carsten; Moraes, Arthur; Pol, Maria Elena; Rebello Teles, Patricia; Belchior Batista Das Chagas, Ewerton; Carvalho, Wagner; Chinellato, Jose; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; Da Silveira, Gustavo Gil; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Huertas Guativa, Lina Milena; Malbouisson, Helena; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mora Herrera, Clemencia; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santoro, Alberto; Sznajder, Andre; Tonelli Manganote, Edmilson José; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Ahuja, Sudha; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; Dogra, Sunil; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Mercadante, Pedro G; Moon, Chang-Seong; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Romero Abad, David; Ruiz Vargas, José Cupertino; Aleksandrov, Aleksandar; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Rodozov, Mircho; Stoykova, Stefka; Sultanov, Georgi; Vutova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Glushkov, Ivan; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Fang, Wenxing; Ahmad, Muhammad; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Chen, Mingshui; Chen, Ye; Cheng, Tongguang; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Leggat, Duncan; Liu, Zhenan; Romeo, Francesco; Shaheen, Sarmad Masood; Spiezia, Aniello; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Chunjie; Wang, Zheng; Zhang, Huaqiao; Zhao, Jingzhou; Ban, Yong; Chen, Geng; Li, Qiang; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Wang, Dayong; Xu, Zijun; Avila, Carlos; Cabrera, Andrés; Chaparro Sierra, Luisa Fernanda; Florez, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; González Hernández, Carlos Felipe; Ruiz Alvarez, José David; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Puljak, Ivica; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Ferencek, Dinko; Kadija, Kreso; Micanovic, Sasa; Sudic, Lucija; Susa, Tatjana; Attikis, Alexandros; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Rykaczewski, Hans; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Carrera Jarrin, Edgar; Ellithi Kamel, Ali; Mahmoud, Mohammed; Radi, Amr; Calpas, Betty; Kadastik, Mario; Murumaa, Marion; Perrini, Lucia; Raidal, Martti; Tiko, Andres; Veelken, Christian; Eerola, Paula; Pekkanen, Juska; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Peltola, Timo; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Wendland, Lauri; Talvitie, Joonas; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Couderc, Fabrice; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Favaro, Carlotta; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Ghosh, Saranya; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Kucher, Inna; Locci, Elizabeth; Machet, Martina; Malcles, Julie; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Titov, Maksym; Zghiche, Amina; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Antropov, Iurii; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Busson, Philippe; Cadamuro, Luca; Chapon, Emilien; Charlot, Claude; Davignon, Olivier; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Jo, Mihee; Lisniak, Stanislav; Miné, Philippe; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Ortona, Giacomo; Paganini, Pascal; Pigard, Philipp; Regnard, Simon; Salerno, Roberto; Sirois, Yves; Strebler, Thomas; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Zabi, Alexandre; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Aubin, Alexandre; Bloch, Daniel; Brom, Jean-Marie; Buttignol, Michael; Chabert, Eric Christian; Chanon, Nicolas; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Coubez, Xavier; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Merlin, Jeremie Alexandre; Skovpen, Kirill; Van Hove, Pierre; Gadrat, Sébastien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Bernet, Colin; Boudoul, Gaelle; Bouvier, Elvire; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Courbon, Benoit; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fan, Jiawei; Fay, Jean; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Grenier, Gérald; Ille, Bernard; Lagarde, Francois; Laktineh, Imad Baptiste; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Pequegnot, Anne-Laure; Perries, Stephane; Popov, Andrey; Sabes, David; Sordini, Viola; Vander Donckt, Muriel; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Toriashvili, Tengizi; Tsamalaidze, Zviad; Autermann, Christian; Beranek, Sarah; Feld, Lutz; Heister, Arno; Kiesel, Maximilian Knut; Klein, Katja; Lipinski, Martin; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Preuten, Marius; Raupach, Frank; Schael, Stefan; Schomakers, Christian; Schulte, Jan-Frederik; Schulz, Johannes; Verlage, Tobias; Weber, Hendrik; Zhukov, Valery; Brodski, Michael; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Endres, Matthias; Erdmann, Martin; Erdweg, Sören; Esch, Thomas; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hamer, Matthias; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Knutzen, Simon; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Millet, Philipp; Mukherjee, Swagata; Olschewski, Mark; Padeken, Klaas; Pook, Tobias; Radziej, Markus; Reithler, Hans; Rieger, Marcel; Scheuch, Florian; Sonnenschein, Lars; Teyssier, Daniel; Thüer, Sebastian; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Flügge, Günter; Haj Ahmad, Wael; Hoehle, Felix; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Künsken, Andreas; Lingemann, Joschka; Nehrkorn, Alexander; Nowack, Andreas; Nugent, Ian Michael; Pistone, Claudia; Pooth, Oliver; Stahl, Achim; Aldaya Martin, Maria; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Beernaert, Kelly; Behnke, Olaf; Behrens, Ulf; Bin Anuar, Afiq Aizuddin; Borras, Kerstin; Campbell, Alan; Connor, Patrick; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Costanza, Francesco; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Dolinska, Ganna; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Eren, Engin; Gallo, Elisabetta; Garay Garcia, Jasone; Geiser, Achim; Gizhko, Andrii; Grados Luyando, Juan Manuel; Gunnellini, Paolo; Harb, Ali; Hauk, Johannes; Hempel, Maria; Jung, Hannes; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Karacheban, Olena; Kasemann, Matthias; Keaveney, James; Kieseler, Jan; Kleinwort, Claus; Korol, Ievgen; Krücker, Dirk; Lange, Wolfgang; Lelek, Aleksandra; Leonard, Jessica; Lipka, Katerina; Lobanov, Artur; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Mankel, Rainer; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mittag, Gregor; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Ntomari, Eleni; Pitzl, Daniel; Placakyte, Ringaile; Raspereza, Alexei; Roland, Benoit; Sahin, Mehmet Özgür; Saxena, Pooja; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Seitz, Claudia; Spannagel, Simon; Stefaniuk, Nazar; Trippkewitz, Karim Damun; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Walsh, Roberval; Wissing, Christoph; Blobel, Volker; Centis Vignali, Matteo; Draeger, Arne-Rasmus; Dreyer, Torben; Garutti, Erika; Gonzalez, Daniel; Haller, Johannes; Hoffmann, Malte; Junkes, Alexandra; Klanner, Robert; Kogler, Roman; Kovalchuk, Nataliia; Lapsien, Tobias; Lenz, Teresa; Marchesini, Ivan; Marconi, Daniele; Meyer, Mareike; Niedziela, Marek; Nowatschin, Dominik; Pantaleo, Felice; Peiffer, Thomas; Perieanu, Adrian; Poehlsen, Jennifer; Sander, Christian; Scharf, Christian; Schleper, Peter; Schmidt, Alexander; Schumann, Svenja; Schwandt, Joern; Stadie, Hartmut; Steinbrück, Georg; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Stöver, Marc; Tholen, Heiner; Troendle, Daniel; Usai, Emanuele; Vanelderen, Lukas; Vanhoefer, Annika; Vormwald, Benedikt; Barth, Christian; Baus, Colin; Berger, Joram; Butz, Erik; Chwalek, Thorsten; Colombo, Fabio; De Boer, Wim; Dierlamm, Alexander; Fink, Simon; Friese, Raphael; Giffels, Manuel; Gilbert, Andrew; Goldenzweig, Pablo; Haitz, Dominik; Hartmann, Frank; Heindl, Stefan Michael; Husemann, Ulrich; Katkov, Igor; Lobelle Pardo, Patricia; Maier, Benedikt; Mildner, Hannes; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Müller, Thomas; Müller, Thomas; Plagge, Michael; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Röcker, Steffen; Roscher, Frank; Schröder, Matthias; Shvetsov, Ivan; Sieber, Georg; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Ulrich, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine; Wayand, Stefan; Weber, Marc; Weiler, Thomas; Williamson, Shawn; Wöhrmann, Clemens; Wolf, Roger; Anagnostou, Georgios; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Giakoumopoulou, Viktoria Athina; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Topsis-Giotis, Iasonas; Agapitos, Antonis; Kesisoglou, Stilianos; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Tziaferi, Eirini; Evangelou, Ioannis; Flouris, Giannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Loukas, Nikitas; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Paradas, Evangelos; Filipovic, Nicolas; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Hidas, Pàl; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Zsigmond, Anna Julia; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Karancsi, János; Makovec, Alajos; Molnar, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Bartók, Márton; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Bahinipati, Seema; Choudhury, Somnath; Mal, Prolay; Mandal, Koushik; Nayak, Aruna; Sahoo, Deepak Kumar; Sahoo, Niladribihari; Swain, Sanjay Kumar; Bansal, Sunil; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Chawla, Ridhi; Bhawandeep, Bhawandeep; Kalsi, Amandeep Kaur; Kaur, Anterpreet; Kaur, Manjit; Kumar, Ramandeep; Mehta, Ankita; Mittal, Monika; Singh, Jasbir; Walia, Genius; Kumar, Ashok; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Garg, Rocky Bala; Keshri, Sumit; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Nishu, Nishu; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Ramkrishna; Sharma, Varun; Bhattacharya, Rajarshi; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Chatterjee, Kalyanmoy; Dey, Sourav; Dutt, Suneel; Dutta, Suchandra; Ghosh, Shamik; Majumdar, Nayana; Modak, Atanu; Mondal, Kuntal; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Nandan, Saswati; Purohit, Arnab; Roy, Ashim; Roy, Debarati; Roy Chowdhury, Suvankar; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Thakur, Shalini; Behera, Prafulla Kumar; Chudasama, Ruchi; Dutta, Dipanwita; Jha, Vishwajeet; Kumar, Vineet; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Netrakanti, Pawan Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Topkar, Anita; Aziz, Tariq; Dugad, Shashikant; Kole, Gouranga; Mahakud, Bibhuprasad; Mitra, Soureek; Mohanty, Gagan Bihari; Parida, Bibhuti; Sur, Nairit; Sutar, Bajrang; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Bhowmik, Sandeep; Dewanjee, Ram Krishna; Ganguly, Sanmay; Guchait, Monoranjan; Jain, Sandhya; Kumar, Sanjeev; Maity, Manas; Majumder, Gobinda; Mazumdar, Kajari; Sarkar, Tanmay; Wickramage, Nadeesha; Chauhan, Shubhanshu; Dube, Sourabh; Hegde, Vinay; Kapoor, Anshul; Kothekar, Kunal; Rane, Aditee; Sharma, Seema; Behnamian, Hadi; Chenarani, Shirin; Eskandari Tadavani, Esmaeel; Etesami, Seyed Mohsen; Fahim, Ali; Khakzad, Mohsen; Mohammadi Najafabadi, Mojtaba; Naseri, Mohsen; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, Saeid; Rezaei Hosseinabadi, Ferdos; Safarzadeh, Batool; Zeinali, Maryam; Felcini, Marta; Grunewald, Martin; Abbrescia, Marcello; Calabria, Cesare; Caputo, Claudio; Colaleo, Anna; Creanza, Donato; Cristella, Leonardo; De Filippis, Nicola; De Palma, Mauro; Fiore, Luigi; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Maggi, Giorgio; Maggi, Marcello; Miniello, Giorgia; My, Salvatore; Nuzzo, Salvatore; Pompili, Alexis; Pugliese, Gabriella; Radogna, Raffaella; Ranieri, Antonio; Selvaggi, Giovanna; Silvestris, Lucia; Venditti, Rosamaria; Verwilligen, Piet; Abbiendi, Giovanni; Battilana, Carlo; Bonacorsi, Daniele; Braibant-Giacomelli, Sylvie; Brigliadori, Luca; Campanini, Renato; Capiluppi, Paolo; Castro, Andrea; Cavallo, Francesca Romana; Chhibra, Simranjit Singh; Codispoti, Giuseppe; Cuffiani, Marco; Dallavalle, Gaetano-Marco; Fabbri, Fabrizio; Fanfani, Alessandra; Fasanella, Daniele; Giacomelli, Paolo; Grandi, Claudio; Guiducci, Luigi; Marcellini, Stefano; Masetti, Gianni; Montanari, Alessandro; Navarria, Francesco; Perrotta, Andrea; Rossi, Antonio; Rovelli, Tiziano; Siroli, Gian Piero; Tosi, Nicolò; Albergo, Sebastiano; Chiorboli, Massimiliano; Costa, Salvatore; Di Mattia, Alessandro; Giordano, Ferdinando; Potenza, Renato; Tricomi, Alessia; Tuve, Cristina; Barbagli, Giuseppe; Ciulli, Vitaliano; Civinini, Carlo; D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Focardi, Ettore; Gori, Valentina; Lenzi, Piergiulio; Meschini, Marco; Paoletti, Simone; Sguazzoni, Giacomo; Viliani, Lorenzo; Benussi, Luigi; Bianco, Stefano; Fabbri, Franco; Piccolo, Davide; Primavera, Federica; Calvelli, Valerio; Ferro, Fabrizio; Lo Vetere, Maurizio; Monge, Maria Roberta; Robutti, Enrico; Tosi, Silvano; Brianza, Luca; Dinardo, Mauro Emanuele; Fiorendi, Sara; Gennai, Simone; Ghezzi, Alessio; Govoni, Pietro; Malvezzi, Sandra; Manzoni, Riccardo Andrea; Marzocchi, Badder; Menasce, Dario; Moroni, Luigi; Paganoni, Marco; Pedrini, Daniele; Pigazzini, Simone; Ragazzi, Stefano; Tabarelli de Fatis, Tommaso; Buontempo, Salvatore; Cavallo, Nicola; De Nardo, Guglielmo; Di Guida, Salvatore; Esposito, Marco; Fabozzi, Francesco; Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria; Lanza, Giuseppe; Lista, Luca; Meola, Sabino; Paolucci, Pierluigi; Sciacca, Crisostomo; Thyssen, Filip; Azzi, Patrizia; Bacchetta, Nicola; Benato, Lisa; Bisello, Dario; Boletti, Alessio; Carlin, Roberto; Carvalho Antunes De Oliveira, Alexandra; Checchia, Paolo; Dall'Osso, Martino; De Castro Manzano, Pablo; Dorigo, Tommaso; Dosselli, Umberto; Gasparini, Fabrizio; Gasparini, Ugo; Gozzelino, Andrea; Lacaprara, Stefano; Margoni, Martino; Meneguzzo, Anna Teresa; Pazzini, Jacopo; Pozzobon, Nicola; Ronchese, Paolo; Simonetto, Franco; Torassa, Ezio; Zanetti, Marco; Zotto, Pierluigi; Zucchetta, Alberto; Zumerle, Gianni; Braghieri, Alessandro; Magnani, Alice; Montagna, Paolo; Ratti, Sergio P; Re, Valerio; Riccardi, Cristina; Salvini, Paola; Vai, Ilaria; Vitulo, Paolo; Alunni Solestizi, Luisa; Bilei, Gian Mario; Ciangottini, Diego; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Leonardi, Roberto; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Menichelli, Mauro; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Androsov, Konstantin; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Bernardini, Jacopo; Boccali, Tommaso; Castaldi, Rino; Ciocci, Maria Agnese; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Donato, Silvio; Fedi, Giacomo; Giassi, Alessandro; Grippo, Maria Teresa; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Savoy-Navarro, Aurore; Spagnolo, Paolo; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Cipriani, Marco; D'imperio, Giulia; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Gelli, Simone; Jorda, Clara; Longo, Egidio; Margaroli, Fabrizio; Meridiani, Paolo; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Preiato, Federico; Rahatlou, Shahram; Rovelli, Chiara; Santanastasio, Francesco; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Bartosik, Nazar; Bellan, Riccardo; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Cenna, Francesca; Costa, Marco; Covarelli, Roberto; Degano, Alessandro; Demaria, Natale; Finco, Linda; Kiani, Bilal; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Monteil, Ennio; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Pacher, Luca; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Pinna Angioni, Gian Luca; Ravera, Fabio; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Shchelina, Ksenia; Sola, Valentina; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Traczyk, Piotr; Belforte, Stefano; Casarsa, Massimo; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; La Licata, Chiara; Schizzi, Andrea; Zanetti, Anna; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kim, Min Suk; Lee, Sangeun; Lee, Seh Wook; Oh, Young Do; Sekmen, Sezen; Son, Dong-Chul; Yang, Yu Chul; Lee, Ari; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Kim, Tae Jeong; Cho, Sungwoong; Choi, Suyong; Go, Yeonju; Gyun, Dooyeon; Ha, Seungkyu; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Youngkwon; Kim, Yongsun; Lee, Byounghoon; Lee, Kisoo; Lee, Kyong Sei; Lee, Songkyo; Lim, Jaehoon; Park, Sung Keun; Roh, Youn; Almond, John; Kim, Junho; Oh, Sung Bin; Seo, Seon-hee; Yang, Unki; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Yu, Geum Bong; Choi, Minkyoo; Kim, Hyunchul; Kim, Hyunyong; Kim, Ji Hyun; Lee, Jason Sang Hun; Park, Inkyu; Ryu, Geonmo; Ryu, Min Sang; Choi, Young-Il; Goh, Junghwan; Hwang, Chanwook; Lee, Jongseok; Yu, Intae; Dudenas, Vytautas; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Vaitkus, Juozas; Ahmed, Ijaz; Ibrahim, Zainol Abidin; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Md Ali, Mohd Adli Bin; Mohamad Idris, Faridah; Wan Abdullah, Wan Ahmad Tajuddin; Yusli, Mohd Nizam; Zolkapli, Zukhaimira; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-De La Cruz, Ivan; Hernandez-Almada, Alberto; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Magaña Villalba, Ricardo; Mejia Guisao, Jhovanny; Sánchez Hernández, Alberto; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Oropeza Barrera, Cristina; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Carpinteyro, Severiano; Pedraza, Isabel; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Uribe Estrada, Cecilia; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Krofcheck, David; Butler, Philip H; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahmad, Muhammad; Hassan, Qamar; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khan, Wajid Ali; Shah, Mehar Ali; Shoaib, Muhammad; Waqas, Muhammad; Bialkowska, Helena; Bluj, Michal; Boimska, Bożena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Zalewski, Piotr; Bunkowski, Karol; Byszuk, Adrian; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Misiura, Maciej; Olszewski, Michal; Walczak, Marek; Bargassa, Pedrame; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, Cristóvão; Di Francesco, Agostino; Faccioli, Pietro; Ferreira Parracho, Pedro Guilherme; Gallinaro, Michele; Hollar, Jonathan; Leonardo, Nuno; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Nemallapudi, Mythra Varun; Rodrigues Antunes, Joao; Seixas, Joao; Toldaiev, Oleksii; Vadruccio, Daniele; Varela, Joao; Vischia, Pietro; Afanasiev, Serguei; Bunin, Pavel; Golutvin, Igor; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Korenkov, Vladimir; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Matveev, Viktor; Mitsyn, Valeri Valentinovitch; Moisenz, Petr; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Shmatov, Sergey; Skatchkov, Nikolai; Smirnov, Vitaly; Tikhonenko, Elena; Yuldashev, Bekhzod S; Zarubin, Anatoli; Chtchipounov, Leonid; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Sulimov, Valentin; Vorobyev, Alexey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Karneyeu, Anton; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Pozdnyakov, Ivan; Safronov, Grigory; Spiridonov, Alexander; Toms, Maria; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Bylinkin, Alexander; Chistov, Ruslan; Danilov, Mikhail; Rusinov, Vladimir; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Rusakov, Sergey V; Terkulov, Adel; Baskakov, Alexey; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Demiyanov, Andrey; Ershov, Alexander; Gribushin, Andrey; Kodolova, Olga; Korotkikh, Vladimir; Lokhtin, Igor; Miagkov, Igor; Obraztsov, Stepan; Petrushanko, Sergey; Savrin, Viktor; Snigirev, Alexander; Vardanyan, Irina; Blinov, Vladimir; Skovpen, Yuri; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Elumakhov, Dmitry; Kachanov, Vassili; Kalinin, Alexey; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Cirkovic, Predrag; Devetak, Damir; Dordevic, Milos; Milosevic, Jovan; Rekovic, Vladimir; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Barrio Luna, Mar; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Escalante Del Valle, Alberto; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Navarro De Martino, Eduardo; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, Antonio María; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Senghi Soares, Mara; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Missiroli, Marino; Moran, Dermot; Cuevas, Javier; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; González Fernández, Juan Rodrigo; Palencia Cortezon, Enrique; Sanchez Cruz, Sergio; Suárez Andrés, Ignacio; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Castiñeiras De Saa, Juan Ramon; Curras, Esteban; Fernandez, Marcos; Garcia-Ferrero, Juan; Gomez, Gervasio; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Rodrigo, Teresa; Ruiz-Jimeno, Alberto; Scodellaro, Luca; Trevisani, Nicolò; Vila, Ivan; Vilar Cortabitarte, Rocio; Abbaneo, Duccio; Auffray, Etiennette; Auzinger, Georg; Bachtis, Michail; Baillon, Paul; Ball, Austin; Barney, David; Bloch, Philippe; Bocci, Andrea; Bonato, Alessio; Botta, Cristina; Camporesi, Tiziano; Castello, Roberto; Cepeda, Maria; Cerminara, Gianluca; D'Alfonso, Mariarosaria; D'Enterria, David; Dabrowski, Anne; Daponte, Vincenzo; David Tinoco Mendes, Andre; De Gruttola, Michele; De Guio, Federico; De Roeck, Albert; Di Marco, Emanuele; Dobson, Marc; Dorney, Brian; Du Pree, Tristan; Duggan, Daniel; Dünser, Marc; Dupont, Niels; Elliott-Peisert, Anna; Fartoukh, Stephane; Franzoni, Giovanni; Fulcher, Jonathan; Funk, Wolfgang; Gigi, Dominique; Gill, Karl; Girone, Maria; Glege, Frank; Gulhan, Doga; Gundacker, Stefan; Guthoff, Moritz; Hammer, Josef; Harris, Philip; Hegeman, Jeroen; Innocente, Vincenzo; Janot, Patrick; Kirschenmann, Henning; Knünz, Valentin; Kornmayer, Andreas; Kortelainen, Matti J; Kousouris, Konstantinos; Krammer, Manfred; Lecoq, Paul; Lourenco, Carlos; Lucchini, Marco Toliman; Malgeri, Luca; Mannelli, Marcello; Martelli, Arabella; Meijers, Frans; Mersi, Stefano; Meschi, Emilio; Moortgat, Filip; Morovic, Srecko; Mulders, Martijn; Neugebauer, Hannes; Orfanelli, Styliani; Orsini, Luciano; Pape, Luc; Perez, Emmanuelle; Peruzzi, Marco; Petrilli, Achille; Petrucciani, Giovanni; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Pierini, Maurizio; Racz, Attila; Reis, Thomas; Rolandi, Gigi; Rovere, Marco; Ruan, Manqi; Sakulin, Hannes; Sauvan, Jean-Baptiste; Schäfer, Christoph; Schwick, Christoph; Seidel, Markus; Sharma, Archana; Silva, Pedro; Simon, Michal; Sphicas, Paraskevas; Steggemann, Jan; Stoye, Markus; Takahashi, Yuta; Tosi, Mia; Treille, Daniel; Triossi, Andrea; Tsirou, Andromachi; Veckalns, Viesturs; Veres, Gabor Istvan; Wardle, Nicholas; Zagoździńska, Agnieszka; Zeuner, Wolfram Dietrich; Bertl, Willi; Deiters, Konrad; Erdmann, Wolfram; Horisberger, Roland; Ingram, Quentin; Kaestli, Hans-Christian; Kotlinski, Danek; Langenegger, Urs; Rohe, Tilman; Bachmair, Felix; Bäni, Lukas; Bianchini, Lorenzo; Casal, Bruno; Dissertori, Günther; Dittmar, Michael; Donegà, Mauro; Eller, Philipp; Grab, Christoph; Heidegger, Constantin; Hits, Dmitry; Hoss, Jan; Kasieczka, Gregor; Lecomte, Pierre; Lustermann, Werner; Mangano, Boris; Marionneau, Matthieu; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, Pablo; Masciovecchio, Mario; Meinhard, Maren Tabea; Meister, Daniel; Micheli, Francesco; Musella, Pasquale; Nessi-Tedaldi, Francesca; Pandolfi, Francesco; Pata, Joosep; Pauss, Felicitas; Perrin, Gaël; Perrozzi, Luca; Quittnat, Milena; Rossini, Marco; Schönenberger, Myriam; Starodumov, Andrei; Tavolaro, Vittorio Raoul; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Wallny, Rainer; Aarrestad, Thea Klaeboe; Amsler, Claude; Caminada, Lea; Canelli, Maria Florencia; De Cosa, Annapaola; Galloni, Camilla; Hinzmann, Andreas; Hreus, Tomas; Kilminster, Benjamin; Lange, Clemens; Ngadiuba, Jennifer; Pinna, Deborah; Rauco, Giorgia; Robmann, Peter; Salerno, Daniel; Yang, Yong; Candelise, Vieri; Doan, Thi Hien; Jain, Shilpi; Khurana, Raman; Konyushikhin, Maxim; Kuo, Chia-Ming; Lin, Willis; Lu, Yun-Ju; Pozdnyakov, Andrey; Yu, Shin-Shan; Kumar, Arun; Chang, Paoti; Chang, You-Hao; Chang, Yu-Wei; Chao, Yuan; Chen, Kai-Feng; Chen, Po-Hsun; Dietz, Charles; Fiori, Francesco; Hou, George Wei-Shu; Hsiung, Yee; Liu, Yueh-Feng; Lu, Rong-Shyang; Miñano Moya, Mercedes; Paganis, Efstathios; Psallidas, Andreas; Tsai, Jui-fa; Tzeng, Yeng-Ming; Asavapibhop, Burin; Singh, Gurpreet; Srimanobhas, Norraphat; Suwonjandee, Narumon; Adiguzel, Aytul; Cerci, Salim; Damarseckin, Serdal; Demiroglu, Zuhal Seyma; Dozen, Candan; Dumanoglu, Isa; Girgis, Semiray; Gokbulut, Gul; Guler, Yalcin; Gurpinar, Emine; Hos, Ilknur; Kangal, Evrim Ersin; Kara, Ozgun; Kayis Topaksu, Aysel; Kiminsu, Ugur; Oglakci, Mehmet; Onengut, Gulsen; Ozdemir, Kadri; Sunar Cerci, Deniz; Topakli, Huseyin; Turkcapar, Semra; Zorbakir, Ibrahim Soner; Zorbilmez, Caglar; Bilin, Bugra; Bilmis, Selcuk; Isildak, Bora; Karapinar, Guler; Yalvac, Metin; Zeyrek, Mehmet; Gülmez, Erhan; Kaya, Mithat; Kaya, Ozlem; Yetkin, Elif Asli; Yetkin, Taylan; Cakir, Altan; Cankocak, Kerem; Sen, Sercan; Grynyov, Boris; Levchuk, Leonid; Sorokin, Pavel; Aggleton, Robin; Ball, Fionn; Beck, Lana; Brooke, James John; Burns, Douglas; Clement, Emyr; Cussans, David; Flacher, Henning; Goldstein, Joel; Grimes, Mark; Heath, Greg P; Heath, Helen F; Jacob, Jeson; Kreczko, Lukasz; Lucas, Chris; Newbold, Dave M; Paramesvaran, Sudarshan; Poll, Anthony; Sakuma, Tai; Seif El Nasr-storey, Sarah; Smith, Dominic; Smith, Vincent J; Belyaev, Alexander; Brew, Christopher; Brown, Robert M; Calligaris, Luigi; Cieri, Davide; Cockerill, David JA; Coughlan, John A; Harder, Kristian; Harper, Sam; Olaiya, Emmanuel; Petyt, David; Shepherd-Themistocleous, Claire; Thea, Alessandro; Tomalin, Ian R; Williams, Thomas; Baber, Mark; Bainbridge, Robert; Buchmuller, Oliver; Bundock, Aaron; Burton, Darren; Casasso, Stefano; Citron, Matthew; Colling, David; Corpe, Louie; Dauncey, Paul; Davies, Gavin; De Wit, Adinda; Della Negra, Michel; Di Maria, Riccardo; Dunne, Patrick; Elwood, Adam; Futyan, David; Haddad, Yacine; Hall, Geoffrey; Iles, Gregory; James, Thomas; Lane, Rebecca; Laner, Christian; Lucas, Robyn; Lyons, Louis; Magnan, Anne-Marie; Malik, Sarah; Mastrolorenzo, Luca; Nash, Jordan; Nikitenko, Alexander; Pela, Joao; Penning, Bjoern; Pesaresi, Mark; Raymond, David Mark; Richards, Alexander; Rose, Andrew; Seez, Christopher; Summers, Sioni; Tapper, Alexander; Uchida, Kirika; Vazquez Acosta, Monica; Virdee, Tejinder; Wright, Jack; Zenz, Seth Conrad; Cole, Joanne; Hobson, Peter R; Khan, Akram; Kyberd, Paul; Leslie, Dawn; Reid, Ivan; Symonds, Philip; Teodorescu, Liliana; Turner, Mark; Borzou, Ahmad; Call, Kenneth; Dittmann, Jay; Hatakeyama, Kenichi; Liu, Hongxuan; Pastika, Nathaniel; Charaf, Otman; Cooper, Seth; Henderson, Conor; Rumerio, Paolo; Arcaro, Daniel; Avetisyan, Aram; Bose, Tulika; Gastler, Daniel; Rankin, Dylan; Richardson, Clint; Rohlf, James; Sulak, Lawrence; Zou, David; Benelli, Gabriele; Berry, Edmund; Cutts, David; Garabedian, Alex; Hakala, John; Heintz, Ulrich; Hogan, Julie Managan; Jesus, Orduna; Laird, Edward; Landsberg, Greg; Mao, Zaixing; Narain, Meenakshi; Piperov, Stefan; Sagir, Sinan; Spencer, Eric; Syarif, Rizki; Breedon, Richard; Breto, Guillermo; Burns, Dustin; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, Manuel; Chauhan, Sushil; Chertok, Maxwell; Conway, John; Conway, Rylan; Cox, Peter Timothy; Erbacher, Robin; Flores, Chad; Funk, Garrett; Gardner, Michael; Ko, Winston; Lander, Richard; Mclean, Christine; Mulhearn, Michael; Pellett, Dave; Pilot, Justin; Ricci-Tam, Francesca; Shalhout, Shalhout; Smith, John; Squires, Michael; Stolp, Dustin; Tripathi, Mani; Wilbur, Scott; Yohay, Rachel; Cousins, Robert; Everaerts, Pieter; Florent, Alice; Hauser, Jay; Ignatenko, Mikhail; Saltzberg, David; Takasugi, Eric; Valuev, Vyacheslav; Weber, Matthias; Burt, Kira; Clare, Robert; Ellison, John Anthony; Gary, J William; Hanson, Gail; Heilman, Jesse; Jandir, Pawandeep; Kennedy, Elizabeth; Lacroix, Florent; Long, Owen Rosser; Malberti, Martina; Olmedo Negrete, Manuel; Paneva, Mirena Ivova; Shrinivas, Amithabh; Wei, Hua; Wimpenny, Stephen; Yates, Brent; Branson, James G; Cerati, Giuseppe Benedetto; Cittolin, Sergio; Derdzinski, Mark; Gerosa, Raffaele; Holzner, André; Klein, Daniel; Krutelyov, Vyacheslav; Letts, James; Macneill, Ian; Olivito, Dominick; Padhi, Sanjay; Pieri, Marco; Sani, Matteo; Sharma, Vivek; Simon, Sean; Tadel, Matevz; Vartak, Adish; Wasserbaech, Steven; Welke, Charles; Wood, John; Würthwein, Frank; Yagil, Avraham; Zevi Della Porta, Giovanni; Bhandari, Rohan; Bradmiller-Feld, John; Campagnari, Claudio; Dishaw, Adam; Dutta, Valentina; Flowers, Kristen; Franco Sevilla, Manuel; Geffert, Paul; George, Christopher; Golf, Frank; Gouskos, Loukas; Gran, Jason; Heller, Ryan; Incandela, Joe; Mccoll, Nickolas; Mullin, Sam Daniel; Ovcharova, Ana; Richman, Jeffrey; Stuart, David; Suarez, Indara; West, Christopher; Yoo, Jaehyeok; Anderson, Dustin; Apresyan, Artur; Bendavid, Joshua; Bornheim, Adolf; Bunn, Julian; Chen, Yi; Duarte, Javier; Lawhorn, Jay Mathew; Mott, Alexander; Newman, Harvey B; Pena, Cristian; Spiropulu, Maria; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Xie, Si; Zhu, Ren-Yuan; Andrews, Michael Benjamin; Azzolini, Virginia; Ferguson, Thomas; Paulini, Manfred; Russ, James; Sun, Menglei; Vogel, Helmut; Vorobiev, Igor; Cumalat, John Perry; Ford, William T; Jensen, Frank; Johnson, Andrew; Krohn, Michael; Mulholland, Troy; Stenson, Kevin; Wagner, Stephen Robert; Alexander, James; Chaves, Jorge; Chu, Jennifer; Dittmer, Susan; Mcdermott, Kevin; Mirman, Nathan; Nicolas Kaufman, Gala; Patterson, Juliet Ritchie; Rinkevicius, Aurelijus; Ryd, Anders; Skinnari, Louise; Soffi, Livia; Tan, Shao Min; Tao, Zhengcheng; Thom, Julia; Tucker, Jordan; Wittich, Peter; Zientek, Margaret; Winn, Dave; Abdullin, Salavat; Albrow, Michael; Apollinari, Giorgio; Banerjee, Sunanda; Bauerdick, Lothar AT; Beretvas, Andrew; Berryhill, Jeffrey; Bhat, Pushpalatha C; Bolla, Gino; Burkett, Kevin; Butler, Joel Nathan; Cheung, Harry; Chlebana, Frank; Cihangir, Selcuk; Cremonesi, Matteo; Elvira, Victor Daniel; Fisk, Ian; Freeman, Jim; Gottschalk, Erik; Gray, Lindsey; Green, Dan; Grünendahl, Stefan; Gutsche, Oliver; Hare, Daryl; Harris, Robert M; Hasegawa, Satoshi; Hirschauer, James; Hu, Zhen; Jayatilaka, Bodhitha; Jindariani, Sergo; Johnson, Marvin; Joshi, Umesh; Klima, Boaz; Kreis, Benjamin; Lammel, Stephan; Linacre, Jacob; Lincoln, Don; Lipton, Ron; Liu, Tiehui; Lopes De Sá, Rafael; Lykken, Joseph; Maeshima, Kaori; Magini, Nicolo; Marraffino, John Michael; Maruyama, Sho; Mason, David; McBride, Patricia; Merkel, Petra; Mrenna, Stephen; Nahn, Steve; Newman-Holmes, Catherine; O'Dell, Vivian; Pedro, Kevin; Prokofyev, Oleg; Rakness, Gregory; Ristori, Luciano; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth; Soha, Aron; Spalding, William J; Spiegel, Leonard; Stoynev, Stoyan; Strobbe, Nadja; Taylor, Lucas; Tkaczyk, Slawek; Tran, Nhan Viet; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Vaandering, Eric Wayne; Vernieri, Caterina; Verzocchi, Marco; Vidal, Richard; Wang, Michael; Weber, Hannsjoerg Artur; Whitbeck, Andrew; Acosta, Darin; Avery, Paul; Bortignon, Pierluigi; Bourilkov, Dimitri; Brinkerhoff, Andrew; Carnes, Andrew; Carver, Matthew; Curry, David; Das, Souvik; Field, Richard D; Furic, Ivan-Kresimir; Konigsberg, Jacobo; Korytov, Andrey; Ma, Peisen; Matchev, Konstantin; Mei, Hualin; Milenovic, Predrag; Mitselmakher, Guenakh; Rank, Douglas; Shchutska, Lesya; Sperka, David; Thomas, Laurent; Wang, Jian; Wang, Sean-Jiun; Yelton, John; Linn, Stephan; Markowitz, Pete; Martinez, German; Rodriguez, Jorge Luis; Ackert, Andrew; Adams, Jordon Rowe; Adams, Todd; Askew, Andrew; Bein, Samuel; Diamond, Brendan; Hagopian, Sharon; Hagopian, Vasken; Johnson, Kurtis F; Khatiwada, Ajeeta; Prosper, Harrison; Santra, Arka; Weinberg, Marc; Baarmand, Marc M; Bhopatkar, Vallary; Colafranceschi, Stefano; Hohlmann, Marcus; Noonan, Daniel; Roy, Titas; Yumiceva, Francisco; Adams, Mark Raymond; Apanasevich, Leonard; Berry, Douglas; Betts, Russell Richard; Bucinskaite, Inga; Cavanaugh, Richard; Evdokimov, Olga; Gauthier, Lucie; Gerber, Cecilia Elena; Hofman, David Jonathan; Kurt, Pelin; O'Brien, Christine; Sandoval Gonzalez, Irving Daniel; Trauger, Hallie; Turner, Paul; Varelas, Nikos; Wang, Hui; Wu, Zhenbin; Zakaria, Mohammed; Zhang, Jingyu; Bilki, Burak; Clarida, Warren; Dilsiz, Kamuran; Durgut, Süleyman; Gandrajula, Reddy Pratap; Haytmyradov, Maksat; Khristenko, Viktor; Merlo, Jean-Pierre; Mermerkaya, Hamit; Mestvirishvili, Alexi; Moeller, Anthony; Nachtman, Jane; Ogul, Hasan; Onel, Yasar; Ozok, Ferhat; Penzo, Aldo; Snyder, Christina; Tiras, Emrah; Wetzel, James; Yi, Kai; Anderson, Ian; Blumenfeld, Barry; Cocoros, Alice; Eminizer, Nicholas; Fehling, David; Feng, Lei; Gritsan, Andrei; Maksimovic, Petar; Osherson, Marc; Roskes, Jeffrey; Sarica, Ulascan; Swartz, Morris; Xiao, Meng; Xin, Yongjie; You, Can; Al-bataineh, Ayman; Baringer, Philip; Bean, Alice; Bowen, James; Bruner, Christopher; Castle, James; Kenny III, Raymond Patrick; Kropivnitskaya, Anna; Majumder, Devdatta; Mcbrayer, William; Murray, Michael; Sanders, Stephen; Stringer, Robert; Tapia Takaki, Daniel; Wang, Quan; Ivanov, Andrew; Kaadze, Ketino; Khalil, Sadia; Makouski, Mikhail; Maravin, Yurii; Mohammadi, Abdollah; Saini, Lovedeep Kaur; Skhirtladze, Nikoloz; Toda, Sachiko; Rebassoo, Finn; Wright, Douglas; Anelli, Christopher; Baden, Drew; Baron, Owen; Belloni, Alberto; Calvert, Brian; Eno, Sarah Catherine; Ferraioli, Charles; Gomez, Jaime; Hadley, Nicholas John; Jabeen, Shabnam; Kellogg, Richard G; Kolberg, Ted; Kunkle, Joshua; Lu, Ying; Mignerey, Alice; Shin, Young Ho; Skuja, Andris; Tonjes, Marguerite; Tonwar, Suresh C; Abercrombie, Daniel; Allen, Brandon; Apyan, Aram; Barbieri, Richard; Baty, Austin; Bi, Ran; Bierwagen, Katharina; Brandt, Stephanie; Busza, Wit; Cali, Ivan Amos; Demiragli, Zeynep; Di Matteo, Leonardo; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Goncharov, Maxim; Hsu, Dylan; Iiyama, Yutaro; Innocenti, Gian Michele; Klute, Markus; Kovalskyi, Dmytro; Krajczar, Krisztian; Lai, Yue Shi; Lee, Yen-Jie; Levin, Andrew; Luckey, Paul David; Marini, Andrea Carlo; Mcginn, Christopher; Mironov, Camelia; Narayanan, Siddharth; Niu, Xinmei; Paus, Christoph; Roland, Christof; Roland, Gunther; Salfeld-Nebgen, Jakob; Stephans, George; Sumorok, Konstanty; Tatar, Kaya; Varma, Mukund; Velicanu, Dragos; Veverka, Jan; Wang, Jing; Wang, Ta-Wei; Wyslouch, Bolek; Yang, Mingming; Zhukova, Victoria; Benvenuti, Alberto; Chatterjee, Rajdeep Mohan; Evans, Andrew; Finkel, Alexey; Gude, Alexander; Hansen, Peter; Kalafut, Sean; Kao, Shih-Chuan; Kubota, Yuichi; Lesko, Zachary; Mans, Jeremy; Nourbakhsh, Shervin; Ruckstuhl, Nicole; Rusack, Roger; Tambe, Norbert; Turkewitz, Jared; Acosta, John Gabriel; Oliveros, Sandra; Avdeeva, Ekaterina; Bartek, Rachel; Bloom, Kenneth; Claes, Daniel R; Dominguez, Aaron; Fangmeier, Caleb; Gonzalez Suarez, Rebeca; Kamalieddin, Rami; Kravchenko, Ilya; Malta Rodrigues, Alan; Meier, Frank; Monroy, Jose; Siado, Joaquin Emilo; Snow, Gregory R; Stieger, Benjamin; Alyari, Maral; Dolen, James; George, Jimin; Godshalk, Andrew; Harrington, Charles; Iashvili, Ia; Kaisen, Josh; Kharchilava, Avto; Kumar, Ashish; Parker, Ashley; Rappoccio, Salvatore; Roozbahani, Bahareh; Alverson, George; Barberis, Emanuela; Baumgartel, Darin; Hortiangtham, Apichart; Knapp, Benjamin; Massironi, Andrea; Morse, David Michael; Nash, David; Orimoto, Toyoko; Teixeira De Lima, Rafael; Trocino, Daniele; Wang, Ren-Jie; Wood, Darien; Bhattacharya, Saptaparna; Hahn, Kristan Allan; Kubik, Andrew; Kumar, Ajay; Low, Jia Fu; Mucia, Nicholas; Odell, Nathaniel; Pollack, Brian; Schmitt, Michael Henry; Sung, Kevin; Trovato, Marco; Velasco, Mayda; Dev, Nabarun; Hildreth, Michael; Hurtado Anampa, Kenyi; Jessop, Colin; Karmgard, Daniel John; Kellams, Nathan; Lannon, Kevin; Marinelli, Nancy; Meng, Fanbo; Mueller, Charles; Musienko, Yuri; Planer, Michael; Reinsvold, Allison; Ruchti, Randy; Smith, Geoffrey; Taroni, Silvia; Valls, Nil; Wayne, Mitchell; Wolf, Matthias; Woodard, Anna; Alimena, Juliette; Antonelli, Louis; Brinson, Jessica; Bylsma, Ben; Durkin, Lloyd Stanley; Flowers, Sean; Francis, Brian; Hart, Andrew; Hill, Christopher; Hughes, Richard; Ji, Weifeng; Liu, Bingxuan; Luo, Wuming; Puigh, Darren; Winer, Brian L; Wulsin, Howard Wells; Cooperstein, Stephane; Driga, Olga; Elmer, Peter; Hardenbrook, Joshua; Hebda, Philip; Lange, David; Luo, Jingyu; Marlow, Daniel; Medvedeva, Tatiana; Mei, Kelvin; Mooney, Michael; Olsen, James; Palmer, Christopher; Piroué, Pierre; Stickland, David; Tully, Christopher; Zuranski, Andrzej; Malik, Sudhir; Barker, Anthony; Barnes, Virgil E; Folgueras, Santiago; Gutay, Laszlo; Jha, Manoj; Jones, Matthew; Jung, Andreas Werner; Jung, Kurt; Miller, David Harry; Neumeister, Norbert; Radburn-Smith, Benjamin Charles; Shi, Xin; Sun, Jian; Svyatkovskiy, Alexey; Wang, Fuqiang; Xie, Wei; Xu, Lingshan; Parashar, Neeti; Stupak, John; Adair, Antony; Akgun, Bora; Chen, Zhenyu; Ecklund, Karl Matthew; Geurts, Frank JM; Guilbaud, Maxime; Li, Wei; Michlin, Benjamin; Northup, Michael; Padley, Brian Paul; Redjimi, Radia; Roberts, Jay; Rorie, Jamal; Tu, Zhoudunming; Zabel, James; Betchart, Burton; Bodek, Arie; de Barbaro, Pawel; Demina, Regina; Duh, Yi-ting; Ferbel, Thomas; Galanti, Mario; Garcia-Bellido, Aran; Han, Jiyeon; Hindrichs, Otto; Khukhunaishvili, Aleko; Lo, Kin Ho; Tan, Ping; Verzetti, Mauro; Chou, John Paul; Contreras-Campana, Emmanuel; Gershtein, Yuri; Gómez Espinosa, Tirso Alejandro; Halkiadakis, Eva; Heindl, Maximilian; Hidas, Dean; Hughes, Elliot; Kaplan, Steven; Kunnawalkam Elayavalli, Raghav; Kyriacou, Savvas; Lath, Amitabh; Nash, Kevin; Saka, Halil; Salur, Sevil; Schnetzer, Steve; Sheffield, David; Somalwar, Sunil; Stone, Robert; Thomas, Scott; Thomassen, Peter; Walker, Matthew; Foerster, Mark; Heideman, Joseph; Riley, Grant; Rose, Keith; Spanier, Stefan; Thapa, Krishna; Bouhali, Othmane; Celik, Ali; Dalchenko, Mykhailo; De Mattia, Marco; Delgado, Andrea; Dildick, Sven; Eusebi, Ricardo; Gilmore, Jason; Huang, Tao; Juska, Evaldas; Kamon, Teruki; Mueller, Ryan; Pakhotin, Yuriy; Patel, Rishi; Perloff, Alexx; Perniè, Luca; Rathjens, Denis; Rose, Anthony; Safonov, Alexei; Tatarinov, Aysen; Ulmer, Keith; Akchurin, Nural; Cowden, Christopher; Damgov, Jordan; Dragoiu, Cosmin; Dudero, Phillip Russell; Faulkner, James; Kunori, Shuichi; Lamichhane, Kamal; Lee, Sung Won; Libeiro, Terence; Undleeb, Sonaina; Volobouev, Igor; Wang, Zhixing; Delannoy, Andrés G; Greene, Senta; Gurrola, Alfredo; Janjam, Ravi; Johns, Willard; Maguire, Charles; Melo, Andrew; Ni, Hong; Sheldon, Paul; Tuo, Shengquan; Velkovska, Julia; Xu, Qiao; Arenton, Michael Wayne; Barria, Patrizia; Cox, Bradley; Goodell, Joseph; Hirosky, Robert; Ledovskoy, Alexander; Li, Hengne; Neu, Christopher; Sinthuprasith, Tutanon; Sun, Xin; Wang, Yanchu; Wolfe, Evan; Xia, Fan; Clarke, Christopher; Harr, Robert; Karchin, Paul Edmund; Lamichhane, Pramod; Sturdy, Jared; Belknap, Donald; Dasu, Sridhara; Dodd, Laura; Duric, Senka; Gomber, Bhawna; Grothe, Monika; Herndon, Matthew; Hervé, Alain; Klabbers, Pamela; Lanaro, Armando; Levine, Aaron; Long, Kenneth; Loveless, Richard; Ojalvo, Isabel; Perry, Thomas; Pierro, Giuseppe Antonio; Polese, Giovanni; Ruggles, Tyler; Savin, Alexander; Sharma, Archana; Smith, Nicholas; Smith, Wesley H; Taylor, Devin; Woods, Nathaniel

    2016-11-09

    Interactions between jets and the quark-gluon plasma produced in heavy ion collisions are studied via the angular distributions of summed charged-particle transverse momenta ($p_{\\mathrm{T}}$) with respect to both the leading and subleading jet axes in high-$p_{\\mathrm{T}}$ dijet events. The contributions of charged particles in different momentum ranges to the overall event $p_{\\mathrm{T}}$ balance are decomposed into short-range jet peaks and a long-range azimuthal asymmetry in charged-particle $p_{\\mathrm{T}}$. The results for PbPb collisions are compared to those in pp collisions using data collected in 2011 and 2013, at collision energy $\\sqrt{s_\\mathrm{NN}} =$ 2.76 TeV with integrated luminosities of 166 $\\mu$b$^{-1}$ and 5.3 pb$^{-1}$, respectively, by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Measurements are presented as functions of PbPb collision centrality, charged-particle $p_{\\mathrm{T}}$, relative azimuth, and radial distance from the jet axis for balanced and unbalanced dijets.

  13. Novette diagnostic support. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cirigliano, R.; Franco, E.; Koppel, L.; Rodrigues, B.; Smith, J.

    1985-02-01

    The primary research areas were the following: (1) contribute x-ray diagnostic, experimental, and data reduction and analysis support for the Novette DANTE x-ray spectrometer experiments. This effort was expanded to improve the overall quality of the Novette database; (2) experimental and calculational characterization of the x-ray imaging properties of an ellipsoidal x-ray collection optic serving as a sensitivity enhancing component of the Transmission Grating Streak Spectrometer; (3) performance simulation of the x-ray dispersion properties of candidate x-ray laser cavity, normal incidence end-mirror optics; (4) contribute x-ray diagnostic, experimental, and data reduction and analysis support for the Novette Henway crystal spectrometer and the MCPIGS microchannel plate intensified grazing incident spectrometer experiments; and (5) perform a technical performance vs cost evaluation of commercially available hardware required to perform the NOVA neutron time-of-flight experiments

  14. Polarimetric Scattering Properties of Landslides in Forested Areas and the Dependence on the Local Incidence Angle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi Shibayama

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the local incidence angle dependence of several polarimetric indices corresponding to landslides in forested areas. Landslide is deeply related to the loss of human lives and their property. Various kinds of remote sensing techniques, including aerial photography, high-resolution optical satellite imagery, LiDAR and SAR interferometry (InSAR, have been available for landslide investigations. SAR polarimetry is potentially an effective measure to investigate landslides because fully-polarimetric SAR (PolSAR data contain more information compared to conventional single- or dual-polarization SAR data. However, research on landslide recognition utilizing polarimetric SAR (PolSAR is quite limited. Polarimetric properties of landslides have not been examined quantitatively so far. Accordingly, we examined the polarimetric scattering properties of landslides by an assessment of how the decomposed scattering power components and the polarimetric correlation coefficient change with the local incidence angle. In the assessment, PolSAR data acquired from different directions with both spaceborne and airborne SARs were utilized. It was found that the surface scattering power and the polarimetric correlation coefficient of landslides significantly decrease with the local incidence angle, while these indices of surrounding forest do not. This fact leads to establishing a method of effective detection of landslide area by polarimetric information.

  15. Decomposing Additive Genetic Variance Revealed Novel Insights into Trait Evolution in Synthetic Hexaploid Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulqader Jighly

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Whole genome duplication (WGD is an evolutionary phenomenon, which causes significant changes to genomic structure and trait architecture. In recent years, a number of studies decomposed the additive genetic variance explained by different sets of variants. However, they investigated diploid populations only and none of the studies examined any polyploid organism. In this research, we extended the application of this approach to polyploids, to differentiate the additive variance explained by the three subgenomes and seven sets of homoeologous chromosomes in synthetic allohexaploid wheat (SHW to gain a better understanding of trait evolution after WGD. Our SHW population was generated by crossing improved durum parents (Triticum turgidum; 2n = 4x = 28, AABB subgenomes with the progenitor species Aegilops tauschii (syn Ae. squarrosa, T. tauschii; 2n = 2x = 14, DD subgenome. The population was phenotyped for 10 fungal/nematode resistance traits as well as two abiotic stresses. We showed that the wild D subgenome dominated the additive effect and this dominance affected the A more than the B subgenome. We provide evidence that this dominance was not inflated by population structure, relatedness among individuals or by longer linkage disequilibrium blocks observed in the D subgenome within the population used for this study. The cumulative size of the three homoeologs of the seven chromosomal groups showed a weak but significant positive correlation with their cumulative explained additive variance. Furthermore, an average of 69% for each chromosomal group's cumulative additive variance came from one homoeolog that had the highest explained variance within the group across all 12 traits. We hypothesize that structural and functional changes during diploidization may explain chromosomal group relations as allopolyploids keep balanced dosage for many genes. Our results contribute to a better understanding of trait evolution mechanisms in polyploidy

  16. Diameter 2 properties and convexity

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Abrahamsen, T. A.; Hájek, Petr Pavel; Nygaard, O.; Talponen, J.; Troyanski, S.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 232, č. 3 (2016), s. 227-242 ISSN 0039-3223 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-07378S Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : diameter 2 property * midpoint locally uniformly rotund * Daugavet property Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.535, year: 2016 https://www.impan.pl/pl/wydawnictwa/czasopisma-i-serie-wydawnicze/studia- mathematica /all/232/3/91534/diameter-2-properties-and-convexity

  17. Testing properties of generic functions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansson, P.; Jeuring, J.T.; Cabenda, L.; Engels, G.; Kleerekoper, J.; Mak, S.; Overeem, M.; Visser, Kees

    2007-01-01

    A datatype-generic function is a family of functions indexed by (the structure of) a type. Examples include equality tests, maps and pretty printers. Property based testing tools like QuickCheck and Gast support the de¯nition of properties and test-data generators, and they check if a

  18. Experimental study on surface properties of the PMMA used in high power spark gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Ruoyu; Wu, Jiawei; Ding, Weidong; Liu, Yunfei; Gou, Yang

    2017-10-01

    This paper studies the surface properties of the Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) insulator samples used in high power spark gaps. Experiments on surface morphology, surface profile, surface chemical composition and surface leakage current were performed. Metal particles ejected in tangent direction of discharge spots were researched on the sample surface. Three kinds of distinct bands were found on the surface after 1500 shots: colorless and transparent sinking band, black band, and grey powdered coating band. The thickness of the coating band was tens of microns and the maximum radial erosion rate was about 10 μm/C. Surface content analysis indicated that the powdered coating was a mixture of decomposed insulator material and electrode material oxides. In addition, leakage current significantly depended on water content in the chamber and presented an U-shape curve distribution along the insulator surface, in keeping with the amount of powdered coating due to shock waves. Possible reasons of the surface property changes were discussed. Electroconductive oxides of low valence states of Cu and W produced by the reactions between electrode materials and arc plasmas were considered to be the cause of dielectric performance degradation.

  19. Data supporting the prediction of the properties of eutectic organic phase change materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samer Kahwaji

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The data presented in this article include the molar masses, melting temperatures, latent heats of fusion and temperature-dependent heat capacities of fifteen fatty acid phase change materials (PCMs. The data are used in conjunction with the thermodynamic models discussed in Kahwaji and White (2018 [1] to develop a computational tool that calculates the eutectic compositions and thermal properties of eutectic mixtures of PCMs. The computational tool is part of this article and consists of a Microsoft Excel® file available in Mendeley Data repository [2]. A description of the computational tool along with the properties of nearly 100 binary mixtures of fatty acid PCMs calculated using this tool are also included in the present article. The Excel® file is designed such that it can be easily modified or expanded by users to calculate the properties of eutectic mixtures of other classes of PCMs. Keywords: Phase change materials, PCM, Eutectic, Thermal properties, Thermal energy storage

  20. Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiC0.5 reinforced copper matrix composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Mengqi; Zhai, Hongxiang; Huang, Zhenying; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhou, Yang; Li, Shibo; Li, Cuiwei

    2013-01-01

    Cu–Al alloy matrix composites containing in-situ TiC 0.5 particles were fabricated by sintering of a mixture of Cu and Ti 2 AlC powders at 1150 °C for 60 min in Ar atmosphere. The micron-sized Ti 2 AlC particles were decomposed into submicron TiC 0.5 grains during the sintering process, meanwhile, Al atoms entered into Cu to form Cu–Al alloy matrix. It was shown that the Cu–Al alloy matrix also consisted of ultrafine grains. Compression tests indicate TiC 0.5 particles can improve mechanical properties significantly, and the ductility maintains at a comparatively high level. The fracture strength of 40Ti 2 AlC/Cu sample reaches 1126 MPa with 12.8% fracture strain. The 20Ti 2 AlC/Cu and 30Ti 2 AlC/Cu samples keep undamaged even after the strain of 26.7%

  1. Density functional study of structural and catalytic properties of free and supported metal nano cluster; Dichtefunktionalstudie der strukturellen und katalytischen Eigenschaften freier und getraegerter Metallnanocluster

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huber, B.

    2007-04-11

    The structural and catalytic properties of metal clusters were determined in the framework of density functional theory. The first part of this work investigates the electronic and geometrical structure of sodium clusters with up to 309 atoms. The ground-state structures of the clusters are determined and the corresponding electronic density of states is compared to experimental photoelectron spectras. The excellent agreement to the experimental results indicates that the correct growth motive of the sodium clusters was found. Small clusters from Na{sup -}{sub 20} to Na{sup -}{sub 42} prefer pentagonal and icosahedral structures with anti-Mackay overlayers, while clusters larger than Na{sup -}{sub 50} prefer icosahedral structures with Mackay overlayers. Clusters between the closed-shell Mackay Clusters often exhibit a twist deformation with respect to the regular Mackay positions. The second part of this work investigates the catalytic properties of free and supported palladium clusters. For both cases the oxidation of small Pd{sub N} clusters (N {<=} 9) was studied. It turned out that MgO supported Pd-clusters dissociate oxygen with a significant lower reaction energy than free clusters or supported systems with particles consisting of several thousands of atoms. The reaction with oxygen transforms the non-crystalline Pd-clusters into crystalline Pd{sub x}O{sub y} nano-oxide clusters that are in epitaxy with the underlying support. Simulations of the CO oxidation on the Pd{sub x}O{sub y} cluster predict a low-temperature reaction mechanism. By calculating the electronic density of states and CO stretch frequencies, different ways of verifying the results experimentally are discussed. (orig.)

  2. Thermal denitration of high concentration nitrate salts waste water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, D. S.; Oh, J. H.; Choi, Y. D.; Hwang, S. T.; Park, J. H.; Latge, C.

    2003-01-01

    This study investigated the thermodynamic and the thermal decomposition properties of high concentration nitrate salts waste water for the lagoon sludge treatment. The thermodynamic property was carried out by COACH and GEMINI II based on the composition of nitrate salts waste water. The thermal decomposition property was carried out by TG-DTA and XRD. Ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate were decomposed at 250 .deg. C and 730 . deg. C, respectively. Sodium nitrate could be decomposed at 450 .deg. C in the case of adding alumina for converting unstable Na 2 O into stable Na 2 O.Al 2 O 3 . The flow sheet for nitrate salts waste water treatment was proposed based on the these properties data. These will be used by the basic data of the process simulation

  3. Animal Bone Supported SnO2 as Recyclable Photocatalyst for Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yun; Wang, Hui; Cao, Mengdie; Zhang, Yichi; Cao, Feifei; Zheng, Xinsheng; Hu, Jinfei; Dong, Jiangshan; Xiao, Zhidong

    2015-09-01

    SnO2 nanoparticles supported on an animal bone which serves as inexpensive and environment-friendly natural products were developed by a facile hydrothermal approach. As a promising photocatalyst, the novel SnO2/porcine bone material exhibited high photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) dye under UV-Vis irradiation. About 97.3% of RhB can be effectively decomposed by the catalysis with the SnO2/porcine bone in 90 min, while only 51.5% of RhB can be degraded by pure SnO2 nanoparticles. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity was incremental with the increase of cycle times in previous five cycles. It is mainly because the photocatalyst which has been used for several times possesses a stronger ability of light absorption and utilization compared to the fresh catalyst according to the results of the characterization and relative experiments. It is noteworthy that the animal bone support can improve the activity for the photocatalyst, which would provide further impetus to alternate synthesis strategies for photocatalysts and make the photocatalysis process faster, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly.

  4. Effect of multi-wall carbon nanotubes supported nano-nickel and TiF{sub 3} addition on hydrogen storage properties of magnesium hydride

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Su, Wei; Zhu, Yunfeng, E-mail: yfzhu@njtech.edu.cn; Zhang, Jiguang; Liu, Yana; Yang, Yang; Mao, Qifeng; Li, Liquan

    2016-06-05

    Multi-wall carbon nanotubes supported nano-nickel (Ni/MWCNTs) with superior catalytic effects was introduced to magnesium hydride by the process of hydriding combustion synthesis (HCS) and mechanical milling (MM). The effect of different Ni/MWCNTs contents (5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 20 wt.%) on the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation properties of the composite was investigated systematically. It is revealed that Mg{sub 85}-(Ni/MWCNTs){sub 15} composite shows the best comprehensive hydrogen storage properties, which absorbs 5.68 wt.% hydrogen within 100 s at 373 K and releases 4.31 wt.% hydrogen within 1800 s at 523 K under initial hydrogen pressures of 3.0 and 0.005 MPa, respectively. The in situ formed nano-Mg{sub 2}Ni and MWCNTs have excellent catalytic effect on the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation performances of MgH{sub 2}. To further improve the hydrogen absorption/desorption properties, TiF{sub 3} was added to the Mg–Ni/MWCNTs system. The result shows that TiF{sub 3} addition has little influence on the thermodynamic performance, but affects greatly the kinetic properties. The Mg{sub 85}-(Ni/MWCNTs){sub 15}-TiF{sub 3} composite exhibits an appreciably enhanced hydrogen desorption performance at low temperature, and the hydrogen desorption capacity within 1800 s at 473 K for the TiF{sub 3}-added composite is approximately four times the capacity of Mg{sub 85}-(Ni/MWCNTs){sub 15} under the same condition. The catalytic effects during hydrogenation and dehydrogenation have been discussed in the study. - Highlights: • The nanosized Ni/MWCNTs catalyst was successfully prepared. • Ni/MWCNTs shows superior catalytic effect on H absorption/desorption of Mg. • Mg{sub 85}-(Ni/MWCNTs){sub 15} composite shows the best hydrogen storage properties. • Ni/MWCNTs coupling with TiF{sub 3} improves the hydriding/dehydriding properties largely.

  5. Process intensification by combination of activated carbon supported catalysts and alternative energy sources

    OpenAIRE

    Calvino Casilda, Vanesa; Pérez-Mayoral, E.

    2014-01-01

    [EN] Activated carbons are well known for their catalytic properties and for being used as a catalyst support in heterogeneous catalysis. Activated carbons possess most of the desired properties of a catalyst support; inertness towards unwanted reactions, stability under regeneration and reaction conditions, suitable mechanical properties, tunable surface area, porosity, and the possibility of being manufactured in different size and shape. On the other hand, the in...

  6. The Effect of Microporous Polymeric Support Modification on Surface and Gas Transport Properties of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhmetshina, Alsu A; Davletbaeva, Ilsiya M; Grebenschikova, Ekaterina S; Sazanova, Tatyana S; Petukhov, Anton N; Atlaskin, Artem A; Razov, Evgeny N; Zaripov, Ilnaz I; Martins, Carla F; Neves, Luísa A; Vorotyntsev, Ilya V

    2015-12-30

    Microporous polymers based on anionic macroinitiator and toluene 2,4-diisocyanate were used as a support for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([emim][Tf₂N]) immobilization. The polymeric support was modified by using silica particles associated in oligomeric media, and the influence of the modifier used on the polymeric structure was studied. The supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) were tested for He, N₂, NH₃, H₂S, and CO₂ gas separation and ideal selectivities were calculated. The high values of ideal selectivity for ammonia-based systems with permanent gases were observed on polymer matrixes immobilized with [bmim][PF₆] and [emim][Tf₂N]. The modification of SILMs by nanosize silica particles leads to an increase of NH₃ separation relatively to CO₂ or H₂S.

  7. Heat insulation support device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Koda, Tomokazu; Motojima, Osamu; Yamamoto, Junya.

    1994-01-01

    The device of the present invention comprises a plurality of heat insulation legs disposed in a circumferential direction. Each of the heat insulative support legs has a hollow shape, and comprises an outer column and an inner column as support structures having a heat insulative property (heat insulative structure), and a thermal anchor which absorbs compulsory displacement by a thin flat plate (displacement absorber). The outer column, the thermal anchor and the inner column are connected by a support so as to offset the positional change of objects to be supported due to shrinkage when they are shrunk. In addition, the portion between the superconductive coils as the objects to be supported and the inner column is connected by the support. The superconductive thermonuclear device is entirely contained in a heat insulative vacuum vessel, and the heat insulative support legs are disposed on a lower lid of the heat insulative vacuum vessel. With such a constitution, they are strengthened against lateral load and buckling, thereby enabling to reduce the amount of heat intrusion while keeping the compulsory displacement easy to be absorbed. (I.N.)

  8. Uni-directional transport properties of a serpent billiard

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horvat, Martin; Prosen, Tomaz

    2004-01-01

    We present a dynamical analysis of a classical billiard chain-a channel with parallel semi-circular walls, which can serve as a model for a bent optical fibre. An interesting feature of this model is the fact that the phase space separates into two disjoint invariant components corresponding to the left and right uni-directional motions. Dynamics is decomposed into the jump map, a Poincare map between the two ends of a basic cell, and the time function, travelling time across a basic cell of a point on a surface of section. The jump map has a mixed phase space where the relative sizes of the regular and chaotic components depend on the width of the channel. For a suitable value of this parameter, we can have almost fully chaotic phase space. We have studied numerically the Lyapunov exponents, time auto-correlation functions and diffusion of particles along the chain. As a result of the singularity of the time function, we obtain marginally normal diffusion after we subtract the average drift. The last result is also supported by some analytical arguments

  9. Multi-equilibrium property of metabolic networks: SSI module

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Luonan

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Revealing the multi-equilibrium property of a metabolic network is a fundamental and important topic in systems biology. Due to the complexity of the metabolic network, it is generally a difficult task to study the problem as a whole from both analytical and numerical viewpoint. On the other hand, the structure-oriented modularization idea is a good choice to overcome such a difficulty, i.e. decomposing the network into several basic building blocks and then studying the whole network through investigating the dynamical characteristics of the basic building blocks and their interactions. Single substrate and single product with inhibition (SSI metabolic module is one type of the basic building blocks of metabolic networks, and its multi-equilibrium property has important influence on that of the whole metabolic networks. Results In this paper, we describe what the SSI metabolic module is, characterize the rates of the metabolic reactions by Hill kinetics and give a unified model for SSI modules by using a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with multi-variables. Specifically, a sufficient and necessary condition is first given to describe the injectivity of a class of nonlinear systems, and then, the sufficient condition is used to study the multi-equilibrium property of SSI modules. As a main theoretical result, for the SSI modules in which each reaction has no more than one inhibitor, a sufficient condition is derived to rule out multiple equilibria, i.e. the Jacobian matrix of its rate function is nonsingular everywhere. Conclusions In summary, we describe SSI modules and give a general modeling framework based on Hill kinetics, and provide a sufficient condition for ruling out multiple equilibria of a key type of SSI module.

  10. Beyond the spectral theorem: Spectrally decomposing arbitrary functions of nondiagonalizable operators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riechers, Paul M.; Crutchfield, James P.

    2018-06-01

    Nonlinearities in finite dimensions can be linearized by projecting them into infinite dimensions. Unfortunately, the familiar linear operator techniques that one would then hope to use often fail since the operators cannot be diagonalized. The curse of nondiagonalizability also plays an important role even in finite-dimensional linear operators, leading to analytical impediments that occur across many scientific domains. We show how to circumvent it via two tracks. First, using the well-known holomorphic functional calculus, we develop new practical results about spectral projection operators and the relationship between left and right generalized eigenvectors. Second, we generalize the holomorphic calculus to a meromorphic functional calculus that can decompose arbitrary functions of nondiagonalizable linear operators in terms of their eigenvalues and projection operators. This simultaneously simplifies and generalizes functional calculus so that it is readily applicable to analyzing complex physical systems. Together, these results extend the spectral theorem of normal operators to a much wider class, including circumstances in which poles and zeros of the function coincide with the operator spectrum. By allowing the direct manipulation of individual eigenspaces of nonnormal and nondiagonalizable operators, the new theory avoids spurious divergences. As such, it yields novel insights and closed-form expressions across several areas of physics in which nondiagonalizable dynamics arise, including memoryful stochastic processes, open nonunitary quantum systems, and far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics. The technical contributions include the first full treatment of arbitrary powers of an operator, highlighting the special role of the zero eigenvalue. Furthermore, we show that the Drazin inverse, previously only defined axiomatically, can be derived as the negative-one power of singular operators within the meromorphic functional calculus and we give a new general

  11. Information Management System Supporting a Multiple Property Survey Program with Legacy Radioactive Contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stager, Ron; Chambers, Douglas; Wiatzka, Gerd; Dupre, Monica; Callough, Micah; Benson, John; Santiago, Erwin; van Veen, Walter

    2017-04-01

    The Port Hope Area Initiative is a project mandated and funded by the Government of Canada to remediate properties with legacy low-level radioactive waste contamination in the Town of Port Hope, Ontario. The management and use of large amounts of data from surveys of some 4800 properties is a significant task critical to the success of the project. A large amount of information is generated through the surveys, including scheduling individual field visits to the properties, capture of field data laboratory sample tracking, QA/QC, property report generation and project management reporting. Web-mapping tools were used to track and display temporal progress of various tasks and facilitated consideration of spatial associations of contamination levels. The IM system facilitated the management and integrity of the large amounts of information collected, evaluation of spatial associations, automated report reproduction and consistent application and traceable execution for this project.x. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Gear fault diagnosis under variable conditions with intrinsic time-scale decomposition-singular value decomposition and support vector machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xing, Zhanqiang; Qu, Jianfeng; Chai, Yi; Tang, Qiu; Zhou, Yuming [Chongqing University, Chongqing (China)

    2017-02-15

    The gear vibration signal is nonlinear and non-stationary, gear fault diagnosis under variable conditions has always been unsatisfactory. To solve this problem, an intelligent fault diagnosis method based on Intrinsic time-scale decomposition (ITD)-Singular value decomposition (SVD) and Support vector machine (SVM) is proposed in this paper. The ITD method is adopted to decompose the vibration signal of gearbox into several Proper rotation components (PRCs). Subsequently, the singular value decomposition is proposed to obtain the singular value vectors of the proper rotation components and improve the robustness of feature extraction under variable conditions. Finally, the Support vector machine is applied to classify the fault type of gear. According to the experimental results, the performance of ITD-SVD exceeds those of the time-frequency analysis methods with EMD and WPT combined with SVD for feature extraction, and the classifier of SVM outperforms those for K-nearest neighbors (K-NN) and Back propagation (BP). Moreover, the proposed approach can accurately diagnose and identify different fault types of gear under variable conditions.

  13. Influence of lipid membranes rigidity on properties of supporting polymer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Majewski, Jaroslaw [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Singh, Saurabh [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dubey, Manish [Intel, Pheonix, AZ

    2012-06-18

    The motivation of this study is: (1) Controllable release of cultured cell sheets - (a) NIPAAm is non-toxic and collapsed at physiological Temp, (b) good platform for cell adherence and growth, (c) below polymer transition temp, cultured sheets are released, (d) hydration of matrix possible cause of cell attachment/detachment, (e) need for understanding hydration of underlying support; (2) Matrix elasticity plays an important role in cell lineage specification - (a) matrices of known stiffness are utilized as supports to understand physical effect of in-vivo tissue microenvironment for therapeutic uses of stem cells, (b) it is believed that stem cells 'sense' the elasticity and transduce the information into morphological changes, (c) Imperative to consider the changes induced in matrix as a result of immobilized cells.

  14. Ni-SiO2 Catalysts for the Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane: Varying Support Properties by Flame Spray Pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma C. Lovell

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Silica particles were prepared by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP as a support for nickel catalysts. The impact of precursor feed rate (3, 5 and 7 mL/min during FSP on the silica characteristics and the ensuing effect on catalytic performance for the carbon dioxide, or dry, reforming of methane (DRM was probed. Increasing the precursor feed rate: (i progressively lowered the silica surface area from ≈340 m2/g to ≈240 m2/g; (ii altered the silanol groups on the silica surface; and (iii introduced residual carbon-based surface species to the sample at the highest feed rate. The variations in silica properties altered the (5 wt % nickel deposit characteristics which in turn impacted on the DRM reaction. As the silica surface area increased, the nickel dispersion increased which improved catalyst performance. The residual carbon-based species also appeared to improve nickel dispersion, and in turn catalyst activity, although not to the same extent as the change in silica surface area. The findings illustrate both the importance of silica support characteristics on the catalytic performance of nickel for the DRM reaction and the capacity for using FSP to control these characteristics.

  15. Low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation over zirconia-supported CuO–CeO{sub 2} catalysts: Effect of zirconia support properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moretti, Elisa, E-mail: elisa.moretti@unive.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, INSTM Venice Research Unit, Via Torino 155/B, 30172 Mestre Venezia (Italy); Molina, Antonia Infantes [Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Cristalografía y Mineralogía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga (Spain); Sponchia, Gabriele; Talon, Aldo; Frattini, Romana [Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, INSTM Venice Research Unit, Via Torino 155/B, 30172 Mestre Venezia (Italy); Rodriguez-Castellon, Enrique [Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Cristalografía y Mineralogía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga (Spain); Storaro, Loretta [Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, INSTM Venice Research Unit, Via Torino 155/B, 30172 Mestre Venezia (Italy)

    2017-05-01

    Highlights: • CuO-CeO{sub 2}/ZrO{sub 2} materials were investigated in the low temperature CO oxidation. • High surface area ZrO{sub 2} synthetized by sol-gel method. • Low ZrO{sub 2} surface area synthetized by fast precipitation. • Sol-gel samples showed, after impregnation, a severe decrease of surface area. • CuO-CeO{sub 2}/ZrO{sub 2} with precipitated ZrO{sub 2} led to a very active catalyst. - Abstract: A study was conducted to investigate the effect of the preparation route of ZrO{sub 2} in CuO–CeO{sub 2}/ZrO{sub 2} catalysts for the oxidation of carbon monoxide at low temperature (COX). Four ZrO{sub 2} supports were synthetized via either type sol-gel methodology or precipitation. The final Cu-Ce-Zr oxide catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness co-impregnation with copper and cerium solutions (with a loading of 6 wt% of CuO and 20 wt% of CeO{sub 2}). The catalyst crystalline phases, texture and active species reducibility were determined by XRD, N{sub 2} physisorption at −196 °C and H{sub 2}-TPR, respectively; meanwhile the surface composition and copper-cerium electronic states were studied by XPS. The catalytic activity was evaluated in the oxidation of CO to CO{sub 2}, in the 40–215 °C temperature range. Catalytic results evidenced that the samples prepared by a sol-gel methodology showed, after the impregnation, a severe decrease of specific surface area and pore volume attributable to a wide degree of pore blockage caused by the presence of metal oxide particles and a collapse of the structure partially burying the active sites. A simple co-impregnation of a zirconia support, obtained through facile and fast precipitation, provided instead a catalyst with very good redox properties and high dispersion of the active phases, which completely oxidizes CO in the range 115–215 °C with T{sub 50} of 65 °C. This higher observed activity was ascribed to the formation of a larger fraction of highly dispersed and easily reducible Cu

  16. LHC IRQ cryostat support mechanical performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darve, C.; Nicol, T.; Knauf, A.

    1999-01-01

    The LHC Interaction Region Quadrupoles (IRQ) will be shipped from Fermilab to CERN. The IRQ magnets are supported by glass fiber supports. A prototype cryostat support has been tested under various mechanical forces in order to check its mechanical behavior. These measurements have been made in order to validate a numerical model. A large range of mechanical loads simulates loads due to the shipment of the device, the weight of the cold mass as well as the cool down conditions. Its mechanical properties are measured by means of a dedicated arrangement operating at room temperature. This study appears to be essential to optimize the design of the support. The purpose of this note is to summarize the first measurements related to mechanical tests performed with the support

  17. Titanium Dioxide as a Catalyst Support in Heterogeneous Catalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagheri, Samira; Muhd Julkapli, Nurhidayatullaili; Bee Abd Hamid, Sharifah

    2014-01-01

    The lack of stability is a challenge for most heterogeneous catalysts. During operations, the agglomeration of particles may block the active sites of the catalyst, which is believed to contribute to its instability. Recently, titanium oxide (TiO2) was introduced as an alternative support material for heterogeneous catalyst due to the effect of its high surface area stabilizing the catalysts in its mesoporous structure. TiO2 supported metal catalysts have attracted interest due to TiO2 nanoparticles high activity for various reduction and oxidation reactions at low pressures and temperatures. Furthermore, TiO2 was found to be a good metal oxide catalyst support due to the strong metal support interaction, chemical stability, and acid-base property. The aforementioned properties make heterogeneous TiO2 supported catalysts show a high potential in photocatalyst-related applications, electrodes for wet solar cells, synthesis of fine chemicals, and others. This review focuses on TiO2 as a support material for heterogeneous catalysts and its potential applications. PMID:25383380

  18. Mechanical properties of ASTM A508 Class 4 steel used in the LWBR closure head and support flange (LWBR Development Program)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, R.M.; Hall, J.F.

    1978-07-01

    The LWBR closure head and support flange are manufactured from forgings of ASTM A508 Class 4 steel rather than the ASTM A508 Class 2 forging material more commonly used in reactor vessels and closure heads. Forgings involved were approximately 300,000 pounds and 46,000 pounds. The extensive material test program conducted on ASTM A508 Class 4 LWBR forgings is described. The results of the tests confirm that the A508 Class 4 material used for the LWBR forgings has been quite good through thickness, fracture toughness, and strength properties and fully meet all specified requirements

  19. Effect of physical property of supporting media and variable hydraulic loading on hydraulic characteristics of advanced onsite wastewater treatment system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Meena Kumari; Kazmi, Absar Ahmad

    2015-01-01

    A laboratory-scale study was carried out to investigate the effects of physical properties of the supporting media and variable hydraulic shock loads on the hydraulic characteristics of an advanced onsite wastewater treatment system. The system consisted of two upflow anaerobic reactors (a septic tank and an anaerobic filter) accommodated within a single unit. The study was divided into three phases on the basis of three different supporting media (Aqwise carriers, corrugated ring and baked clay) used in the anaerobic filter. Hydraulic loadings were based on peak flow factor (PFF), varying from one to six, to simulate the actual conditions during onsite wastewater treatment. Hydraulic characteristics of the system were identified on the basis of residence time distribution analyses. The system showed a very good hydraulic efficiency, between 0.86 and 0.93, with the media of highest porosity at the hydraulic loading of PFF≤4. At the higher hydraulic loading of PFF 6 also, an appreciable hydraulic efficiency of 0.74 was observed. The system also showed good chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids removal efficiency of 80.5% and 82.3%, respectively at the higher hydraulic loading of PFF 6. Plug-flow dispersion model was found to be the most appropriate one to describe the mixing pattern of the system, with different supporting media at variable loading, during the tracer study.

  20. The Effect of Microporous Polymeric Support Modification on Surface and Gas Transport Properties of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alsu A. Akhmetshina

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Microporous polymers based on anionic macroinitiator and toluene 2,4-diisocyanate were used as a support for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6] and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonylimide ([emim][Tf2N] immobilization. The polymeric support was modified by using silica particles associated in oligomeric media, and the influence of the modifier used on the polymeric structure was studied. The supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs were tested for He, N2, NH3, H2S, and CO2 gas separation and ideal selectivities were calculated. The high values of ideal selectivity for ammonia-based systems with permanent gases were observed on polymer matrixes immobilized with [bmim][PF6] and [emim][Tf2N]. The modification of SILMs by nanosize silica particles leads to an increase of NH3 separation relatively to CO2 or H2S.

  1. Montmorillonite-supported Pd{sup 0}, Fe{sup 0}, Cu{sup 0} and Ag{sup 0} nanoparticles: Properties and affinity towards CO{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bouazizi, Nabil, E-mail: bouazizi.nabil@hotmail.fr [Nanoqam, Department of Chemistry, University of Quebec at Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8 Canada (Canada); Research unit: Environment, Catalyzes and Process Analysis, ENIG University of Gabes (Tunisia); Barrimo, Diana; Nousir, Saadia [Nanoqam, Department of Chemistry, University of Quebec at Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8 Canada (Canada); Ben Slama, Romdhane [Research unit: Environment, Catalyzes and Process Analysis, ENIG University of Gabes (Tunisia); Roy, René [Nanoqam, Department of Chemistry, University of Quebec at Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8 Canada (Canada); Azzouz, Abdelkrim, E-mail: azzouz.a@uqam.ca [Nanoqam, Department of Chemistry, University of Quebec at Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8 Canada (Canada)

    2017-04-30

    Highlights: • Purification and modification of montmorillonite. • Dispersion and immobilization of metallic nanoparticles within NaMt layers. • Changes of the distance between the minerals clay layers. • Applications of NaMt-M-NPs adsorbents for adsorption of CO{sub 2}. - Abstract: This study reports the carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) adsorption on montmorillonite (NaMt) incorporating Cu{sup 0}, Fe{sup 0}, Pd{sup 0} and Ag{sup 0} as metallic nanoparticles (MNPs). The changes in structural, textural, morphological and adsorption properties of the resulting materials (NaMt-MNPs) were investigated. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction showed that dispersion of fine MNPs occurs mainly within the interlayer space of NaMt, producing a slight structure expansion. This was accompanied by a visible enhancement of the affinity towards CO{sub 2}, as supported by thermal programmed desorption measurements. NaMt-MNPs displayed high CO{sub 2} retention capacity (CRC) of ca. 657 μmol/g for NaMt-Cu as compared to NaMt. This was explained in terms of increased number of available adsorption sites due to enlarged interlayer spaces caused by MNP insertion. The differences in CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities clearly demonstrate the key role of MNPs in improving the surface properties and adsorption capacity. The results reported herein open new prospects for clay supported metal nanoparticles as efficient adsorbents for CO{sub 2}.

  2. Debates on Intellectual Property Rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula – Angela VIDRAŞCU

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper supports the understanding of the definition of intellectual property rights and strong connection with intangible assets and, on the other hand, provides a brief presentation of the organizations supporting the protection of such rights. The essential aim of this article is represented by the detailed information obtained as a result of research carried out in order to define, identify and study the application of IPR in general and especially in our country. At the end of the paper I mentioned what involves protecting intellectual property rights and brought little concerned how our country is perceived to protect such rights. Most often, intellectual property is defined as a formal document of title, like a lease, which means that the property is a legal concept distinct from real property that are actually good without concrete material form. Constitute a special category of assets being perceived as an original creation, derived from creative ideas; has or may have a commercial value due to its contribution to earnings for its owner. The need for protection of intellectual property rights has emerged because of the changes in the contemporary society. The aim and purpose of which is to protect human intelligence product and, at the same time, ensuring that consumers benefit from the use of the attributes of this product. Always remember that the violation of intellectual property rights, causes injury to major economic, signifying a strong threat to the consumers health and safety.

  3. METHANE DRY REFORMING OVER Ni SUPPORTED ON PINE SAWDUST ACTIVATED CARBON: EFFECTS OF SUPPORT SURFACE PROPERTIES AND METAL LOADING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael García

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The influence of metal loading and support surface functional groups (SFG on methane dry reforming (MDR over Ni catalysts supported on pine-sawdust derived activated carbon were studied. Using pine sawdust as the catalyst support precursor, the smallest variety and lowest concentration of SFG led to best Ni dispersion and highest catalytic activity, which increased with Ni loading up to 3 Ni atoms nm-2. At higher Ni loading, the formation of large metal aggregates was observed, consistent with a lower "apparen" surface area and a decrease in catalytic activity. The H2/CO ratio rose with increasing reaction temperature, indicating that increasingly important side reactions were taking place in addition to MDR.

  4. Heterogeneous catalysis in the liquid-phase oxidation of olefins--3. The activity of supported vanadium-chromium binary oxide catalyst for the oxidation of cyclohexene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takehira, K; Hayakawa, T; Ishikawa, T

    1979-03-01

    The activity of supported vanadium-chromium binary oxide catalyst for the oxidation of cyclohexene to 1-cyclohexenyl hydroperoxide, 2-cyclohexene-1-one, 2-cyclohexene-1-ol, and cyclohexene oxide was due to the interaction between the metal oxides and the carriers. The oxidation reaction was carried out in benzene at 60/sup 0/C for four hours with the binary oxide supported on (GAMMA)-alumina or silica; three series of catalysts were prepared by combining the vanadium and chromium oxide components with alumina hydrate or silica sol by a kneading method. The silica-supported catalysts had the greatest activity, the highest being the V/sub 2/O/sub 5//SiO/sub 2/ system, which lost its activity quickly during the reaction. This was followed in activity by the Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3//SiO/sub 2/ system, containing the chromium(V) species. The Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3//Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ system also had high activity and the chromium(V) species. The vanadium and chromium metal ions are probably coordinated tetrahedrally on the support, and these complexes catalyze cyclohexene autoxidation by decomposing 1-cyclohexenyl hydroperoxide.

  5. An Approach for Hydrogen Recycling in a Closed-loop Life Support Architecture to Increase Oxygen Recovery Beyond State-of-the-Art

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abney, Morgan B.; Miller, Lee; Greenwood, Zachary; Alvarez, Giraldo

    2014-01-01

    State-of-the-art atmosphere revitalization life support technology on the International Space Station is theoretically capable of recovering 50% of the oxygen from metabolic carbon dioxide via the Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA). When coupled with a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA), oxygen recovery increases dramatically, thus drastically reducing the logistical challenges associated with oxygen resupply. The PPA decomposes methane to predominantly form hydrogen and acetylene. Because of the unstable nature of acetylene, a down-stream separation system is required to remove acetylene from the hydrogen stream before it is recycled to the CRA. A new closed-loop architecture that includes a PPA and downstream Hydrogen Purification Assembly (HyPA) is proposed and discussed. Additionally, initial results of separation material testing are reported.

  6. Structural properties of superconducting Bi-2223/Ag tapes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gottschalck Andersen, L.

    2001-05-01

    The structural properties of silver clad high-T{sub c} superconducting ceramic tapes of (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (Bi-2223) have been investigated by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction (including the 3DXRD microscope setup), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). By synchrotron X-ray diffraction in situ studies of the phase development during the transformation of (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 1}Cu{sub 2}O{sub x} (Bi-2212) into Bi-2223, the stoichiometry changes and the texture have been performed during annealing in 8% O{sub 2} and in air. Furthermore, an annealing with two high temperature cycles has been performed to study the equilibrium phenomena. During heating (Ca,Sr){sub 2}PbO{sub 4} decomposes at temperatures between 700 deg. C and 840 deg.C. Simultaneously, the Bi-2212 lattice contracts, indicating an incorporation of Pb. Moreover, the grain mis-alignment decreases significantly. In air we have observed that Bi-2212 partly dissociates into (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} and a liquid at temperatures above 812 deg. C. At the annealing temperature Bi-2212 and (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} react with the liquid to form Bi-2223. The transformation mechanism is discussed. During cooling below {approx}750 deg.C (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} and the liquid mainly transform into Bi-2201. Below {approx}780 deg. C Bi-2223 decomposes to 3221. In addition, a two-step cooling experiment and a decomposition study have been performed in 8% O{sub 2}. By TEM the grain and colony size in the c-axis direction, the angles of c-axis tilt grain boundaries and the intergrowth content are investigated. A fully processed tape has on average 50% thicker grains than a tape after the 1st annealing. The angles of c-axis tilt grain boundaries are on average 14 deg. and 26 deg. for the fully processed tape and the tape after the 1st annealing, respectively. The intergrowth content (15%) and

  7. Electrocatalytic properties of carbon-supported Pt-Ru catalysts with the high alloying degree for formic acid electrooxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Yu.; Zhou, Yiming; Tang, Yawen; Lu, Tianhong [College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097 (China)

    2010-07-01

    A series of carbon-supported bimetallic Pt-Ru catalysts with high alloying degree and different Pt/Ru atomic ratio have been prepared by a chemical reduction method in the H{sub 2}O/ethanol/tetrahydrofuran (THF) mixture solvent. The structural and electronic properties of catalysts are characterized using X-ray reflection (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrooxidation of formic acid on these Pt-Ru nanoparticles are investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and CO-stripping measurements. The results of electrochemical measurements illustrate that the alloying degree and Pt/Ru atomic ratio of Pt-Ru catalyst play an important role in the electrocatalytic activity of the Pt-Ru/C catalyst for formic acid electrooxidation due to the bifunctional mechanism and the electronic effect. Since formic acid is an intermediate in the methanol electrooxidation on Pt electrode in acidic electrolyte, the observation provides an additional fundamental understanding of the structure-activity relationship of Pt-Ru catalyst for methanol electrooxidation. (author)

  8. The photon Green's function for bounded media: Splitting property and nonequilibrium radiation laws

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richter, F; Semkat, D; Henneberger, K

    2010-01-01

    The presence of a medium boundary has been a major obstacle for the theoretical description of the propagation, emission and absorption of light due to the loss of translational invariance. We present a nonequilibrium photon Green's function theory that is valid for bounded (i.e., spatially inhomogeneous) media systems and also yields an energy flow law which can be seen as a generalization of the Kirchhoff and Planck laws to nonequilibrium. With the help of this law, we discuss mechanisms of emission and optical signatures of quantum condensates. An important finding is that the D>< components of the photon GF, which describe field-field fluctuations, decompose universally into two parts related to medium kinetics and external light sources. Thanks to their specific structure, the propagation of arbitrary (even nonclassical) light can be analyzed straightforwardly. These properties are used to demonstrate the energy flux and scattering of squeezed light incident on the medium.

  9. Graded microstructure and mechanical properties of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V via electron beam melting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan, Xipeng; Kok, Yihong; Tan, Yu Jun; Descoins, Marion; Mangelinck, Dominique; Tor, Shu Beng; Leong, Kah Fai; Chua, Chee Kai

    2015-01-01

    Electron beam melting (EBM®)-built Ti–6Al–4V has increasingly shown great potential for orthopedic implant and aerospace applications in recent years. The microstructure and mechanical properties of EBM-built Ti–6Al–4V have been systematically investigated in this work. Its microstructure consists of columnar prior β grains delineated by wavy grain boundary α and transformed α/β structures with both cellular colony and basket-weave morphology as well as numerous singular α bulges within the prior β grains. The β phase is found to form as discrete flat rods embedded in continuous α phase and its volume fraction is determined to be ∼3.6%. Moreover, α′ martensite was not observed as it has decomposed into α and β phases. In particular, the α/β interface was studied in detail combined transmission electron microscopy with atom probe tomography. Of note is that graded Ti–6Al–4V microstructure i.e. both prior β grain width and β phase interspacing continuously increase with the build height, was observed, which mainly arises from the decreasing cooling rate. Furthermore, an increasingly pronounced strain hardening effect was also observed as the previously built layers undergo a longer annealing compared to the subsequent layers. As a result, graded mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V with degraded microhardness and tensile properties were found. A good agreement with the Hall–Petch relation indicates that the graded property takes place mainly due to the graded microstructure. In addition, this graded microstructure and mechanical properties were discussed based on a quantitative characterization

  10. Design of concrete waste basin in Integrated Temporarily Sanitary Landfill (ITSL) in Siosar, Karo Regency, Indonesia on supporting clean environment and sustainable fertilizers for farmers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginting, N.; Siahaan, J.; Tarigan, A. P.

    2018-03-01

    A new settlement in Siosar village of Karo Regency has been developed for people whose villages have been completely destroyed by the prolong eruptions of Sinabung. An integrated temporarily sanitary landfill (ITSL) was built there to support the new living environment. The objective of this study is to investigate the organic waste decomposing in order to improve the design of the conventional concrete waste basin installed in the ITSL. The study was last from May until August 2016. The used design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in which organic waste was treated using decomposer with five replications in three composter bins. Decomposting process lasted for three weeks. Research parameters were pH, temperature, waste reduction in weight, C/N, and organic fertilizer production(%). The results of waste compost as follows : pH was 9.45, ultimate temperature was 31.6°C, C/N was in the range of 10.5-12.4, waste reduction was 53% and organic fertilizer production was 47%. Based on the decomposting process and the analysis, it is recommended that the conventional concrete waste basin should be divided into three colums and each column would be filled with waste when previous column is fulled. It is predicted that when the third column is fully occupied then the waste in the first column already become a sustainable fertilizer.

  11. Preparation and characterization of {alpha}-AI{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalytic supports. Application to methane steam reforming; Preparation et caracterisation de supports catalytiques d`Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} {alpha}. Application au vaporeformange du methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marturano, M.A.; Ferretti, O.A. [Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Procesos Cataliticas (CINDECA), La Plata (Argentina); Aglietti, E.F. [Centro de Tecnologia de Recursos Minerales y Ceramica (CETMIC, UNPL and CONICET), (Argentina)

    1995-12-31

    {alpha}Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} preformed bodies are widely used as catalytic supports in many industrial processes as for instance steam reforming. In this work, is particularly studied the textural, structural, morphological and mechanical properties of {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} supports as a function of the characteristics of the starting alumina and of the bonding agents used. The performance of these supports in the final catalyst in methane steam reforming is also studies. It was found that textural and morphological properties are determined only by the starting alumina utilized in support preparation. When non-stabilized alumina powders are used (small grains), mechanical properties of the support are controlled by the sintering process, independently of the binder used. When stabilized alumina powders are used (large grains) the existence of ceramic and chemical bonds leads to better results (bentonite and mono-aluminium phosphate, BM supports). Materials with adequate catalytic properties in methane steam reforming can be obtained when using supports prepared from powders easily found (commercial raw alumina) 20 refs.

  12. A review of the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale for Healthy Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullum, Kristiana G H; Mayo, Ann M

    2015-01-01

    Assessing an instrument's psychometric properties to determine appropriateness for use can be a challenging process. Dissecting the statistical terminology may be even more perplexing. There are several instruments that evaluate adolescents' perceived social support, but a fairly new instrument related to this construct assesses not only the availability of social support but also support for healthy behaviors in this population. The Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale for Healthy Behaviors, first published in 2013, demonstrates adequate initial reliability and validity. The purpose of this article is to review the psychometric properties of the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale for Healthy Behaviors and potential uses of the instrument.

  13. GPHS-RTGs in support of the Cassini Mission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    This report is organized by the program task structure as follows: (1) spacecraft integration and liaison; (2) engineering support; (3) safety; (4) qualified unicouple fabrication; (5) ETG fabrication, assembly, and test; (6) ground support equipment (GSE); (7) RTG shipping and launch support; (8) designs, reviews, and mission applications; (9) project management, quality assurance and reliability, contract changes, non-capital CAGO acquisition, and CAGO maintenance; and (H) contractor acquired government owned property (CAGO) acquisition

  14. Decomposing cross-country differences in quality adjusted life expectancy: the impact of value sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heijink, Richard; van Baal, Pieter; Oppe, Mark; Koolman, Xander; Westert, Gert

    2011-06-23

    The validity, reliability and cross-country comparability of summary measures of population health (SMPH) have been persistently debated. In this debate, the measurement and valuation of nonfatal health outcomes have been defined as key issues. Our goal was to quantify and decompose international differences in health expectancy based on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We focused on the impact of value set choice on cross-country variation. We calculated Quality Adjusted Life Expectancy (QALE) at age 20 for 15 countries in which EQ-5D population surveys had been conducted. We applied the Sullivan approach to combine the EQ-5D based HRQoL data with life tables from the Human Mortality Database. Mean HRQoL by country-gender-age was estimated using a parametric model. We used nonparametric bootstrap techniques to compute confidence intervals. QALE was then compared across the six country-specific time trade-off value sets that were available. Finally, three counterfactual estimates were generated in order to assess the contribution of mortality, health states and health-state values to cross-country differences in QALE. QALE at age 20 ranged from 33 years in Armenia to almost 61 years in Japan, using the UK value set. The value sets of the other five countries generated different estimates, up to seven years higher. The relative impact of choosing a different value set differed across country-gender strata between 2% and 20%. In 50% of the country-gender strata the ranking changed by two or more positions across value sets. The decomposition demonstrated a varying impact of health states, health-state values, and mortality on QALE differences across countries. The choice of the value set in SMPH may seriously affect cross-country comparisons of health expectancy, even across populations of similar levels of wealth and education. In our opinion, it is essential to get more insight into the drivers of differences in health-state values across populations. This

  15. Decomposing cross-country differences in quality adjusted life expectancy: the impact of value sets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oppe Mark

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The validity, reliability and cross-country comparability of summary measures of population health (SMPH have been persistently debated. In this debate, the measurement and valuation of nonfatal health outcomes have been defined as key issues. Our goal was to quantify and decompose international differences in health expectancy based on health-related quality of life (HRQoL. We focused on the impact of value set choice on cross-country variation. Methods We calculated Quality Adjusted Life Expectancy (QALE at age 20 for 15 countries in which EQ-5D population surveys had been conducted. We applied the Sullivan approach to combine the EQ-5D based HRQoL data with life tables from the Human Mortality Database. Mean HRQoL by country-gender-age was estimated using a parametric model. We used nonparametric bootstrap techniques to compute confidence intervals. QALE was then compared across the six country-specific time trade-off value sets that were available. Finally, three counterfactual estimates were generated in order to assess the contribution of mortality, health states and health-state values to cross-country differences in QALE. Results QALE at age 20 ranged from 33 years in Armenia to almost 61 years in Japan, using the UK value set. The value sets of the other five countries generated different estimates, up to seven years higher. The relative impact of choosing a different value set differed across country-gender strata between 2% and 20%. In 50% of the country-gender strata the ranking changed by two or more positions across value sets. The decomposition demonstrated a varying impact of health states, health-state values, and mortality on QALE differences across countries. Conclusions The choice of the value set in SMPH may seriously affect cross-country comparisons of health expectancy, even across populations of similar levels of wealth and education. In our opinion, it is essential to get more insight into the drivers

  16. A Modified Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour Model to Analyze User Intention towards Distance-Based Electronic Toll Collection Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi-Chung Tao

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes a modified decomposed theory of planned behaviour model (DTPB that integrates satisfaction and trust into the original DTPB model to explore what kind of factors affect the user intention towards distance-based electronic toll collection (ETC services. The proposed model is empirically tested by using data collected from a questionnaire survey with a computer assisted telephone interview system. Empirical analysis is carried out in three stages that combine confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling (SEM, and Bayesian network: (1 examination of reliability and validity of the measurement model; (2 analysis of structural model; (3 prediction of the probability of user intention change based on rigorous framework of SEM. The results confirm that the satisfaction and trust have positive effects on the behaviour intention, also validating that five constructs have indirect effects on the behaviour intention through attitude and perceived behaviour control. Compatibility is the most important influence factor, followed by perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, self-efficacy, and perceived ease of use. The findings of this study identify potential improvements for ETC operator, such as contributing to the society to enhance the company image and trust of enterprise with charity activities, and simultaneously upgrading the information platform of website, software, and Apps.

  17. Fungal community on decomposing leaf litter undergoes rapid successional changes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Voříšková, Jana; Baldrian, Petr

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 3 (2013), s. 477-486 ISSN 1751-7362 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ME10152; GA MŠk LD12050; GA ČR GAP504/12/0709 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : fungi * litter decomposition * cellulose Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology , Virology Impact factor: 9.267, year: 2013

  18. Data supporting the prediction of the properties of eutectic organic phase change materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahwaji, Samer; White, Mary Anne

    2018-04-01

    The data presented in this article include the molar masses, melting temperatures, latent heats of fusion and temperature-dependent heat capacities of fifteen fatty acid phase change materials (PCMs). The data are used in conjunction with the thermodynamic models discussed in Kahwaji and White (2018) [1] to develop a computational tool that calculates the eutectic compositions and thermal properties of eutectic mixtures of PCMs. The computational tool is part of this article and consists of a Microsoft Excel® file available in Mendeley Data repository [2]. A description of the computational tool along with the properties of nearly 100 binary mixtures of fatty acid PCMs calculated using this tool are also included in the present article. The Excel® file is designed such that it can be easily modified or expanded by users to calculate the properties of eutectic mixtures of other classes of PCMs.

  19. Facile synthesis of Cu/tetrapod-like ZnO whisker compounds with enhanced photocatalytic properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hong; Liu, Huarong; Fan, Ximei

    2017-09-01

    Cu/tetrapod-like ZnO whisker (T-ZnOw) compounds were successfully synthesized using N2H4 \\cdot H2O as a reducing agent by a simple reduction method without any insert gas at room temperature. The crystal phase composition and morphology of the as-prepared samples were investigated by XRD, SEM and FESEM tests. The photocatalytic property of the as-prepared samples was detected by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) aqueous solution under UV irradiation. It can be found that Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) dispersed on the surface of T-ZnOw increased with the increasing of Cu/Zn molar ratios (Cu/Zn MRs), and an octahedral structure of CuNPs was obtained when the sample was prepared with less than and equal to 7.30% Cu/Zn MR, but tended to a spherical or nanorod structure of CuNPs densely arranged on the surface of T-ZnOw, which is prepared by Cu/Zn MRs up to 22.00%. All the compounds exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in decomposing of MO than T-ZnOw, the photocatalytic property of the samples increased with the increasing of Cu/Zn MRs up to 7.30%, while it decreases when further increasing the Cu/Zn MRs. The Schottky barrier of the Cu/T-ZnOw compound can effectively capture photoinduced electrons from the interface and enhanced the photocatalytic property of T-ZnOw.

  20. Chemical Properties, Decomposition, and Methane Production of Tertiary Relict Plant Litters: Implications for Atmospheric Trace Gas Production in the Early Tertiary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yavitt, J. B.; Bartella, T. M.; Williams, C. J.

    2006-12-01

    Throughout the early Tertiary (ca. 65-38 Ma) Taxodiaceae-dominated (redwood) wetland forests occupied the high latitudes and were circumpolar in their distribution. Many of these forests had high standing biomass with moderate primary productivity. The geographic extent and amount of Tertiary coals and fossil forests throughout Arctic Canada suggests large areas of wetland forests that may have cycled substantial quantities of carbon, particularly methane until they were replaced by cold tolerant Pinus, Picea, and Larix following climatic cooling associated with the Terminal Eocene Event. To test this hypothesis we compared physiochemical properties, decomposition, and trace gas production of litter from extant Metasequoia, Pinus, Picea, and Larix. Initial results from plantation-grown trees indicate Metasequoia litter is a better source of labile organic substrate than pinaceous litter. Metasequoia litter contained the least lignin and highest amounts of water-soluble compounds of the four litter types studied. Analysis of the lignin structure using cupric oxide oxidation indicates that Metasequoia lignin is enriched in 4'-hydroxyacetophenone and 4'- Hydroxy-3'-methoxyacetophenone relative to the pinaceous litter. In a 12-month decomposition study using litterbags, average litter mass loss was greater for Metasequoia litter (62%) compared to the pinaceous species (50%). Moreover, Metasequoia litter incubated under anoxic conditions produced nearly twice as much CO2 (ca. 4.2 umol/g.day) and CH4 (2.1 umol/g.day) as the pinaceous litter (2.4 umol/g.day for CO2; 1.2 umol/g.day for CH4). Our results support the idea of greater decomposability and palatability of Metasequoia litter as compared to Larix, Picea, or Pinus. Provided that the biochemical properties of Metasequoia have remained relatively stable through geologic time, it appears that early Tertiary Metasequoia-dominated wetland forests may have had higher microbial driven trace gas production than the

  1. Mechanic properties analysis of quasi-square honeycomb sandwich structure′s core

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guan TONG

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In order to illustrate the relationship between the quasi-square-honeycomb structure and the hexagonal honeycomb structure, after decomposing the quasi-square honeycomb sandwich structure into unique T-shaped cell, the equivalent elastic constants equations of T-shaped cell model are derived respectively by applying Euler beam theory and energy method. At the same time, the quasi-square honeycomb's characteristic structure parameters are substituted into the equivalent elastic constants equations which are derived by the classical method of a hexagonal honeycomb core, and the same results are obtained as that of the preceding both methods. It is proved that the quasi-square-honeycomb structure is an evolution of hexagonal honeycomb. The limitations and application scope of the two classical honeycomb formulas are pointed out. The research of the structural characteristics of the square-shaped honeycomb shows that the classical cellular theoretical formula are singular and inaccurate when the feature angle values equal to zero or near zero. This study has important reference value for the subsequent research and improvement of the theories about cellular structure mechanical properties.

  2. Thermoluminescence properties of undoped diamond films deposited using HF CVD technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paprocki K.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Natural diamond has been considered as a perspective material for clinical radiation dosimetry due to its tissuebiocompatibility and chemical inertness. However, the use of natural diamond in radiation dosimetry has been halted by the high market price. The recent progress in the development of CVD techniques for diamond synthesis, offering the capability of growing high quality diamond layers, has renewed the interest in using this material in radiation dosimeters having small geometricalsizes. Polycrystalline CVD diamond films have been proposed as detectors and dosimeters of β and α radiation with prospective applications in high-energy photon dosimetry. In this work, we present a study on the TL properties of undoped diamond film samples grown by the hot filament CVD (HF CVD method and exposed to β and α radiation. The glow curves for both types of radiation show similar character and can be decomposed into three components. The dominant TL peaks are centered at around 610 K and exhibit activation energy of the order of 0.90 eV.

  3. Study on the changes of physical and chemical properties for the black liquor of straw plug induced by radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Guanghua; Lan Liqiao

    1994-12-01

    The black liquor of straw plug was treated by electron beam or γ-ray radiation. The relationship between the viscosity of the black liquor of straw plug and the radiation beam type, the irradiated dose, the temperature of the black liquor at irradiation time and the concentration of the solid state matter in the black liquor was investigated. The result shows that the radiation treatment makes the organic big molecular of the black liquor decomposed, the environmental loading factor of the black liquor reduced; after an irradiation of 20 kGy, the viscosity of the black liquor of straw plug with 30% solid state matter is reduced by 50%, the property of vaporization is obviously improved, but the calorific value of the black liquor has almost no change

  4. Effect of reduction enhancer on a radiolytic synthesis of carbon-supported Pt–Cu nanoparticles and their structural and electrochemical properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kugai, Junichiro, E-mail: jkugai@kobe-kosen.ac.jp [Kobe City College of Technology, Department of Applied Chemistry (Japan); Kubota, Chihiro; Okazaki, Tomohisa; Seino, Satoshi; Nakagawa, Takashi [Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering (Japan); Nitani, Hiroaki [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Institute of Materials Structure Science (IMSS) (Japan); Yamamoto, Takao A. [Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering (Japan)

    2015-06-15

    In order to clarify the effect of reduction enhancer on the nanoparticle formation process and their structural and catalytic properties, carbon-supported Pt–Cu nanoparticles were synthesized by electron beam irradiation on an aqueous precursor solution in the presence/absence of reduction enhancer. In the absence of reduction enhancer, tetravalent platinum oxide particles of approximately 1 nm in diameter were formed on carbon support with copper barely precipitated, while in the presence of 2-propanol or ethylene glycol or glucose both platinum and copper precipitated as few-nanometer-sized alloy particles together with copper oxides. It was suggested that the metal nuclei produced upon electron beam irradiation do not have enough lifetime without reduction enhancer due to fast oxidation of the nuclei by oxidizing radicals, while the reduction enhancer scavenges these oxidizing radicals preventing oxidation of metallic clusters and prolonging their lifetime. Ethylene glycol gave smaller and better alloyed particles with less copper oxides compared to 2-propanol since the carbonyl compounds derived from oxidation of ethylene glycol protect metallic clusters from oxidation further prolonging their lifetime. In the electrochemical measurements, the methanol oxidation activities of Pt–Cu/C catalysts were well explained by their structural characteristics.

  5. Child support and alimony: 1983 (supplemental report).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, R A

    1986-10-01

    The concern has continued over the financial situation of US women and their children after divorce and separation and over the situation of never-married mothers, in part due to the low average incomes and accompanying high incidence of poverty among families with family householders and no husband present. This report presents information on both the award and actual receipt of child support to women on behalf of their children and on alimony for their own support. Additional data concerning receipt and type of property settlement following divorce is provided for ever-divorced women. As of spring 1984, 8.7 million mothers were living with children under 21 years of age whose fathers were not living in the household; 58% or about 5 million of these women were awarded or had an agreement to receive child support payments for their children as of the survey date. Of the 5 million women awarded child support, 4 million were supposed to receive child support for their children in 1983. Of those due payment, about half received the full amount they were due. The child support award rate reported in 1984 (58%) was not significantly different from that of 1982; however, the proportion of women receiving payments in 1983 (76%) increased slightly over that of the previous survey (72%). The average (mean) amount of child support received in 1983 was $2340. About 43% of the 2.9 million women below the poverty level were awarded child support. Whites and college-educated women were more likely to be awarded child support. Only about 14% of the 17.4 million ever-divorced or currently separated women as of spring 1984 were awarded or had an agreement to receive alimony or maintenance payments In spring 1984, about 37% of the 14.8 million women who had ever been divorced reported receiving some form of property settlement.

  6. Are health inequalities rooted in the past? Income inequalities in metabolic syndrome decomposed by childhood conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    San Sebastian, Miguel; Ivarsson, Anneli; Weinehall, Lars; Gustafsson, Per E.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background: Early life is thought of as a foundation for health inequalities in adulthood. However, research directly examining the contribution of childhood circumstances to the integrated phenomenon of adult social inequalities in health is absent. The present study aimed to examine whether, and to what degree, social conditions during childhood explain income inequalities in metabolic syndrome in mid-adulthood. Methods: The sample (N = 12 481) comprised all 40- and 50-year-old participants in the Västerbotten Intervention Program in Northern Sweden 2008, 2009 and 2010. Measures from health examinations were used to operationalize metabolic syndrome, which was linked to register data including socioeconomic conditions at age 40–50 years, as well as childhood conditions at participant age 10–12 years. Income inequality in metabolic syndrome in middle age was estimated by the concentration index and decomposed by childhood and current socioeconomic conditions using decomposition analysis. Results: Childhood conditions jointed explained 7% (men) to 10% (women) of health inequalities in middle age. Adding mid-adulthood sociodemographic factors showed a dominant contribution of chiefly current income and educational level in both gender. In women, the addition of current factors slightly attenuated the contribution of childhood conditions, but with paternal income and education still contributing. In contrast, the corresponding addition in men removed all explanation attributable to childhood conditions. Conclusions: Despite that the influence of early life conditions to adult health inequalities was considerably smaller than that of concurrent conditions, the study suggests that early interventions against social inequalities potentially could reduce health inequalities in the adult population for decades to come. PMID:27744345

  7. Key issues in decomposing fMRI during naturalistic and continuous music experience with independent component analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Fengyu; Puoliväli, Tuomas; Alluri, Vinoo; Sipola, Tuomo; Burunat, Iballa; Toiviainen, Petri; Nandi, Asoke K; Brattico, Elvira; Ristaniemi, Tapani

    2014-02-15

    Independent component analysis (ICA) has been often used to decompose fMRI data mostly for the resting-state, block and event-related designs due to its outstanding advantage. For fMRI data during free-listening experiences, only a few exploratory studies applied ICA. For processing the fMRI data elicited by 512-s modern tango, a FFT based band-pass filter was used to further pre-process the fMRI data to remove sources of no interest and noise. Then, a fast model order selection method was applied to estimate the number of sources. Next, both individual ICA and group ICA were performed. Subsequently, ICA components whose temporal courses were significantly correlated with musical features were selected. Finally, for individual ICA, common components across majority of participants were found by diffusion map and spectral clustering. The extracted spatial maps (by the new ICA approach) common across most participants evidenced slightly right-lateralized activity within and surrounding the auditory cortices. Meanwhile, they were found associated with the musical features. Compared with the conventional ICA approach, more participants were found to have the common spatial maps extracted by the new ICA approach. Conventional model order selection methods underestimated the true number of sources in the conventionally pre-processed fMRI data for the individual ICA. Pre-processing the fMRI data by using a reasonable band-pass digital filter can greatly benefit the following model order selection and ICA with fMRI data by naturalistic paradigms. Diffusion map and spectral clustering are straightforward tools to find common ICA spatial maps. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A Conjunction Method of Wavelet Transform-Particle Swarm Optimization-Support Vector Machine for Streamflow Forecasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanping Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Streamflow forecasting has an important role in water resource management and reservoir operation. Support vector machine (SVM is an appropriate and suitable method for streamflow prediction due to its best versatility, robustness, and effectiveness. In this study, a wavelet transform particle swarm optimization support vector machine (WT-PSO-SVM model is proposed and applied for streamflow time series prediction. Firstly, the streamflow time series were decomposed into various details (Ds and an approximation (A3 at three resolution levels (21-22-23 using Daubechies (db3 discrete wavelet. Correlation coefficients between each D subtime series and original monthly streamflow time series are calculated. Ds components with high correlation coefficients (D3 are added to the approximation (A3 as the input values of the SVM model. Secondly, the PSO is employed to select the optimal parameters, C, ε, and σ, of the SVM model. Finally, the WT-PSO-SVM models are trained and tested by the monthly streamflow time series of Tangnaihai Station located in Yellow River upper stream from January 1956 to December 2008. The test results indicate that the WT-PSO-SVM approach provide a superior alternative to the single SVM model for forecasting monthly streamflow in situations without formulating models for internal structure of the watershed.

  9. Social Support Questionnaire for Children: Development and Initial Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon-Hollingsworth, Arlene T.; Thompson, Julia E.; Geary, Meghan A.; Schexnaildre, Mark A.; Lai, Betty S.; Kelley, Mary Lou

    2016-01-01

    The Social Support Questionnaire for Children (SSQC) is a 50-item scale that assesses children's social support from parents, relatives, nonrelative adults, siblings, and peers. The SSQC demonstrates good psychometric properties (e.g., internal consistency, factorial validity). Furthermore, the SSQC appears to be an ethnically sensitive measure of…

  10. Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiC{sub 0.5} reinforced copper matrix composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Mengqi; Zhai, Hongxiang, E-mail: hxzhai@sina.com; Huang, Zhenying; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhou, Yang; Li, Shibo; Li, Cuiwei

    2013-12-20

    Cu–Al alloy matrix composites containing in-situ TiC{sub 0.5} particles were fabricated by sintering of a mixture of Cu and Ti{sub 2}AlC powders at 1150 °C for 60 min in Ar atmosphere. The micron-sized Ti{sub 2}AlC particles were decomposed into submicron TiC{sub 0.5} grains during the sintering process, meanwhile, Al atoms entered into Cu to form Cu–Al alloy matrix. It was shown that the Cu–Al alloy matrix also consisted of ultrafine grains. Compression tests indicate TiC{sub 0.5} particles can improve mechanical properties significantly, and the ductility maintains at a comparatively high level. The fracture strength of 40Ti{sub 2}AlC/Cu sample reaches 1126 MPa with 12.8% fracture strain. The 20Ti{sub 2}AlC/Cu and 30Ti{sub 2}AlC/Cu samples keep undamaged even after the strain of 26.7%.

  11. Synthesis, characterization and magnetic property of 3D flower-like ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Three-dimensional (3D) flower-like cubic Ni3S4 nanoplates with single crystalline nature were successfully prepared through decomposing bis(thiourea) nickel(II) chloride crystals (BTNC). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, selected area ...

  12. 78 FR 47273 - Information Collection; Inventory Property Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-05

    ... collection that supports Inventory Property Management. The information is used to evaluate applicant... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency Information Collection; Inventory Property Management AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. ACTION: Notice; request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance...

  13. Interfacial properties of stanene-metal contacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Ying; Pan, Feng; Ye, Meng; Wang, Yangyang; Pan, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Xiuying; Li, Jingzhen; Zhang, Han; Lu, Jing

    2016-09-01

    Recently, two-dimensional buckled honeycomb stanene has been manufactured by molecular beam epitaxy growth. Free-standing stanene is predicted to have a sizable opened band gap of 100 meV at the Dirac point due to spin-orbit coupling (SOC), resulting in many fascinating properties such as quantum spin Hall effect, quantum anomalous Hall effect, and quantum valley Hall effect. In the first time, we systematically study the interfacial properties of stanene-metal interfaces (metals = Ag, Au, Cu, Al, Pd, Pt, Ir, and Ni) by using ab initio electronic structure calculations considering the SOC effects. The honeycomb structure of stanene is preserved on the metal supports, but the buckling height is changed. The buckling of stanene on the Au, Al, Ag, and Cu metal supports is higher than that of free-standing stanene. By contrast, a planar graphene-like structure is stabilized for stanene on the Ir, Pd, Pt, and Ni metal supports. The band structure of stanene is destroyed on all the metal supports, accompanied by a metallization of stanene because the covalent bonds between stanene and the metal supports are formed and the structure of stanene is distorted. Besides, no tunneling barrier exists between stanene and the metal supports. Therefore, stanene and the eight metals form a good vertical Ohmic contact.

  14. Tethered and Polymer Supported Bilayer Lipid Membranes: Structure and Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakob Andersson

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Solid supported bilayer lipid membranes are model systems to mimic natural cell membranes in order to understand structural and functional properties of such systems. The use of a model system allows for the use of a wide variety of analytical tools including atomic force microscopy, impedance spectroscopy, neutron reflectometry, and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Among the large number of different types of model membranes polymer-supported and tethered lipid bilayers have been shown to be versatile and useful systems. Both systems consist of a lipid bilayer, which is de-coupled from an underlying support by a spacer cushion. Both systems will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the effect that the spacer moiety has on the bilayer properties.

  15. Fiscal 2000 project of inviting proposals for international joint research - invitation for international proposal (Power generation No.18). Achievement report on development of device for monitoring biomass decomposing enzyme gene expression; 2000 nendo kokusai kyodo kenkyu teian kobo jigyo - kokusai teian kobo (hatsuden No.18). Biomass bunkai koso idenshi hatsugen monitoring device no kaihatsu seika hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    A fuel production system is under development to supply fuel for power generation, in which biomass is efficiently fermented. In this connection, based on biomass decomposing enzyme related gene information provided by Japan and the U.S., a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) chip is built, wherein biomass decomposing enzymes, control factors, and enzyme secretion enhancing genes are densely deposited. Efforts are made, using the chip for the monitoring of the enzyme production process during the culture of mold, to develop technologies for collecting information simultaneously and comprehensively concerning the expression of great numbers of biomass decomposing enzyme genes and concerning other genes that control the production or enhance the secretion of enzymes. In concrete terms, approximately 2000 types of genes are selected out of the Aspergillus EST database held by the Japanese and U.S. members, and cDNA from the original clones is amplified and purified for each DNA of the 2000 genes. The purified DNA is spotted and fixed on the glass plate for a DNA chip and applied to the mRNA pool whose gene expression profile is known, and the detection conditions are studied for the DNA chip and specifications are optimized. (NEDO)

  16. Behaviour of mercury compounds in soil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Booer, J R

    1944-01-01

    The uses of inorganic compounds of mercury for the control of plant pests is reviewed, and a summary of the relevant chemical and physical properties of the compounds concerned is given. On chemical evidence a working hypothesis is propounded showing that all compounds may be expected to decompose into metallic mercury. A pot technique is described by means of which a correlation can be obtained between the effective mercury content of a given soil sample and the rate of growth of wheat seedlings. The mathematical treatment of the results is described, and the validity of the pot technique is verified by statistical analysis of results. Using the pot technqiue it is shown that volatilization losses are insignificant but that mercury is slowly rendered ineffective by the formation of mercuric sulphide. The effect of sulphur-reducing bacteria is considered and the influence of Vibrio desulphuricans on mercury is studied in detail. Experimental evidence obtained by the pot technique is produced to show that mercurous chloride slowly decomposes in the soil giving mercury and mercuric chloride, mercuric chloride rapidly decomposes into mercury and mercurous chloride, and other inorganic compounds decompose directly into mercury. The working hypothesis is substantiated in all major aspects. The uses and properties of the organo-mercury compounds are then discussed. Type compounds selected are ethyl mercury phosphate, phenyl mercury acetate and methoxyethyl mercury acetate. Using the pot technique it is shown that the formation of organo-mercury clays takes place and that these clays decompose giving metallic mercury. A mechanism is suggested.

  17. Oak Tree Canker Disease Supports Arthropod Diversity in a Natural Ecosystem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong-Bok Lee

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Microorganisms have many roles in nature. They may act as decomposers that obtain nutrients from dead materials, while some are pathogens that cause diseases in animals, insects, and plants. Some are symbionts that enhance plant growth, such as arbuscular mycorrhizae and nitrogen fixation bacteria. However, roles of plant pathogens and diseases in natural ecosystems are still poorly understood. Thus, the current study addressed this deficiency by investigating possible roles of plant diseases in natural ecosystems, particularly, their positive effects on arthropod diversity. In this study, the model system was the oak tree (Quercus spp. and the canker disease caused by Annulohypoxylon truncatum, and its effects on arthropod diversity. The oak tree site contained 44 oak trees; 31 had canker disease symptoms while 13 were disease-free. A total of 370 individual arthropods were detected at the site during the survey period. The arthropods belonged to 25 species, 17 families, and seven orders. Interestingly, the cankered trees had significantly higher biodiversity and richness compared with the canker-free trees. This study clearly demonstrated that arthropod diversity was supported by the oak tree canker disease.

  18. Oxygen flow effects on electrical properties, stability, and density of states of amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yong-Su; Kai-Hsiang Yu, Eric; Shim, Dong-Hwan; Kong, Hyang-Shik; Bie, Linsen; Kanicki, Jerzy

    2014-12-01

    To investigate the origin of threshold voltage (Vth) shift of amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs), a combination of bias-temperature stress (BTS) and multi-frequency capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements were used to evaluate the impact of oxygen partial pressure (PO2) during a-IGZO deposition on TFT electrical properties, electrical stability, and density of states (DOS). The extracted sub-gap DOS was decomposed into exponential bandtail states and Gaussian-like deep-gap states. The peak density of Gaussian-like states is larger for higher PO2. We conclude that the Gaussian-like states are excess/weakly-bonded oxygen in the form of O0 or O1- ions acting as acceptor-like states and are at the origin of TFT threshold voltage shift during positive BTS.

  19. Conceptual design of a bioregenerative life support system containing crops and silkworms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Enzhu; Bartsev, Sergey I.; Liu, Hong

    2010-04-01

    This article summarizes a conceptual design of a bioregenerative life support system for permanent lunar base or planetary exploration. The system consists of seven compartments - higher plants cultivation, animal rearing, human habitation, water recovery, waste treatment, atmosphere management, and storages. Fifteen kinds of crops, such as wheat, rice, soybean, lettuce, and mulberry, were selected as main life support contributors to provide the crew with air, water, and vegetable food. Silkworms fed by crop leaves were designated to produce partial animal nutrition for the crew. Various physical-chemical and biological methods were combined to reclaim wastewater and solid waste. Condensate collected from atmosphere was recycled into potable water through granular activated carbon adsorption, iodine sterilization, and trace element supplementation. All grey water was also purified though multifiltration and ultraviolet sterilization. Plant residue, human excrement, silkworm feces, etc. were decomposed into inorganic substances which were finally absorbed by higher plants. Some meat, ingredients, as well as nitrogen fertilizer were prestored and resupplied periodically. Meanwhile, the same amount and chemical composition of organic waste was dumped to maintain the steady state of the system. A nutritional balanced diet was developed by means of the linear programming method. It could provide 2721 kcal of energy, 375.5 g of carbohydrate, 99.47 g of protein, and 91.19 g of fat per capita per day. Silkworm powder covered 12.54% of total animal protein intakes. The balance of material flows between compartments was described by the system of stoichiometric equations. Basic life support requirements for crews including oxygen, food, potable and hygiene water summed up to 29.68 kg per capita per day. The coefficient of system material closure reached 99.40%.

  20. Preventing maritime transport of pathogens: the remarkable antimicrobial properties of silver-supported catalysts for ship ballast water disinfection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theologides, C P; Theofilou, S P; Anayiotos, A; Costa, C N

    2017-07-01

    Ship ballast water (SBW) antimicrobial treatment is considered as a priority issue for the shipping industry. The present work investigates the possibility of utilizing antimicrobial catalysis as an effective method for the treatment of SBW. Taking into account the well-known antimicrobial properties of ionic silver (Ag + ), five silver-supported catalysts (Ag/γ-Al 2 O 3 ) with various loadings (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, and 1 wt%) were prepared and examined for the antimicrobial treatment of SBW. The bactericidal activity of the aforementioned catalysts was investigated towards the inhibition of Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Escherichia faecalis (Gram-positive) bacteria. Catalytic experiments were conducted in a three-phase continuous flow stirred tank reactor, used in a semi-batch mode. It was found that using the catalyst with the lowest metal loading, the inhibition of E. coli reached 95.8% after 30 minutes of treatment of an E. coli bacterial solution, while the inhibition obtained for E. faecalis was 76.2% after 60 minutes of treatment of an E. faecalis bacterial solution. Even better results (100% inhibition after 5 min of reaction) were obtained using the catalysts with higher Ag loadings. The results of the present work indicate that the prepared monometallic catalysts exert their antimicrobial activity within a short period of time, revealing, for the first time ever, that the field of antimicrobial heterogeneous catalysis using deposited ionic silver on a solid support may prove decisive for the disinfection of SBW.

  1. Affordances and Constraints of Intelligent Decision Support for Military Command and Control : Three Case Studies of Support Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Leifler, Ola

    2011-01-01

    Researchers in military command and control (C2) have for several decades sought to help commanders by introducing automated, intelligent decision support systems. These systems are still not widely used, however, and some researchers argue that this may be due to those problems that are inherent in the relationship between the affordances of technology and the requirements by the specific contexts of work in military C2. In this thesis, we study some specific properties of three support tech...

  2. 75 FR 23218 - Information Collection; Inventory Property Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-03

    ... supports Inventory Property Management. The information is used to evaluate applicant requests to purchase... Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Copies of the information collection may... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency Information Collection; Inventory Property...

  3. 2D Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship Study of Mycotoxins by Multiple Linear Regression and Support Vector Machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fereshteh Shiri

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available In the present work, support vector machines (SVMs and multiple linear regression (MLR techniques were used for quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR studies of retention time (tR in standardized liquid chromatography–UV–mass spectrometry of 67 mycotoxins (aflatoxins, trichothecenes, roquefortines and ochratoxins based on molecular descriptors calculated from the optimized 3D structures. By applying missing value, zero and multicollinearity tests with a cutoff value of 0.95, and genetic algorithm method of variable selection, the most relevant descriptors were selected to build QSPR models. MLRand SVMs methods were employed to build QSPR models. The robustness of the QSPR models was characterized by the statistical validation and applicability domain (AD. The prediction results from the MLR and SVM models are in good agreement with the experimental values. The correlation and predictability measure by r2 and q2 are 0.931 and 0.932, repectively, for SVM and 0.923 and 0.915, respectively, for MLR. The applicability domain of the model was investigated using William’s plot. The effects of different descriptors on the retention times are described.

  4. PEG-related polymer resins as synthetic supports

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    Combinatorial chemistry has become a significant part of the discovery and optimization process for novel drugs,affinity ligands,and catalysts.The polymeric supports play a key role in combinatory chemistry.Therefore,various kinds of functional polymer resins have been exploited as supports,reagents,and catalysts in organic synthesis.In comparison to the conventional Merrifield resins,the poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)-related polymer resins have advantages including good compatibilities with polar solvents,good solvent absorbency and swelling properties.This review focuses primarily on the more recent work in the field of developing PEG-related polymer resins as supports for organic synthesis.

  5. Dependence of the microstructural properties of ZnO particles on their synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Music, Svetozar; Saric, Ankica; Popovic, Stanko

    2008-01-01

    The influence of experimental conditions on the precipitation of ZnO particles and their microstructural properties has been investigated using X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal field emission scanning electron microscopy. Mixing of ZnCl 2 or Zn(ac) 2 solution with Na 2 CO 3 solution of proper concentrations yielded aggregates of fine Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 particles, which were converted to nanosize ZnO particles at 300 deg. C. The size of these ZnO particles increased to around 100 nm upon heating at 600 deg. C, whereas a small fraction of them turned out in the form of aggregates. The obtained ZnO particles assumed a pseudospherical shape; however, their basic structure was based on the hexagonal space group. Precipitation of Zn 2+ ions in decomposing HMTA at 90 deg. C yielded ZnO particles around micron range. Crystalline Zn(OH) 2 was not detected in the precipitates. ZnO particles obtained by this method were strongly elongated in the direction of the crystallographic c-axis

  6. Photocatalytic properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin film with Ag additions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, C.-C.; Lin, C.-K.; Chan, C.-C.; Hsu, C.-S.; Chen, C.-Y.

    2006-01-01

    In the present study, nanocrystalline TiO 2 /Ag composite thin films were prepared by a sol-gel spin coating technique. While, by introducing polystyrene (PS) microspheres, porous TiO 2 /Ag films were obtained after calcining at a temperature of 500 o C. The as-prepared TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Ag thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the structural and morphological differences. In addition, the photocatalytic properties of these films were investigated by degrading methylene blue under UV irradiation. After 500 o C calcination, the microstructure of PS-TiO 2 film without Ag addition exhibited a sponge-like microstructure while significant sintering effect was noticed with Ag additions and the films exhibited a porous microstructure. Meanwhile, coalescence of nanocrystalline anatase-phase TiO 2 can be observed with respect to the sharpening of XRD diffraction peaks. The photodegradation of porous TiO 2 doped with 1 mol% Ag exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency where 72% methylene blue can be decomposed after UV exposure for 12 h

  7. Mechanical properties of ZTA: correlation with structural properties and influence of ageing

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Exare, C.; Kiat, J. M.; Guiblin, N.; Petříček, Václav

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 2016, May (2016), s. 1-7, č. článku 4264062. ISSN 2090-8628 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-03276S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : mechanical properties * zirconia toughened alumina * powder diffraction Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism

  8. A new nano-TiO2 immobilized biodegradable polymer with self-cleaning properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sökmen, Münevver; Tatlıdil, Ilknur; Breen, Chris; Clegg, Francis; Buruk, Celal Kurtuluş; Sivlim, Tuğba; Akkan, Senay

    2011-03-15

    This study concentrated on the direct immobilization of anatase nano titanium dioxide particles (TiO(2), 10nm particle size) into or onto a biodegradable polymer, polycaprolactone, by solvent-cast processes. The self-cleaning, namely photocatalytic properties of the produced materials were tested by photocatalytic removal of methylene blue as model compound and antimicrobial properties were investigated using Candida albicans as model microorganism. Produced TiO(2) immobilized polymer successfully removed methylene blue (MB, 1 × 10(-5)M) from aqueous solution without additional pH arrangement employing a UV-A light (365 nm) source. Almost 83.2% of dye was removed or decomposed by 5 wt% TiO(2) immobilized into PCL (0.08 g) and removal percentage reached to 94.2% with 5 wt% TiO(2) immobilized onto PCL after a 150 min exposure period. Although removal percentage decrease with increased ionic strength and usage of a visible light source, produced materials were still effective. TiO(2) immobilized onto PCL (5 wt%) was quite effective killing almost 54% of C. albicans (2 × 10(6)CFU/mL) after only 60 min exposure with a near visible light source. Control experiments employing PCL alone in the presence and absence of light were ineffective under the same condition. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Multivariate statistical assessment of coal properties

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Klika, Z.; Serenčíšová, J.; Kožušníková, Alena; Kolomazník, I.; Študentová, S.; Vontorová, J.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 128, č. 128 (2014), s. 119-127 ISSN 0378-3820 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ED2.1.00/03.0082 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : coal properties * structural,chemical and petrographical properties * multivariate statistics Subject RIV: DH - Mining, incl. Coal Mining Impact factor: 3.352, year: 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2014.06.029

  10. Medicinal properties of fractionated acetone/water neem ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The global scenario is now supporting the development of modern drugs from less toxic plant products with proven medicinal properties. Each part of neem plant (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) reportedly has various medicinal properties and has been in use in many continents for centuries. Recently, a fractionated neem-leaf ...

  11. Photocatalytic properties of porous TiO2/Ag thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, C.-C.; Chen, J.-Y.; Hsu, T.-L.; Lin, C.-K.; Chan, C.-C.

    2008-01-01

    In this study, nanocrystalline TiO 2 /Ag composite thin films were prepared by a sol-gel spin-coating technique. By introducing polystyrene (PS) spheres into the precursor solution, porous TiO 2 /Ag thin films were prepared after calcination at a temperature of 500 deg. C for 4 h. Three different sizes (50, 200, and 400 nm) of PS spheres were used to prepare porous TiO 2 films. The as-prepared TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Ag thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and by scanning electron microscopy to reveal structural and morphological differences. In addition, the photocatalytic properties of these films were investigated by degrading methylene blue under UV irradiation. When PS spheres of different sizes were introduced after calcination, the as-prepared TiO 2 films exhibited different porous structures. XRD results showed that all TiO 2 /Ag films exhibited a major anatase phase. The photodegradation of porous TiO 2 thin films prepared with 200 nm PS spheres and doped with 1 mol% Ag exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency where ∼ 100% methylene blue was decomposed within 8 h under UV exposure

  12. Unsupervised Neural Network Quantifies the Cost of Visual Information Processing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Levente L Orbán

    Full Text Available Untrained, "flower-naïve" bumblebees display behavioural preferences when presented with visual properties such as colour, symmetry, spatial frequency and others. Two unsupervised neural networks were implemented to understand the extent to which these models capture elements of bumblebees' unlearned visual preferences towards flower-like visual properties. The computational models, which are variants of Independent Component Analysis and Feature-Extracting Bidirectional Associative Memory, use images of test-patterns that are identical to ones used in behavioural studies. Each model works by decomposing images of floral patterns into meaningful underlying factors. We reconstruct the original floral image using the components and compare the quality of the reconstructed image to the original image. Independent Component Analysis matches behavioural results substantially better across several visual properties. These results are interpreted to support a hypothesis that the temporal and energetic costs of information processing by pollinators served as a selective pressure on floral displays: flowers adapted to pollinators' cognitive constraints.

  13. Unsupervised Neural Network Quantifies the Cost of Visual Information Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orbán, Levente L; Chartier, Sylvain

    2015-01-01

    Untrained, "flower-naïve" bumblebees display behavioural preferences when presented with visual properties such as colour, symmetry, spatial frequency and others. Two unsupervised neural networks were implemented to understand the extent to which these models capture elements of bumblebees' unlearned visual preferences towards flower-like visual properties. The computational models, which are variants of Independent Component Analysis and Feature-Extracting Bidirectional Associative Memory, use images of test-patterns that are identical to ones used in behavioural studies. Each model works by decomposing images of floral patterns into meaningful underlying factors. We reconstruct the original floral image using the components and compare the quality of the reconstructed image to the original image. Independent Component Analysis matches behavioural results substantially better across several visual properties. These results are interpreted to support a hypothesis that the temporal and energetic costs of information processing by pollinators served as a selective pressure on floral displays: flowers adapted to pollinators' cognitive constraints.

  14. Dynamic Characteristics of Magneto-Fluid Supports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Chernobai

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers a vibro-protective magneto-fluid support that uses elastic properties of magnetic fluid with a free surface in magnetic field.The paper has experimentally revealed that the analyzed structure is characterized by better noise absorbing characteristics.The conducted experiments have made it possible to conclude that there is a possibility to use vibro-protective magneto-fluid supports within the frequency range from 0 to 300 Hz, amplitudes up to 2 mm and unit load up to 2,5 · 10 4 Н/м².

  15. Critical properties and acentric factors of ionic liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shariati, Alireza; Ashrafmansouri, Seyedeh-Soghra; Osbuei, Maryam Haji; Hooshdaran, Bahar

    2013-01-01

    Since most ionic liquids (ILs) decompose before reaching their critical state, the experimental measurement of their critical properties are not possible. In this study, the critical temperatures, critical pressures and acentric factors of ten commonly investigated ILs were determined by making an optimum fit of the calculated vapor-liquid equilibrium data of binary mixtures of CO 2 +IL to the experimental values found in literature. For this purpose, the Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR EoS) and the differential evolution optimization method were used. The ILs considered were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([emim][PF 6 ]), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([emim][Tf 2 N]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF 4 ]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF 6 ]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([bmim][Tf 2 N]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([hmim][BF 4 ]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([hmim][PF 6 ]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([hmim][Tf 2 N]), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([omim][BF 4 ]) and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([omim][PF 6 ]). To evaluate the ability of the determined parameters in predicting the phase behavior of systems other than the systems that were used for parameter optimization, both sets of parameters obtained in this work and that of Valderrama et al. were used to predict bubble-point pressures of CHF 3 +[bmim][PF 6 ] (by using the PR EoS and the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state. The bubble-point pressures of CO 2 +IL systems optimized in this study by the PR EoS were also determined using the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state (SRK EoS). In addition, liquid densities of pure ILs were predicted using a generalized correlation proposed by Valderrama and Abu-Shark. In all cases, the various predicted properties of

  16. Fungi associated with decomposing deadwood in a natural beech-dominated forest

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Baldrian, Petr; Zrůstová, Petra; Tláskal, Vojtěch; Davidová, Anna; Merhautová, Věra; Vrška, T.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 23, OCT 2016 (2016), s. 109-122 ISSN 1754-5048 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-27454S Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Deadwood * Decomposition * White-rot Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 3.219, year: 2016

  17. Computational Support for Creative Design

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Han

    2015-12-09

    Supporting user designs of 3D contents remains a challenge in geometric modeling. Various modeling tools have been developed in recent years to facilitate architectural designs and artistic creations. However, these tools require both modeling skills and raw creativity. Instead of creating models from scratch, one of the most popular choices is to extract intrinsic patterns from exemplar inputs (e.g., shape collections and sketches), to produce creative models while preserving the patterns. The mod- eling process contains two main stages, analysis and synthesis. The analysis of input models is usually performed at component level, especially for man-made objects that can be decomposed into several semantic parts, for example, the seat and handles of a bicycle. The synthesis stage recombines parts of shapes to generate new models that usually have topological or geometric variations. In this thesis, we propose three design tools aimed at easing the modeling process. We focus on man-made objects and scenes such as buildings and furniture, as the functionality of such shapes can be analyzed at the component level. A relation graph, which is commonly used in shape analysis, can then be built to represent the input shapes. In our work, the graph nodes denote the elements of a model (i.e., rooms, shape parts, and strokes respectively), while the edges capture the intrinsic relations between connected elements. With the use of graph representations, we extract and present controllable components to users for supporting their designs. The emphasis of our work is on three aspects. Firstly, we propose a framework for supporting interior layout design, which allows users to manipulate the produced floor plans, i.e., changing the scales of rooms and their positions as well. When the user modifies the topology of a layout, the corresponding layout graph is updated and the room geometries are optimized under certain constraints, e.g., user specified scales, the adjacency of

  18. Testing fungistatic properties of soil-like substrate for growing plants in bioregenerative life support systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enzhu, Hu; Nesterenko, Elena; Liu, Professor Hong; Manukovsky, N. S.; Kovalev, Vladimir; Gurevich, Yu.; Kozlov, Vladimir; Khizhnyak, Serge; Xing, Yidong; Hu, Enzhu; Enzhu, Hu

    There are two ways of getting vegetable food in BLSS: in hydroponic culture and on soil substrates. In any case there is a chance that the plants will be affected by plant pathogenic microorganisms. The subject of the research was a soil-like substrate (SLS) for growing plants in a Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS). We estimated the fungistatic properties of SLS using test cultures of Bipolaris and Alternaria plant pathogenic fungi. Experiments were made with the samples of SLS, natural soil and sand (as control). We tested 2 samples of SLS produced by way of bioconversion of wheat and rice straw. We measured the disease severity of wheat seedlings and the incidence of common root rot in natural (non-infectious) background and man-made (infectious) conditions. The severity of disease on the SLS was considerably smaller both in non-infectious and infectious background conditions (8 and 12%) than on the natural soil (18 and 32%) and sand. It was the soil-like substrate that had the minimal value among the variants being compared (20% in non-infectious and 40% in infectious background conditions). This index in respect of the soil was 55 and 78%, correspondingly, and in respect of the sand - 60%, regardless of the background. It was found that SLS significantly suppressed conidia germination of Bipolaris soroikiniana (pwheat and rice straw.

  19. Influence of pore structure and chemical properties of supported Mo catalysts on their performance in upgrading heavy coal liquids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, C.; Hanaoka, K.; Nomura, M. (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (USA). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering)

    In the hydroprocessing of solvent-refined coals, both the pore structure and the chemical properties of the catalysts affect the conversion of the heavy materials. Increasing median pore diameter (MPD) of unimodal Ni-Mo/Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] catalysts in the relatively small pore region (up to 150 [angstrom]) enhanced the conversion of both asphaltene and preasphaltene, but further increasing the MPD up to 730 [angstrom] mainly promoted preasphaltene conversion. In the runs of the isolated fractions, however, conversions increased with MPD up to 290 [angstrom] for asphaltene and up to 730 [angstrom] for preasphaltene. The degree of heteroatom removal is also influenced by MPD. There exist preferable pore size ranges for hydrodeoxygenation. Two Mo/SiO[sub 2] and several carbon-coated Ni-Mo/Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] catalysts with different MPD and a commercial Ni-Mo supported on silicated Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] were also compared. The increasing MPD of SiO[sub 2]-supported Mo catalysts increased the conversion of preasphaltene materials. Mo/SiO[sub 2] catalysts are more effective than Ni-Mo supported on Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] and silicated Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] for converting preasphaltene materials, while the latter two are more active for conversion of asphaltene into oil. Another interesting observation is that, for a given MPD range, the carbon-coated Ni-Mo/Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] catalysts gave higher preasphaltene conversions than fresh ones. These results point to the conclusion that larger pore and less acidic hydrogenation catalysts are more effective for preasphaltene conversion, but efficient conversion of asphaltene into oil is facilitated by mild hydrocracking catalysts having appropriate pore size ranges. 43 refs., 8 figs., 9 tabs.

  20. Thermophysical Properties of Ammonium-Based Bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide Ionic Liquids: Volumetric and Transport Properties

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Machanová, Karolina; Boisset, A.; Sedláková, Zuzana; Anouti, M.; Bendová, Magdalena; Jacquemin, J.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 57, č. 8 (2012), s. 2227-2235 ISSN 0021-9568. [European Conference on Thermophysical Properties /19./. Thessaloniki, 28.08.2011-01.09.2011] R&D Projects: GA ČR GP203/09/P141; GA MŠk(CZ) MEB021009 Grant - others:Égide PHC(FR) 22000XB Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : ionic liquids * density * transport properties Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.004, year: 2012

  1. High temperature dielectric properties of spent adsorbent with zinc sulfate by cavity perturbation technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Guo [State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Key Laboratory of Unconventional Metallurgy, Ministry of Education, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); National Local Joint Laboratory of Engineering Application of Microwave Energy and Equipment Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Liu, Chenhui [State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Key Laboratory of Unconventional Metallurgy, Ministry of Education, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); National Local Joint Laboratory of Engineering Application of Microwave Energy and Equipment Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Faculty of Chemistry and Environment, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Zhang, Libo, E-mail: libozhang77@163.com [State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); Key Laboratory of Unconventional Metallurgy, Ministry of Education, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); National Local Joint Laboratory of Engineering Application of Microwave Energy and Equipment Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093 (China); and others

    2017-05-15

    Highlights: • Cavity perturbation technique is employed to measure the dielectric properties. • Microwave absorption capability of ZnO is poor from 20 °C to 850 °C. • Dielectric properties of spent absorbent and zinc sulfate are influenced by temperature especially in high temperature stage. • Penetration depths and heating curve indicate spent adsorbent and ZnO·2ZnSO{sub 4}, ZnSO{sub 4} are excellent microwave absorber. • The pore structures of spent adsorbent are improved significantly by microwave-regeneration directly. - Abstract: Dielectric properties of spent adsorbent with zinc sulfate are investigated by cavity perturbation technique at 2450 MHz from 20 °C to approximately 1000 °C. Two weight loss stages are observed for spent adsorbent by thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimeter (TG-DSC) analysis, and zinc sulfate is decomposed to ZnO·2ZnSO{sub 4} and ZnO at about 750 °C and 860 °C. Microwave absorption capability of ZnSO{sub 4} increases with increasing temperature and declines after ZnO generation on account of the poor dielectric properties. Dielectric properties of spent adsorbent are dependent on apparent density and noticed an interestingly linearly relationship at room temperature. The three parameters increase gently from 20 °C to 400 °C, but a sharp increase both in real part and imaginary part are found subsequently due to the volatiles release and regeneration of carbon. And material conductivity is improved, which contributes to the π-electron conduction appearance. Relationship between penetration depth and temperature further elaborate spent adsorbent is an excellent microwave absorber and the microwave absorption capability order of zinc compounds is ZnO·2ZnSO{sub 4}, ZnSO{sub 4} and ZnO. Heating characteristics suggest that heating rate is related with dielectric properties of materials. The pore structures of spent adsorbent are improved significantly and the surface is smoother after microwave-regeneration.

  2. Assessing social support among South Asians: the multidimensional scale of perceived social support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonsing, Kareen; Zimet, Gregory D; Tse, Samson

    2012-06-01

    The psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) of the Urdu (MSPSS-U) and Nepali (MSPSS-N) versions were investigated among Pakistani (n=148) and Nepalese (n=153) respondents living in Hong Kong. The factor analysis of the MSPSS-N conducted in this study confirmed the three factors of the original MSPSS, namely, Family, Friend, and Significant Others, while only two factors were extracted from the MSPSS-U (i.e., the Family and Friends subscales). With regard to construct validity, both the MSPSS-U and MSPSS-N were inversely correlated with depression, anxiety and stress as assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The internal reliability and construct validity of the MSPSS-U and MSPSS-N were also established and provided support for the validity of both versions as tools for measuring perceived social support among South Asian migrants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Study of Supported Nickel Catalysts Prepared by Aqueous Hydrazine Method. Hydrogenating Properties and Hydrogen Storage: Support Effect. Silver Additive Effect; Catalyseurs de nickel supportes prepares par la methode de l'hydrazine aqueuse. Proprietes hydrogenantes et stockage d'hydrogene. Effet du support. Effet de l'ajout d'argent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wojcieszak, R

    2006-06-15

    We have studied Ni or NiAg nano-particles obtained by the reduction of nickel salts (acetate or nitrate) by hydrazine and deposited by simple or EDTA-double impregnation on various supports ({gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, amorphous or crystallized SiO{sub 2}, Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}, CeO{sub 2} and carbon). Prepared catalysts were characterized by different methods (XRD, XPS, low temperature adsorption and desorption of N{sub 2}, FTIR and FTIR-Pyridine, TEM, STEM, EDS, H{sub 2}-TPR, H{sub 2}-adsorption, H{sub 2}-TPD, isopropanol decomposition) and tested in the gas phase hydrogenation of benzene or as carbon materials in the hydrogen storage at room temperature and high pressure. The catalysts prepared exhibited better dispersion and activity than classical catalysts. TOF's of NiAg/SiO{sub 2} or Ni/carbon catalysts were similar to Pt catalysts in benzene hydrogenation. Differences in support acidity or preparation method and presence of Ag as metal additive play a crucial role in the chemical reduction of Ni by hydrazine and in the final properties of the materials. Ni/carbon catalysts could store significant amounts of hydrogen at room temperature and high pressure (0.53%/30 bars), probably through the hydrogen spillover effect. (author)

  4. Development of a Novel Ceramic Support Layer for Planar Solid Oxide Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klemensø, Trine; Boccaccini, Dino; Brodersen, Karen

    2014-01-01

    The conventional solid oxide cell is based on a Ni–YSZ support layer, placed on the fuel side of the cell, also known as the anode supported SOFC. An alternative design, based on a support of porous 3YSZ (3 mol.% Y2O3–doped ZrO2), placed on the oxygen electrode side of the cell, is proposed...... of the support can be done simultaneously with forming the oxygen electrode, since some of the best performing oxygen electrodes are based on infiltrated LSC. The potential of the proposed structure was investigated by testing the mechanical and electrical properties of the support layer. Comparable strength...... properties to the conventional Ni/YSZ support were seen, and sufficient and fairly stable conductivity of LSC infiltrated 3YSZ was observed. The conductivity of 8–15 S cm–1 at 850 °C seen for over 600 h, corresponds to a serial resistance of less than 3.5 m Ω cm2 of a 300 μm thick support layer....

  5. Development and psychometric evaluation of supportive leadership scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGilton, Katherine S

    2003-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of 2 supportive leadership scales, the Charge Nurse Support Scale and the Unit Manager Support Scale, designed for long-term-care environments. These 6-item self-report scales were administered to 70 nursing staff and their internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, content validity, factor structure, and construct validity investigated. Content validity was established with the assistance of experts. Both scales were deemed reliable. As hypothesized, a significant relationship was found between the measure of how nursing staff related to residents and measures of charge nurses' supportive behaviours (r = .42, p = .05). Reliable and valid measures of supportive leadership could be developed for use in identifying the quality of support provided to staff in long-term-care environments.

  6. A statistical characterization method for damping material properties and its application to structural-acoustic system design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Byung C.; Lee, Doo Ho; Youn, Byeng D.; Lee, Soo Bum

    2011-01-01

    The performance of surface damping treatments may vary once the surface is exposed to a wide range of temperatures, because the performance of viscoelastic damping material is highly dependent on operational temperature. In addition, experimental data for dynamic responses of viscoelastic material are inherently random, which makes it difficult to design a robust damping layout. In this paper a statistical modeling procedure with a statistical calibration method is suggested for the variability characterization of viscoelastic damping material in constrained-layer damping structures. First, the viscoelastic material property is decomposed into two sources: (I) a random complex modulus due to operational temperature variability, and (II) experimental/model errors in the complex modulus. Next, the variability in the damping material property is obtained using the statistical calibration method by solving an unconstrained optimization problem with a likelihood function metric. Two case studies are considered to show the influence of the material variability on the acoustic performances in the structural-acoustic systems. It is shown that the variability of the damping material is propagated to that of the acoustic performances in the systems. Finally, robust and reliable damping layout designs of the two case studies are obtained through the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) amidst severe variability in operational temperature and the damping material

  7. Effect of target power on the physical properties of Ti thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering with supported discharge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kavitha A.

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The present paper describes the effect of target power on the properties of Ti thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering with (triode mode and without (diode mode supported discharge. The traditional diode magnetron sputtering with an addition of a hot filament has been used to sustain the discharge at a lower pressure. The effect of target power (60, 80, 100 and 120 W on the physical properties of Ti thin films has been studied in diode and triode modes. XRD studies showed that the Ti thin films prepared at a target power up to 100 W in diode mode were amorphous in nature. The Ti thin films exhibited crystalline structure at much lower target power of 80 W with a preferred orientation along (0 0 2 plane. The grain size of Ti thin films prepared in triode mode increased from 64 nm to 80 nm, whereas in diode mode, the grain size increased from 2 nm to 5 nm. EDAX analysis confirmed that the incorporation of reactive gases was lower in triode mode compared to diode mode. The electrical resistivity of Ti thin films deposited in diode mode was found to be 85 µΩ⋅cm (target power 120 W. The electrical resistivity of Ti thin films in triode mode was found to be deceased to 15.2 µΩ⋅cm (target power 120 W.

  8. Bacteria associated with decomposing dead wood in a natural temperate forest

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tláskal, Vojtěch; Zrůstová, Petra; Vrška, T.; Baldrian, Petr

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 93, č. 12 (2017), č. článku fix157. ISSN 0168-6496 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-27454S Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : bacteria * dead wood * decomposition Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Microbiology Impact factor: 3.720, year: 2016

  9. A novel method to decompose two potent greenhouse gases: Photoreduction of SF6 and SF5CF3 in the presence of propene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Li; Shen Yan; Dong Wenbo; Zhang Renxi; Zhang Jianliang; Hou Huiqi

    2008-01-01

    SF 5 CF 3 and SF 6 are the most effective greenhouse gases on a per molecule basis in the atmosphere. Original laboratory trial for photoreduction of them by use of propene as a reactant was performed to develop a novel technique to destroy them. The highly reductive radicals produced during the photolysis of propene at 184.9 nm, such as ·CH 3 , ·C 2 H 3 , and ·C 3 H 5 , could efficiently decompose SF 6 and SF 5 CF 3 to CH 4 , elemental sulfur and trace amounts of fluorinated organic compounds. It was further demonstrated that the destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of SF 5 X (X represented F or CF 3 ) was highly dependent on the initial propene-to-SF 5 X ratio. The addition of certain amounts of oxygen and water vapor not only enhanced the DRE but avoided the generation of deposits. In both systems, employment nitrogen as dilution gas lessened the DRE slightly. Given the advantage of less toxic products, the technique might contribute to SF 5 X remediation

  10. Psoas muscle architectural design, in vivo sarcomere length range, and passive tensile properties support its role as a lumbar spine stabilizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regev, Gilad J; Kim, Choll W; Tomiya, Akihito; Lee, Yu Po; Ghofrani, Hossein; Garfin, Steven R; Lieber, Richard L; Ward, Samuel R

    2011-12-15

    Controlled laboratory and cross-sectional study designs. To determine psoas major (PM) muscle architectural properties, in vivo sarcomere-length operating range, and passive mechanical properties. PM is an important hip flexor but its role in lumbar spine function is not fully understood. Several investigators have detailed the gross anatomy of PM, but comprehensive architectural data and in vivo length-tension and passive mechanical behaviors have not been documented. PM was isolated in 13 cadaver specimens, permitting architectural measurements of physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), normalized fiber length (Lf), and Lf:muscle length (Lm) ratio. Sarcomere lengths were measured in vivo from intraoperative biopsies taken with the hip joint in flexed and extended positions. Single-fiber and fiber bundle tensile properties and titin molecular weight were then measured from separate biopsies. Architecturally, average PCSA was 18.45 ± 1.32 cm2, average Lf was 12.70 ± 2 cm, and average Lf: Lm was 0.48 ± 0.06. Intraoperative sarcomere length measurements revealed that the muscle operates from 3.18 ± 0.20 μm with hip flexed at 10.7° ± 13.9° to 3.03 ± 0.22 μm with hip flexed at 55.9° ± 21.4°. Passive mechanical data demonstrated that the elastic modulus of the PM muscle fibers was 37.44 ± 9.11 kPa and of fiber bundles was 55.3 ± 11.8 kPa. Analysis of PM architecture demonstrates that its average Lf and passive biomechanical properties resemble those of the lumbar erector spinae muscles. In addition, PM sarcomere lengths were confined to the descending portion of the length-tension curve allowing the muscle to become stronger as the hip is flexed and the spine assumes a forward leaning posture. These findings suggest that the human PM has architectural and physiologic features that support its role as both a flexor of the hip and a dynamic stabilizer of the lumbar spine.

  11. Electrochemical properties and electrocatalytic activity of conducting polymer/copper nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehsani, Ali; Jaleh, Babak; Nasrollahzadeh, Mahmoud

    2014-07-01

    Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was used to support Cu nanoparticles. As electro-active electrodes for supercapacitors composites of reduced graphene oxide/Cu nanoparticles (rGO/CuNPs) and polytyramine (PT) with good uniformity are prepared by electropolymerization. Composite of rGO/CuNPs-PT was synthesized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) methods and electrochemical properties of film were investigated by using electrochemical techniques. The results show that, the rGO/CuNPs-PT/G has better capacitance performance. This is mainly because of the really large surface area and the better electronic and ionic conductivity of rGO/CuNPs-PT/G, which lead to greater double-layer capacitance and faradic pseudo capacitance. Modified graphite electrodes (rGO/CuNPs-PT/G) were examined for their redox process and electrocatalytic activities towards the oxidation of methanol in alkaline solutions. The methods of cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed. In comparison with a Cu-PT/G (Graphite), rGO/CuNPs-PT/G modified electrode shows a significantly higher response for methanol oxidation. A mechanism based on the electro-chemical generation of Cu(III) active sites and their subsequent consumptions by methanol have been discussed.

  12. Mechanical properties of organic nanofibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjelstrup-Hansen, Jakob; Hansen, Ole; Rubahn, H.R.

    2006-01-01

    Intrinsic elastic and inelastic mechanical Properties of individual, self-assembled, quasi-single-crystalline para-hexaphenylene nanofibers supported on substrates with different hydrophobicities are investigated as well as the interplay between the fibers and the underlying substrates. We find...

  13. Roles of fluorine and annealing on optical and structural properties of Nd:YF{sub 3} phosphor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, H.D.A.; Novais, S.M.V.; Jacinto, C., E-mail: cjacinto@fis.ufal.br

    2016-07-15

    The optical and structural properties of Nd:YF{sub 3} phosphors, synthesized by precipitation reaction using ethylene glycol solvent, were investigated. The Y:F molar ratio of precursors, where NH{sub 4}F was employed as the fluorine source, was varied to prevent oxygen contamination during nucleation of the particles and to improve the photoluminescence efficiency. Structural investigations were carried out by means of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray techniques. Samples prepared using precursors in stoichiometric proportion presented orthorhombic YF{sub 3} structure. The use of fluorine source in excess promoted formation of NH{sub 4}Y{sub 2}F{sub 7} crystalline phase, which was decomposed into YF{sub 3} after annealing at 400 °C for 1 h. Emission spectra of samples thermally treated enhanced by over 50 times compared with the as prepared. The results obtained show the role of fluorine excess associated with thermal annealing to obtain YF{sub 3} with improved features.

  14. Cholesky decomposed density matrices in Laplace transform Moeller-Plesset perturbation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clin, Lucien Cyril

    2012-01-01

    The evaluation of correlation energies in the canonical formulation of second order Moeller-Plesset Perturbation Theory (MP2) is limited to systems of about 100 atoms, due to the method's steep O(N 5 ) scaling. In order to extend the method's applicability to larger systems, it is therefore imperative to develop alternative formulations that allow for efficient scaling reduction. One such approach is the Laplace transform formalism introduced by Almloef and Haeser, with which MP2 can be expressed in the basis of atom-centered orbitals (AO-MP2), whose local character allows to take advantage of the short range of correlation effects. The overall scaling can thus be reduced through the application of integral pre-selection schemes to discard all numerically irrelevant contributions to the energy. This dissertation is concerned with the study of Cholesky decomposed pseudo-density (CDD) matrices within this AO-MP2 scheme. For technical reasons, namely, the AO-MP2 implementation of Doser et al. is restricted to the evaluation of the opposite spin component of MP2, and is thus bound to the empirical scaled opposite spin parametrization procedure. Applying a Cholesky decomposition to the occurring pseudo-density matrices, the same spin component required for full MP2 energies is naturally included in the resulting CDD-MP2 method, whereby the ab initio character is restored. The investigation of the CDD-approach was further motivated by the fact that the orbitals generated by the decomposition are localized (for electronically non-delocalized systems), and thus allow for the pre-selection of only numerically significant integrals. However, although it could be shown on simple systems that the method does in principle scale linearly, its application to even moderately sized systems with large basis sets is yet hampered by severe technical and numerical difficulties, which are analysed and discussed in detail. Another closely related project has been to extend the RI-CDD-MP2

  15. Thermodynamic properties of cryogenic fluids

    CERN Document Server

    Leachman, Jacob; Lemmon, Eric; Penoncello, Steven

    2017-01-01

    This update to a classic reference text provides practising engineers and scientists with accurate thermophysical property data for cryogenic fluids. The equations for fifteen important cryogenic fluids are presented in a basic format, accompanied by pressure-enthalpy and temperature-entropy charts and tables of thermodynamic properties. It begins with a chapter introducing the thermodynamic relations and functional forms for equations of state, and goes on to describe the requirements for thermodynamic property formulations, needed for the complete definition of the thermodynamic properties of a fluid. The core of the book comprises extensive data tables and charts for the most commonly-encountered cryogenic fluids. This new edition sees significant updates to the data presented for air, argon, carbon monoxide, deuterium, ethane, helium, hydrogen, krypton, nitrogen and xenon. The book supports and complements NIST’s REFPROP - an interactive database and tool for the calculation of thermodynamic propertie...

  16. Graphene: a promising two-dimensional support for heterogeneous catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaobin eFan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Graphene has many advantages that make it an attractive two-dimensional (2D support for heterogeneous catalysts. It not only allows the high loading of targeted catalytic species, but also facilitates the mass transfer during the reaction processes. These advantages, along with its unique physical and chemical properties, endow graphene great potential as catalyst support in heterogeneous catalysis.

  17. Decomposing the uncertainty in climate impact projections of Dynamic Vegetation Models: a test with the forest models LANDCLIM and FORCLIM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cailleret, Maxime; Snell, Rebecca; von Waldow, Harald; Kotlarski, Sven; Bugmann, Harald

    2015-04-01

    Different levels of uncertainty should be considered in climate impact projections by Dynamic Vegetation Models (DVMs), particularly when it comes to managing climate risks. Such information is useful to detect the key processes and uncertainties in the climate model - impact model chain and may be used to support recommendations for future improvements in the simulation of both climate and biological systems. In addition, determining which uncertainty source is dominant is an important aspect to recognize the limitations of climate impact projections by a multi-model ensemble mean approach. However, to date, few studies have clarified how each uncertainty source (baseline climate data, greenhouse gas emission scenario, climate model, and DVM) affects the projection of ecosystem properties. Focusing on one greenhouse gas emission scenario, we assessed the uncertainty in the projections of a forest landscape model (LANDCLIM) and a stand-scale forest gap model (FORCLIM) that is caused by linking climate data with an impact model. LANDCLIM was used to assess the uncertainty in future landscape properties of the Visp valley in Switzerland that is due to (i) the use of different 'baseline' climate data (gridded data vs. data from weather stations), and (ii) differences in climate projections among 10 GCM-RCM chains. This latter point was also considered for the projections of future forest properties by FORCLIM at several sites along an environmental gradient in Switzerland (14 GCM-RCM chains), for which we also quantified the uncertainty caused by (iii) the model chain specific statistical properties of the climate time-series, and (iv) the stochasticity of the demographic processes included in the model, e.g., the annual number of saplings that establish, or tree mortality. Using methods of variance decomposition analysis, we found that (i) The use of different baseline climate data strongly impacts the prediction of forest properties at the lowest and highest, but

  18. Virtual logistics as a support for decomposition process of supply chain (conceptual reflections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Traditionally the concept of the "supply chain" is connected with various forms of the technical, organizational and economic integration. The integration deals mainly with multilateral relations among firms, thus constituting subsequent links of products flows in supply chains and creating complex networks of business connections. Due to social and economic factors, and mainly outsourcing and resulting accent on logistics services, traditional supply chains become decomposed. Therefore, there is a need to reconsider some concepts connected with this process. Methods: The description and analysis of present and decomposing supply chains were presented and discussed. The analysis of reasons and possibilities to give up the processes of the absolute integration of supply chains in the direction of decomposed structures and the indication of possibilities to use the concept of a virtual logistics as a concept, which allows essentially such actions, was conducted. Results: The disintegration of traditional value chains is one of these kinds' concepts, which are reflected also in classic supply chains. Probably the commonly used methods of the research and analysis of these supply chains do not conduce to make decisions under conditions of the lack of the continuity of business processes. Old methods and techniques of the management do not fit fully to modern business requirements, which are probably not even fully highlighted and properly understood. Conclusions: The saturation of modern supply chains with services caused significant modifications of the logic and many mechanisms of their functioning, which in turn can lead to changes of a paradigm of the management of these more and more complex business structures. The aspirations of companies to achieve the competitive advantage on modern markets help to change the structure and the nature of supply chains, which operate on these markets, in the direction of their virtualization.

  19. Monitoring the degradation of partly decomposable plastic foils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rétháti Gabriella

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available We have monitored the behaviour of different polyethylene foils including virgin medium density polyethylene (MDPE, MDPE containing pro-oxydative additives (238, 242 and MDPE with pro-oxydative additives and thermoplastic starch (297 in the soil for a period of one year. A foil based on a blend of polyester and polylactic acid (BASF Ecovio served as degradable control. The experiment was carried out by weekly measurements of conductivity and capacity of the soil, since the setup was analogous to a condenser, of which the insulating layer was the foil itself. The twelve replications allowed monthly sampling; the specimen taken out from the soil each month were tested visually for thickness, mechanical properties, morphological and structural changes, and molecular mass. Based on the obtained capacity values, we found that among the polyethylene foils, the one that contained thermoplastic starch extenuated the most. This foil had the greatest decrease in tensile strength and elongation at break due to the presence of thermoplastic starch. The starch can completely degrade in the soil; thus, the foil had cracks and pores. The polyethylene foils that contained pro-oxydant additives showed smaller external change compared to the virgin foil, since there was no available UV radiation and oxygen for their degradation. The smallest change occurred in the virgin polyethylene foil. Among the five examined samples, the commercially available BASF foil showed the largest extenuation and external change, and it deteriorated the most in the soil.

  20. Foundations of compositional models: structural properties

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jiroušek, Radim; Kratochvíl, Václav

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 44, č. 1 (2015), s. 2-25 ISSN 0308-1079 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-20012S Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP403/12/2175 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : multidimensional distribution * conditional independence * composition * semigraphoid properties * running intersection property Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.677, year: 2015 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/MTR/jirousek-0442412.pdf