How river rocks round: resolving the shape-size paradox.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabor Domokos

Full Text Available River-bed sediments display two universal downstream trends: fining, in which particle size decreases; and rounding, where pebble shapes evolve toward ellipsoids. Rounding is known to result from transport-induced abrasion; however many researchers argue that the contribution of abrasion to downstream fining is negligible. This presents a paradox: downstream shape change indicates substantial abrasion, while size change apparently rules it out. Here we use laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to show quantitatively that pebble abrasion is a curvature-driven flow problem. As a consequence, abrasion occurs in two well-separated phases: first, pebble edges rapidly round without any change in axis dimensions until the shape becomes entirely convex; and second, axis dimensions are then slowly reduced while the particle remains convex. Explicit study of pebble shape evolution helps resolve the shape-size paradox by reconciling discrepancies between laboratory and field studies, and enhances our ability to decipher the transport history of a river rock.

Varying stiffness and load distributions in defective ball bearings: Analytical formulation and application to defect size estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Dick; Howard, Carl; Prime, Zebb

2015-02-01

This paper presents an analytical formulation of the load distribution and varying effective stiffness of a ball bearing assembly with a raceway defect of varying size, subjected to static loading in the radial, axial and rotational degrees of freedom. The analytical formulation is used to study the effect of the size of the defect on the load distribution and varying stiffness of the bearing assembly. The study considers a square-shaped outer raceway defect centered in the load zone and the bearing is loaded in the radial and axial directions while the moment loads are zero. Analysis of the load distributions shows that as the defect size increases, defect-free raceway sections are subjected to increased static loading when one or more balls completely or partly destress when positioned in the defect zone. The stiffness variations that occur when balls pass through the defect zone are significantly larger and change more rapidly at the defect entrance and exit than the stiffness variations that occur for the defect-free bearing case. These larger, more rapid stiffness variations generate parametric excitations which produce the low frequency defect entrance and exit events typically observed in the vibration response of a bearing with a square-shaped raceway defect. Analysis of the stiffness variations further shows that as the defect size increases, the mean radial stiffness decreases in the loaded radial and axial directions and increases in the unloaded radial direction. The effects of such stiffness changes on the low frequency entrance and exit events in the vibration response are simulated with a multi-body nonlinear dynamic model. Previous work used the time difference between the low frequency entrance event and the high frequency exit event to estimate the size of the defect. However, these previous defect size estimation techniques cannot distinguish between defects that differ in size by an integer number of the ball angular spacing, and a third feature

The grain size dependency of vesicular particle shapes strongly affects the drag of particles. First results from microtomography investigations of Campi Flegrei fallout deposits

Science.gov (United States)

Mele, Daniela; Dioguardi, Fabio

2018-03-01

Acknowledging the grain size dependency of shape is important in volcanology, in particular when dealing with tephra produced and emplaced during and after explosive volcanic eruptions. A systematic measurement of the tridimensional shape of vesicular pyroclasts of Campi Flegrei fallout deposits (Agnano-Monte Spina, Astroni 6 and Averno 2 eruptions) varying in size from 8.00 to 0.016 mm has been carried out by means of X-Ray Microtomography. Data show that particle shape changes with size, especially for juvenile vesicular clasts, since it is dependent on the distribution and size of vesicles that contour the external clast outline. Two drag laws that include sphericity in the formula were used for estimating the dependency of settling velocity on shape. Results demonstrate that it is not appropriate to assume a size-independent shape for vesicular particles, in contrast with the approach commonly employed when simulating the ash dispersion in the atmosphere.

Chemical composition shape form and size of suspended solids in the atmosphere carried by rain water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iturbe G, J.L.; Lopez M, B.E.; Torre O, J. De la

2001-01-01

The interest of this work is to know about shape form, size and chemical composition of the suspended solids in the atmosphere of Toluca city and which are carried by the rains. The harvest of the samples was carried out during january to november 1999. The separation of the particulate matter from the rain water was realized through centrifugation. The solids were analysed by Scanning Electron Microscopy to know the shape form and size and the chemical composition was determined by X-ray dispersive energy in general form and of some particles individually analysed. The p H was measured to the solutions and the quantification of some dissolved ions by the Icp technique was realized. The results of the solids showed C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, P, K, Ca, Ti and Fe. Moreover they present sizes which varying from a ten of nanometers until some tens of microns. (Author)

The rapid size- and shape-controlled continuous hydrothermal synthesis of metal sulphide nanomaterials

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Dunne, Peter W.; Starkey, Chris L.; Gimeno-Fabra, Miquel; Lester, Edward H.

2014-01-01

Continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis offers a cheap, green and highly scalable route for the preparation of inorganic nanomaterials which has predominantly been applied to metal oxide based materials. In this work we report the first continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis of metal sulphide nanomaterials. A wide range of binary metal sulphides, ZnS, CdS, PbS, CuS, Fe(1-x)S and Bi2S3, have been synthesised. By varying the reaction conditions two different mechanisms may be invoked; a growth dominated route which permits the formation of nanostructured sulphide materials, and a nucleation driven process which produces nanoparticles with temperature dependent size control. This offers a new and industrially viable route to a wide range of metal sulphide nanoparticles with facile size and shape control.Continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis offers a cheap, green and highly scalable route for the preparation of inorganic nanomaterials which has predominantly been applied to metal oxide based materials. In this work we report the first continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis of metal sulphide nanomaterials. A wide range of binary metal sulphides, ZnS, CdS, PbS, CuS, Fe(1-x)S and Bi2S3, have been synthesised. By varying the reaction conditions two different mechanisms may be invoked; a growth dominated route which permits the formation of nanostructured sulphide materials, and a nucleation driven process which produces nanoparticles with temperature dependent size control. This offers a new and industrially viable route to a wide range of metal sulphide nanoparticles with facile size and shape control. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, refinement procedure, fluorescence spectra of ZnS samples. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr05749f

The evolution of body size and shape in the human career

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Grabowski, Mark; Hatala, Kevin G.; Richmond, Brian G.

2016-01-01

Body size is a fundamental biological property of organisms, and documenting body size variation in hominin evolution is an important goal of palaeoanthropology. Estimating body mass appears deceptively simple but is laden with theoretical and pragmatic assumptions about best predictors and the most appropriate reference samples. Modern human training samples with known masses are arguably the ‘best’ for estimating size in early bipedal hominins such as the australopiths and all members of the genus Homo, but it is not clear if they are the most appropriate priors for reconstructing the size of the earliest putative hominins such as Orrorin and Ardipithecus. The trajectory of body size evolution in the early part of the human career is reviewed here and found to be complex and nonlinear. Australopith body size varies enormously across both space and time. The pre-erectus early Homo fossil record from Africa is poor and dominated by relatively small-bodied individuals, implying that the emergence of the genus Homo is probably not linked to an increase in body size or unprecedented increases in size variation. Body size differences alone cannot explain the observed variation in hominin body shape, especially when examined in the context of small fossil hominins and pygmy modern humans. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’. PMID:27298459

Size and diluted magnetic properties of diamond shaped graphene quantum dots: Monte Carlo study

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Masrour, R.; Jabar, A.

2018-05-01

The magnetic properties of diamond shaped graphene quantum dots have been investigated by varying their sizes with the Monte Carlo simulation. The magnetizations and magnetic susceptibilities have been studied with dilutions x (magnetic atom), several sizes L (carbon atom) and exchange interaction J between the magnetic atoms. The all magnetic susceptibilities have been situated at the transitions temperatures of each parameters. The obtained values increase when increases the values of x, L and J. The effect of exchanges interactions and crystal field on the magnetization has been discussed. The magnetic hysteresis cycles for several dilutions x, sizes L, exchange interactions J and temperatures T. The magnetic coercive increases with increasing the exchange interactions and decreases when the temperatures values increasing.

Geographic body size and shape variation in a mainland anolis (Squamata: Dactyloidae) from northwestern South America (Colombia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon Espinosa, Martha L; Barragan Contreras, Leidy Alejandra

2014-01-01

Anolis auratus is a widely distributed species, from Costa Rica in Central America, through northern South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, northern Brazil, Surinam and the Guyanas. In Colombia, its widespread distribution across different life zones suggests that these lizards occupy different environments and exhibit different microhabitat use in different geographic areas. On the other hand, some observations suggest that this species prefers open areas, selecting grasslands over brushy areas, and thus, an alternative hypothesis is that microhabitat use is similar among different populations. In Anolis, body variables related to locomotion (body size and shape) defines structural microhabitat use, so two distinct patterns could be expected in this species: Conservative or highly variable body size and shape throughout the species distribution. To test these predictions, we characterized geographic variation in morphometric traits of this species in Colombia. Females and males were similar in body size, but exhibited differences in some variables related to body shape. These characteristics also varied among males and females from different regions, suggesting heterogeneous use of structural microhabitat, between sexes and among populations. As an alternative, phylogenetic divergence among populations could also account for the observed differences. Absence of ecological and phylogenetic data limits our ability to identify the underlying causes of this pattern. However, we provide a general framework to explore hypotheses about evolution of body size and shape in this species.

Size and shape dependent lattice parameters of metallic nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, W. H.; Wang, M. P.

2005-01-01

A model is developed to account for the size and shape dependent lattice parameters of metallic nanoparticles, where the particle shape difference is considered by introducing a shape factor. It is predicted that the lattice parameters of nanoparticles in several nanometers decrease with decreasing of the particle size, which is consistent with the corresponding experimental results. Furthermore, it is found that the particle shape can lead to 10% of the total lattice variation. The model is a continuous media model and can deal with the nanoparticles larger than 1 nm. Since the shape factor approaches to infinity for nanowires and nanofilms, therefore, the model cannot be generalized to the systems of nanowires and nanofilms. For the input parameters are physical constants of bulk materials, therefore, the present model may be used to predict the lattice variation of different metallic nanoparticles with different lattice structures

Size-dependent modification of asteroid family Yarkovsky V-shapes

Science.gov (United States)

Bolin, B. T.; Morbidelli, A.; Walsh, K. J.

2018-04-01

Context. The thermal properties of the surfaces of asteroids determine the magnitude of the drift rate cause by the Yarkovsky force. In the general case of Main Belt asteroids, the Yarkovsky force is indirectly proportional to the thermal inertia, Γ. Aim. Following the proposed relationship between Γ and asteroid diameter D, we find that asteroids' Yarkovsky drift rates might have a more complex size dependence than previous thought, leading to a curved family V-shape boundary in semi-major axis, a, vs. 1/D space. This implies that asteroids are drifting faster at larger sizes than previously considered decreasing on average the known ages of asteroid families. Methods: The V-Shape curvature is determined for >25 families located throughout the Main Belt to quantify the Yarkovsky size-dependent drift rate. Results: We find that there is no correlation between family age and V-shape curvature. In addition, the V-shape curvature decreases for asteroid families with larger heliocentric distances suggesting that the relationship between Γ and D is weaker in the outer MB possibly due to homogenous surface roughness among family members.

Effect of the shape and size of dosimeters on the response of solid state/EPR dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yordanov, Nicola D.; Fabisiak, Slawomir; Lagunov, Oleg

2006-01-01

The influence of the shape and size of dosimeters used in solid state-EPR (SS/EPR) dosimetry on their response is reported. It is shown that for commonly used cylindrical (rod) shaped dosimeters of equal height, prepared of low (ε=<3) dielectric constant materials, linearity between their volume and the EPR response is observed when their diameter varies between 3 and 5mm. Further increase of the dosimeter's diameter is not recommended since the increased penetration of the dosimeter material into the electric component of the microwave field in the EPR cavity increases the dielectric losses and decreases the EPR response. In an attempt to improve the sensitivity of the SS/EPR dosimetry we have prepared and tested new, flat-shaped, dosimeters of low (ε∼2) dielectric constant materials which were found to exhibit: (i) linear EPR response within 1-5mm thickness; (ii) higher sensitivity than cylindrical dosimeters at equal sample volume; (iii) increased by ca. 270% EPR sensitivity at 5mm thickness compared to the cylindrical dosimeters with the same diameter (ca. 1.7 times increased sample volume). Using flat shape dosimeters of suitable size provides 2.7 times higher EPR sensitivity of single estimation

Size, Shape and Impurity Effects on Superconducting critical temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Umeda, Masaki; Kato, Masaru; Sato, Osamu

Bulk superconductors have their own critical temperatures Tc. However, for a nano-structured superconductor, Tc depends on size and shape of the superconductor. Nishizaki showed that the high pressure torsion on bulks of Nb makes Tc higher, because the torsion makes many nano-sized fine grains in the bulks. However the high pressure torsion on bulks of V makes Tc lower, and Nishizaki discussed that the decrease of Tc is caused by impurities in the bulks of V. We studied size, shape, and impurity effects on Tc, by solving the Gor'kov equations, using the finite element method. We found that smaller and narrower superconductors show higher Tc. We found how size and shape affects Tc by studying spacial order parameter distributions and quasi-particle eigen-energies. Also we studied the impurity effects on Tc, and found that Tc decreases with increase of scattering rate by impurities. This work was supported in part of KAKENHI Grant Number JP26400367 and JP16K05460, and program for leading graduate schools of ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology-Japan.

Structure Sensitivity Study of Waterborne Contaminant Hydrogenation Using Shape- and Size-Controlled Pd Nanoparticles

KAUST Repository

Shuai, Danmeng

2013-03-01

Catalytic reduction with Pd has emerged as a promising technology to remove a suite of contaminants from drinking water, such as oxyanions, disinfection byproducts, and halogenated pollutants, but low activity is a major challenge for application. To address this challenge, we synthesized a set of shape- and size-controlled Pd nanoparticles and evaluated the activity of three probe contaminants (i.e., nitrite, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), and diatrizoate) as a function of facet type (e.g., (100), (110), (111)), ratios of low- to high-coordination sites, and ratios of surface sites to total Pd (i.e., dispersion). Reduction results for an initial contaminant concentration of 100 μM show that initial turnover frequency (TOF0) for nitrite increases 4.7-fold with increasing percent of (100) surface Pd sites (from 0% to 95.3%), whereas the TOF0 for NDMA and for diatrizoate increases 4.5- and 3.6-fold, respectively, with an increasing percent of terrace surface Pd sites (from 79.8% to 95.3%). Results for an initial nitrite concentration of 2 mM show that TOF0 is the same for all shape- and size-controlled Pd nanoparticles. Trends for TOF0 were supported by results showing that all catalysts but one were stable in shape and size up to 12 days; for the exception, iodide liberation in diatrizoate reduction appeared to be responsible for a shape change of 4 nm octahedral Pd nanoparticles. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations for the free energy change of hydrogen (H2), nitrite, and nitric oxide (NO) adsorption and a two-site model based on the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism suggest that competition of adsorbates for different Pd sites can explain the TOF0 results. Our study shows for the first time that catalytic reduction activity for waterborne contaminant removal varies with the Pd shape and size, and it suggests that Pd catalysts can be tailored for optimal performance to treat a variety of contaminants for drinking water. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Structure Sensitivity Study of Waterborne Contaminant Hydrogenation Using Shape- and Size-Controlled Pd Nanoparticles

KAUST Repository

Shuai, Danmeng; McCalman, Dorrell C.; Choe, Jong Kwon; Shapley, John R.; Schneider, William F.; Werth, Charles J.

2013-01-01

Catalytic reduction with Pd has emerged as a promising technology to remove a suite of contaminants from drinking water, such as oxyanions, disinfection byproducts, and halogenated pollutants, but low activity is a major challenge for application. To address this challenge, we synthesized a set of shape- and size-controlled Pd nanoparticles and evaluated the activity of three probe contaminants (i.e., nitrite, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), and diatrizoate) as a function of facet type (e.g., (100), (110), (111)), ratios of low- to high-coordination sites, and ratios of surface sites to total Pd (i.e., dispersion). Reduction results for an initial contaminant concentration of 100 μM show that initial turnover frequency (TOF0) for nitrite increases 4.7-fold with increasing percent of (100) surface Pd sites (from 0% to 95.3%), whereas the TOF0 for NDMA and for diatrizoate increases 4.5- and 3.6-fold, respectively, with an increasing percent of terrace surface Pd sites (from 79.8% to 95.3%). Results for an initial nitrite concentration of 2 mM show that TOF0 is the same for all shape- and size-controlled Pd nanoparticles. Trends for TOF0 were supported by results showing that all catalysts but one were stable in shape and size up to 12 days; for the exception, iodide liberation in diatrizoate reduction appeared to be responsible for a shape change of 4 nm octahedral Pd nanoparticles. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations for the free energy change of hydrogen (H2), nitrite, and nitric oxide (NO) adsorption and a two-site model based on the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism suggest that competition of adsorbates for different Pd sites can explain the TOF0 results. Our study shows for the first time that catalytic reduction activity for waterborne contaminant removal varies with the Pd shape and size, and it suggests that Pd catalysts can be tailored for optimal performance to treat a variety of contaminants for drinking water. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Optimum Design of Multi-Function Robot Arm Gripper for Varying Shape Green Product

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Razali Zol Bahri

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The project focuses on thorough experimentally studies of the optimum design of Multi-function Robot Arm Gripper for varying shape green product. The purpose of this project is to design a few of robot arm gripper for multi-functionally grip a green product with varying shape. The main character of the gripper is that it can automated adjust its finger to suit with the shape of the product. An optimum design of multi-function robot arm gripper is verified through experimental study. The expected result is a series of analytical results on the proposal of gripper design and material that will be selected for the gripper. The analysis of the gripper design proposal by using ANSYS and CATIA software is described in detail in this paper.

Fabrication of ordered arrays of micro- and nanoscale features with control over their shape and size via templated solid-state dewetting.

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Ye, Jongpil

2015-05-08

Templated solid-state dewetting of single-crystal films has been shown to be used to produce regular patterns of various shapes. However, the materials for which this patterning method is applicable, and the size range of the patterns produced are still limited. Here, it is shown that ordered arrays of micro- and nanoscale features can be produced with control over their shape and size via solid-state dewetting of patches patterned from single-crystal palladium and nickel films of different thicknesses and orientations. The shape and size characteristics of the patterns are found to be widely controllable with varying the shape, width, thickness, and orientation of the initial patches. The morphological evolution of the patches is also dependent on the film material, with different dewetting behaviors observed in palladium and nickel films. The mechanisms underlying the pattern formation are explained in terms of the influence on Rayleigh-like instability of the patch geometry and the surface energy anisotropy of the film material. This mechanistic understanding of pattern formation can be used to design patches for the precise fabrication of micro- and nanoscale structures with the desired shapes and feature sizes.

The size and shape of the foramen magnum in man

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J Zdilla

2017-01-01

Results and Conclusions: The study demonstrates that, within each distinct population, the size of the FM is significantly larger in males than in females; however, there are no significant differences in the shapes of the foramina between sexes. However, when comparing different populations to one another, there are significant differences with regard to both the size and shape of the FM. This study also presents a new model of FM ontogeny. Specifically, the growth occurring between the anterior and posterior foraminal boundaries before 5 years of age predicts the ultimate shape of the adult FM.

Food web structure shaped by habitat size and climate across a latitudinal gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Gustavo Q; Piccoli, Gustavo C O; de Omena, Paula M; Gonçalves-Souza, Thiago

2016-10-01

Habitat size and climate are known to affect the trophic structure and dynamics of communities, but their interactive effects are poorly understood. Organisms from different trophic levels vary in terms of metabolic requirements and heat dissipation. Indeed, larger species such as keystone predators require more stable climatic conditions than their prey. Likewise, habitat size disproportionally affects large-sized predators, which require larger home ranges and are thus restricted to larger habitats. Therefore, food web structure in patchy ecosystems is expected to be shaped by habitat size and climate variations. Here we investigate this prediction using natural aquatic microcosm (bromeliad phytotelmata) food webs composed of litter resources (mainly detritus), detritivores, mesopredators, and top predators (damselflies). We surveyed 240 bromeliads of varying sizes (water retention capacity) across 12 open restingas in SE Brazil spread across a wide range of tropical latitudes (-12.6° to -27.6°, ca. 2,000 km) and climates (Δ mean annual temperature = 5.3°C). We found a strong increase in predator-to-detritivore mass ratio with habitat size, which was representative of a typical inverted trophic pyramid in larger ecosystems. However, this relationship was contingent among the restingas; slopes of linear models were steeper in more stable and favorable climates, leading to inverted trophic pyramids (and top-down control) being more pronounced in environments with more favorable climatic conditions. By contrast, detritivore-resource and mesopredator-detritivore mass ratios were not affected by habitat size or climate variations across latitudes. Our results highlight that the combined effects of habitat size, climate and predator composition are pivotal to understanding the impacts of multiple environmental factors on food web structure and dynamics. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Size, Shape, and Sequence-Dependent Immunogenicity of RNA Nanoparticles

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Sijin Guo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available RNA molecules have emerged as promising therapeutics. Like all other drugs, the safety profile and immune response are important criteria for drug evaluation. However, the literature on RNA immunogenicity has been controversial. Here, we used the approach of RNA nanotechnology to demonstrate that the immune response of RNA nanoparticles is size, shape, and sequence dependent. RNA triangle, square, pentagon, and tetrahedron with same shape but different sizes, or same size but different shapes were used as models to investigate the immune response. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by these RNA nanoarchitectures were assessed in macrophage-like cells and animals. It was found that RNA polygons without extension at the vertexes were immune inert. However, when single-stranded RNA with a specific sequence was extended from the vertexes of RNA polygons, strong immune responses were detected. These immunostimulations are sequence specific, because some other extended sequences induced little or no immune response. Additionally, larger-size RNA square induced stronger cytokine secretion. 3D RNA tetrahedron showed stronger immunostimulation than planar RNA triangle. These results suggest that the immunogenicity of RNA nanoparticles is tunable to produce either a minimal immune response that can serve as safe therapeutic vectors, or a strong immune response for cancer immunotherapy or vaccine adjuvants.

Micrometer-scale 3-D shape characterization of eight cements: Particle shape and cement chemistry, and the effect of particle shape on laser diffraction particle size measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erdogan, S.T.; Nie, X.; Stutzman, P.E.; Garboczi, E.J.

2010-01-01

Eight different portland cements were imaged on a synchrotron beam line at Brookhaven National Laboratory using X-ray microcomputed tomography at a voxel size of about 1 μm per cubic voxel edge. The particles ranged in size roughly between 10 μm and 100 μm. The shape and size of individual particles were computationally analyzed using spherical harmonic analysis. The particle shape difference between cements was small but significant, as judged by several different quantitative shape measures, including the particle length, width, and thickness distributions. It was found that the average shape of cement particles was closely correlated with the volume fraction of C 3 S (alite) and C 2 S (belite) making up the cement powder. It is shown that the non-spherical particle shape of the cements strongly influence laser diffraction results, at least in the sieve size range of 20 μm to 38 μm. Since laser diffraction particle size measurement is being increasingly used by the cement industry, while cement chemistry is always a main factor in cement production, these results could have important implications for how this kind of particle size measurement should be understood and used in the cement industry.

Patients' evaluation of shape, size and colour of solid dosage forms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, A.B.A.; Møller-Sonnergaard, J.; Christrup, L.L.

2001-01-01

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the swallow ability and the patient preferences of tablets and capsules with different sizes, shapes, surfaces and colours. Method: Patients were asked to swallow tablets with different surface and size, while tablets with different shape and colour were...... visually assessed. They were asked to indicate their preferences. Results: Gelatine capsules were found easier to swallow than tablets and coated tablets were found easier than uncoated normal tablets. The preferred colour was white both for tables and capsules, and the most disliked colours were purple...... tablets and brown capsules. The preferred shape was strongly arched circular for small tablets, oval for medium sized and big tablets. The difficulty to swallow tablets increased with increasing size. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the ideal tablet is small and white, strongly arched...

The Genetic Basis of Baculum Size and Shape Variation in Mice

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Nicholas G. Schultz

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The rapid divergence of male genitalia is a preeminent evolutionary pattern. This rapid divergence is especially striking in the baculum, a bone that occurs in the penis of many mammalian species. Closely related species often display diverse baculum morphology where no other morphological differences can be discerned. While this fundamental pattern of evolution has been appreciated at the level of gross morphology, nearly nothing is known about the genetic basis of size and shape divergence. Quantifying the genetic basis of baculum size and shape variation has been difficult because these structures generally lack obvious landmarks, so comparing them in three dimensions is not straightforward. Here, we develop a novel morphometric approach to quantify size and shape variation from three-dimensional micro-CT scans taken from 369 bacula, representing 75 distinct strains of the BXD family of mice. We identify two quantitative trait loci (QTL that explain ∼50% of the variance in baculum size, and a third QTL that explains more than 20% of the variance in shape. Together, our study demonstrates that baculum morphology may diverge relatively easily, with mutations at a few loci of large effect that independently modulate size and shape. Based on a combination of bioinformatic investigations and new data on RNA expression, we prioritized these QTL to 16 candidate genes, which have hypothesized roles in bone morphogenesis and may enable future genetic manipulation of baculum morphology.

Differentiating gold nanorod samples using particle size and shape distributions from transmission electron microscope images

Science.gov (United States)

Grulke, Eric A.; Wu, Xiaochun; Ji, Yinglu; Buhr, Egbert; Yamamoto, Kazuhiro; Song, Nam Woong; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B.; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Burchett, Woodrow W.; Lambert, Joshua; Stromberg, Arnold J.

2018-04-01

Size and shape distributions of gold nanorod samples are critical to their physico-chemical properties, especially their longitudinal surface plasmon resonance. This interlaboratory comparison study developed methods for measuring and evaluating size and shape distributions for gold nanorod samples using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The objective was to determine whether two different samples, which had different performance attributes in their application, were different with respect to their size and/or shape descriptor distributions. Touching particles in the captured images were identified using a ruggedness shape descriptor. Nanorods could be distinguished from nanocubes using an elongational shape descriptor. A non-parametric statistical test showed that cumulative distributions of an elongational shape descriptor, that is, the aspect ratio, were statistically different between the two samples for all laboratories. While the scale parameters of size and shape distributions were similar for both samples, the width parameters of size and shape distributions were statistically different. This protocol fulfills an important need for a standardized approach to measure gold nanorod size and shape distributions for applications in which quantitative measurements and comparisons are important. Furthermore, the validated protocol workflow can be automated, thus providing consistent and rapid measurements of nanorod size and shape distributions for researchers, regulatory agencies, and industry.

Seed-mediated synthesis of silver nanocrystals with controlled sizes and shapes in droplet microreactors separated by air.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lei; Wang, Yi; Tong, Limin; Xia, Younan

2013-12-17

Silver nanocrystals with uniform sizes were synthesized in droplet microreactors through seed-mediated growth. The key to the success of this synthesis is the use of air as a carrier phase to generate the droplets. The air not only separates the reaction solution into droplets but also provides O2 for the generation of reducing agent (glycolaldehyde). It also serves as a buffer space for the diffusion of NO, which is formed in situ due to the oxidative etching of Ag nanocrystals with twin defects. For the first time, we were able to generate Ag nanocrystals with controlled sizes and shapes in continuous production by using droplet microreactors. For Ag nanocubes, their edge lengths could be readily controlled in the range of 30-100 nm by varying the reaction time, the amount of seeds, and the concentration of AgNO3 in the droplets. Furthermore, we demonstrated the synthesis of Ag octahedra in the droplet microreactors. We believe that the air-driven droplet generation device can be extended to other noble metals for the production of nanocrystals with controlled sizes and shapes.

The effect of alumina nanofillers size and shape on mechanical behavior of PMMA matrix composite

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Ben Hasan Somaya Ahmed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Composites with the addition of alumina nanofillers show improvement in mechanical properties. The PMMA polymer was used as a matrix and two different types of nanofillers, having extremely different shapes were added in the matrix to form the composite. Reinforcements were based on alumina nanoparticles having either spherical shape or whiskers having the length to diameter ratio of 100. The influence of alumina fillers size, shape and fillers loading on mechanical properties of prepared composite were studied using the nanoindentation measurements and dynamic mechanical analysis. It was observed that both alumina whiskers and alumina spherical nanoparticles added in the PMMA matrix improved the mechanical properties of the composite but the improvement was significantly higher with alumina whisker reinforcement. The concentration of the reinforcing alumina spherical nanoparticles and alumina whiskers in PMMA matrix varied up to 5 wt. %. The best performance was obtained by the addition of 3 wt. % of alumina whiskers in the PMMA matrix with regard to mechanical properties of the obtained composite.

Size, Shape, and Sequence-Dependent Immunogenicity of RNA Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Sijin; Li, Hui; Ma, Mengshi; Fu, Jian; Dong, Yizhou; Guo, Peixuan

2017-12-15

RNA molecules have emerged as promising therapeutics. Like all other drugs, the safety profile and immune response are important criteria for drug evaluation. However, the literature on RNA immunogenicity has been controversial. Here, we used the approach of RNA nanotechnology to demonstrate that the immune response of RNA nanoparticles is size, shape, and sequence dependent. RNA triangle, square, pentagon, and tetrahedron with same shape but different sizes, or same size but different shapes were used as models to investigate the immune response. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by these RNA nanoarchitectures were assessed in macrophage-like cells and animals. It was found that RNA polygons without extension at the vertexes were immune inert. However, when single-stranded RNA with a specific sequence was extended from the vertexes of RNA polygons, strong immune responses were detected. These immunostimulations are sequence specific, because some other extended sequences induced little or no immune response. Additionally, larger-size RNA square induced stronger cytokine secretion. 3D RNA tetrahedron showed stronger immunostimulation than planar RNA triangle. These results suggest that the immunogenicity of RNA nanoparticles is tunable to produce either a minimal immune response that can serve as safe therapeutic vectors, or a strong immune response for cancer immunotherapy or vaccine adjuvants. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of the shape of a nano-object on quantum-size states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzyuba, Vladimir; Kulchin, Yurii; Milichko, Valentin

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose an original functional method that makes it easy to determine the effect of any deviation in the shape of a nano-object from the well-studied shape (e.g., spherical) on the quantum characteristics of charge localized inside the nano-object. The maximum dimension of the object is determined by the magnitude of influence of quantum-size effects on quantum states of charge, and is limited by 100 nm. This method is ideologically similar to the perturbation theory, but the perturbation of the surface shape, rather than the potential, is used. Unlike the well-known variational methods of theoretical physics, this method is based on the assumption that the physical quantity is a functional of surface shape. Using the method developed, we present the quantum-size state of charges for two different complex shapes of nano-objects. The results from analyzing the quantum-size states of charge in the nano-objects with a deformed spherical shape indicated that the shape perturbations have a larger effect on the probability density of locating a particle inside the nano-object than on the surface energy spectrum and quantum density of the states.

Absorption Efficiencies of Forsterite. I: DDA Explorations in Grain Shape and Size

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsay, Sean S.; Wooden, Diane; Harker, David E.; Kelley, Michael S.; Woodward, Charles E.; Murphy, Jim R.

2013-01-01

We compute the absorption efficiency (Q(sub abs)) of forsterite using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) in order to identify and describe what characteristics of crystal grain shape and size are important to the shape, peak location, and relative strength of spectral features in the 8 - 40 micron wavelength range. Using the DDSCAT code, we compute Q(sub abs) for non-spherical polyhedral grain shapes with a(sub eff) = 0.1 micron. The shape characteristics identified are: 1) elongation/reduction along one of three crystallographic axes; 2) asymmetry, such that all three crystallographic axes are of different lengths; and 3) the presence of crystalline faces that are not parallel to a specific crystallographic axis, e.g., non-rectangular prisms and (di)pyramids. Elongation/reduction dominates the locations and shapes of spectral features near 10, 11, 16, 23.5, 27, and 33.5 micron, while asymmetry and tips are secondary shape effects. Increasing grain sizes (0.1 - 1.0 micron) shifts the 10, 11 micron features systematically towards longer wavelengths and relative to the 11 micron feature increases the strengths and slightly broadens the longer wavelength features. Seven spectral shape classes are established for crystallographic a-, b-, and c-axes and include columnar and platelet shapes plus non-elongated or equant grain shapes. The spectral shape classes and the effects of grain size have practical application in identifying or excluding columnar, platelet or equant forsterite grain shapes in astrophysical environs. Identification of the shape characteristics of forsterite from 8 - 40 micron spectra provides a potential means to probe the temperatures at which forsterite formed.

Influence of shape and size of the particles on jigging separation of plastics mixture.

Science.gov (United States)

Pita, Fernando; Castilho, Ana

2016-02-01

Plastics are popular for numerous applications due to their high versatility and favourable properties such as endurance, lightness and cheapness. Therefore the generation of plastic waste is constantly increasing, becoming one of the larger categories in municipal solid waste. Almost all plastic materials are recyclable, but for the recycling to be possible it is necessary to separate the different types of plastics. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of the jig separation of bi-component plastic mixtures. For this study six granulated plastics had been used: Polystyrene (PS), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET-S, PET-D) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC-M, PVC-D). Plastics mixtures were subjected to jigging in a laboratorial Denver mineral jig. The results showed that the quality of the jigging separation varies with the mixture, the density differences and with the size and shape of the particles. In the case of particles with more regular shapes the quality of separation of bi-component plastic mixtures improved with the increase of the particle size. For lamellar particles the influence of particle size was minimal. In general, the beneficiation of plastics with similar densities was not effective, since the separation efficiency was lower than 25%. However, in bi-component plastic mixtures that join a low density plastic (PS) with a high density one (PMMA, PET-S, PET-D, PVC-M and PVC-D), the quality of the jigging separation was greatly improved. The PS grade in the sunk was less than 1% for all the plastic mixtures. Jigging proved to be an effective method for the separation of bi-component plastic mixtures. Jigging separation will be enhanced if the less dense plastic, that overflows, has a lamellar shape and if the denser plastic, that sinks, has a regular one. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shape and size effects on layered Ni/PZT/Ni composites magnetoelectric performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pan, D A; Zhang, S G; Qiao, L J [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Volinsky, Alex A [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33620 (United States)], E-mail: lqiao@ustb.edu.cn

2008-09-07

This paper presents the magnetoelectric (ME) effect in trilayered Ni/PZT/Ni composites which is related to their size and shape. The ME composites with the same interfacial areas but different geometrical shapes have different ME voltage coefficients. Longitudinal resonant modes in the rectangular and triangular trilayered ME composites were studied. One should choose optimized size, shape and working frequency of the ME composites in order to gain the maximum ME effect. This study plays a guiding role for trilayered ME composites design for real applications. (fast track communication)

Gold nanoparticle size and shape influence on osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jingchao; Li, Jia'en Jasmine; Zhang, Jing; Wang, Xinlong; Kawazoe, Naoki; Chen, Guoping

2016-04-01

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively explored for biomedical applications due to their advantages of facile synthesis and surface functionalization. Previous studies have suggested that AuNPs can induce differentiation of stem cells into osteoblasts. However, how the size and shape of AuNPs affect the differentiation response of stem cells has not been elucidated. In this work, a series of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated Au nanospheres, Au nanostars and Au nanorods with different diameters of 40, 70 and 110 nm were synthesized and their effects on osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were investigated. All the AuNPs showed good cytocompatibility and did not influence proliferation of hMSCs at the studied concentrations. Osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs was dependent on the size and shape of AuNPs. Sphere-40, sphere-70 and rod-70 significantly increased the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium deposition of cells while rod-40 reduced the ALP activity and calcium deposition. Gene profiling revealed that the expression of osteogenic marker genes was down-regulated after incubation with rod-40. However, up-regulation of these genes was found in the sphere-40, sphere-70 and rod-70 treatment. Moreover, it was found that the size and shape of AuNPs affected the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs through regulating the activation of Yes-associated protein (YAP). These results indicate that the size and shape of AuNPs had an influence on the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs, which should provide useful guidance for the preparation of AuNPs with defined size and shape for their biomedical applications.Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively explored for biomedical applications due to their advantages of facile synthesis and surface functionalization. Previous studies have suggested that AuNPs can induce differentiation of stem cells into osteoblasts. However, how the size and shape of AuNPs affect the

Morphological changes in ultrafast laser ablation plumes with varying spot size.

Science.gov (United States)

Harilal, S S; Diwakar, P K; Polek, M P; Phillips, M C

2015-06-15

We investigated the role of spot size on plume morphology during ultrafast laser ablation of metal targets. Our results show that the spatial features of fs LA plumes are strongly dependent on the focal spot size. Two-dimensional self-emission images showed that the shape of the ultrafast laser ablation plumes changes from spherical to cylindrical with an increasing spot size from 100 to 600 μm. The changes in plume morphology and internal structures are related to ion emission dynamics from the plasma, where broader angular ion distribution and faster ions are noticed for the smallest spot size used. The present results clearly show that the morphological changes in the plume with spot size are independent of laser pulse width.

The impact of cigarette pack shape, size and opening: evidence from tobacco company documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotnowski, Kathy; Hammond, David

2013-09-01

To use tobacco industry documents on cigarette pack shape, size and openings to identify industry findings on associations with brand imagery, product attributes, consumer perceptions and behaviour. Internal tobacco industry research and marketing documents obtained through court disclosure contained in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library were searched using keywords related to pack shapes, sizes and opening methods. The search identified 66 documents related to consumer research and marketing plans on pack shape, size and openings, drawn from 1973 to 2002. Industry research consistently found that packs that deviated from the traditional flip-top box projected impressions of 'modern', 'elegant' and 'unique' brand imagery. Alternative pack shape and openings were identified as an effective means to communicate product attributes, particularly with regard to premium quality and smooth taste. Consumer studies consistently found that pack shape, size and opening style influenced perceptions of reduced product harm, and were often used to communicate a 'lighter' product. Slim, rounded, oval and booklet packs were found to be particularly appealing among young adults, and several studies demonstrated increased purchase interest for tobacco products presented in novel packaging shape or opening. Evidence from consumer tracking reports and company presentations indicate that pack innovations in shape or opening method increased market share of brands. Consumer research by the tobacco industry between 1973 and 2002 found that variations in packaging shape, size and opening method could influence brand appeal and risk perceptions and increase cigarette sales. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Shape and Spatially-Varying Reflectance Estimation from Virtual Exemplars.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, Zhuo; Sankaranarayanan, Aswin C

2017-10-01

This paper addresses the problem of estimating the shape of objects that exhibit spatially-varying reflectance. We assume that multiple images of the object are obtained under a fixed view-point and varying illumination, i.e., the setting of photometric stereo. At the core of our techniques is the assumption that the BRDF at each pixel lies in the non-negative span of a known BRDF dictionary. This assumption enables a per-pixel surface normal and BRDF estimation framework that is computationally tractable and requires no initialization in spite of the underlying problem being non-convex. Our estimation framework first solves for the surface normal at each pixel using a variant of example-based photometric stereo. We design an efficient multi-scale search strategy for estimating the surface normal and subsequently, refine this estimate using a gradient descent procedure. Given the surface normal estimate, we solve for the spatially-varying BRDF by constraining the BRDF at each pixel to be in the span of the BRDF dictionary; here, we use additional priors to further regularize the solution. A hallmark of our approach is that it does not require iterative optimization techniques nor the need for careful initialization, both of which are endemic to most state-of-the-art techniques. We showcase the performance of our technique on a wide range of simulated and real scenes where we outperform competing methods.

An online detection system for aggregate sizes and shapes based on digital image processing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jianhong; Chen, Sijia

2017-02-01

Traditional aggregate size measuring methods are time-consuming, taxing, and do not deliver online measurements. A new online detection system for determining aggregate size and shape based on a digital camera with a charge-coupled device, and subsequent digital image processing, have been developed to overcome these problems. The system captures images of aggregates while falling and flat lying. Using these data, the particle size and shape distribution can be obtained in real time. Here, we calibrate this method using standard globules. Our experiments show that the maximum particle size distribution error was only 3 wt%, while the maximum particle shape distribution error was only 2 wt% for data derived from falling aggregates, having good dispersion. In contrast, the data for flat-lying aggregates had a maximum particle size distribution error of 12 wt%, and a maximum particle shape distribution error of 10 wt%; their accuracy was clearly lower than for falling aggregates. However, they performed well for single-graded aggregates, and did not require a dispersion device. Our system is low-cost and easy to install. It can successfully achieve online detection of aggregate size and shape with good reliability, and it has great potential for aggregate quality assurance.

Deconstructing cartilage shape and size into contributions from embryogenesis, metamorphosis, and tadpole and frog growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Christopher S; Murawinski, Danny; Horne, Virginia

2015-06-01

Understanding skeletal diversification involves knowing not only how skeletal rudiments are shaped embryonically, but also how skeletal shape changes throughout life. The pharyngeal arch (PA) skeleton of metamorphosing amphibians persists largely as cartilage and undergoes two phases of development (embryogenesis and metamorphosis) and two phases of growth (larval and post-metamorphic). Though embryogenesis and metamorphosis produce species-specific features of PA cartilage shape, the extents to which shape and size change during growth and metamorphosis remain unaddressed. This study uses allometric equations and thin-plate spline, relative warp and elliptic Fourier analyses to describe shape and size trajectories for the ventral PA cartilages of the frog Xenopus laevis in tadpole and frog growth and metamorphosis. Cartilage sizes scale negatively with body size in both growth phases and cartilage shapes scale isometrically or close to it. This implies that most species-specific aspects of cartilage shape arise in embryogenesis and metamorphosis. Contributions from growth are limited to minor changes in lower jaw (LJ) curvature that produce relative gape narrowing and widening in tadpoles and frogs, respectively, and most cartilages becoming relatively thinner. Metamorphosis involves previously unreported decreases in cartilage size as well as changes in cartilage shape. The LJ becomes slightly longer, narrower and more curved, and the adult ceratohyal emerges from deep within the resorbing tadpole ceratohyal. This contrast in shape and size changes suggests a fundamental difference in the underlying cellular pathways. The observation that variation in PA cartilage shape decreases with tadpole growth supports the hypothesis that isometric growth is required for the metamorphic remodeling of PA cartilages. It also supports the existence of shape-regulating mechanisms that are specific to PA cartilages and that resist local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. �

Size and shape dependent Gibbs free energy and phase stability of titanium and zirconium nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong Shiyun; Qi Weihong; Huang Baiyun; Wang Mingpu; Li Yejun

2010-01-01

The Debye model of Helmholtz free energy for bulk material is generalized to Gibbs free energy (GFE) model for nanomaterial, while a shape factor is introduced to characterize the shape effect on GFE. The structural transitions of Ti and Zr nanoparticles are predicted based on GFE. It is further found that GFE decreases with the shape factor and increases with decreasing of the particle size. The critical size of structural transformation for nanoparticles goes up as temperature increases in the absence of change in shape factor. For specified temperature, the critical size climbs up with the increase of shape factor. The present predictions agree well with experiment values.

Dog behavior co-varies with height, bodyweight and skull shape.

Science.gov (United States)

McGreevy, Paul D; Georgevsky, Dana; Carrasco, Johanna; Valenzuela, Michael; Duffy, Deborah L; Serpell, James A

2013-01-01

Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length) and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females) were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds' height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301) of various common breeds (n = 49) collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Stepwise backward elimination regressions revealed that, across the breeds, 33 behavioral traits all but one of which are undesirable in companion animals correlated with either height alone (n = 14), bodyweight alone (n = 5), CI alone (n = 3), bodyweight-and-skull shape combined (n = 2), height-and-skull shape combined (n = 3) or height-and-bodyweight combined (n = 6). For example, breed average height showed strongly significant inverse relationships (psensitivity, urination when left alone, dog-directed fear, separation-related problems, non-social fear, defecation when left alone, owner-directed aggression, begging for food, urine marking and attachment/attention-seeking, while bodyweight showed strongly significant inverse relationships (p<0.001) with excitability and being reported as hyperactive. Apart from trainability, all regression coefficients with height were negative indicating that, across the breeds, behavior becomes more problematic as height decreases. Allogrooming increased strongly (p<0.001) with CI and inversely with height. CI alone showed a strong significant positive relationship with self-grooming (p<0.001) but a negative relationship with chasing (p = 0.020). The current study demonstrates how aspects of CI (and therefore brain shape), bodyweight and height co-vary with behavior. The

Spatially varying selection shapes life history clines among populations of Drosophila melanogaster from sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabian, D K; Lack, J B; Mathur, V; Schlötterer, C; Schmidt, P S; Pool, J E; Flatt, T

2015-04-01

Clines in life history traits, presumably driven by spatially varying selection, are widespread. Major latitudinal clines have been observed, for example, in Drosophila melanogaster, an ancestrally tropical insect from Africa that has colonized temperate habitats on multiple continents. Yet, how geographic factors other than latitude, such as altitude or longitude, affect life history in this species remains poorly understood. Moreover, most previous work has been performed on derived European, American and Australian populations, but whether life history also varies predictably with geography in the ancestral Afro-tropical range has not been investigated systematically. Here, we have examined life history variation among populations of D. melanogaster from sub-Saharan Africa. Viability and reproductive diapause did not vary with geography, but body size increased with altitude, latitude and longitude. Early fecundity covaried positively with altitude and latitude, whereas lifespan showed the opposite trend. Examination of genetic variance-covariance matrices revealed geographic differentiation also in trade-off structure, and QST -FST analysis showed that life history differentiation among populations is likely shaped by selection. Together, our results suggest that geographic and/or climatic factors drive adaptive phenotypic differentiation among ancestral African populations and confirm the widely held notion that latitude and altitude represent parallel gradients. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Systems and methods of varying charged particle beam spot size

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Jiuan

2014-09-02

Methods and devices enable shaping of a charged particle beam. A modified dielectric wall accelerator includes a high gradient lens section and a main section. The high gradient lens section can be dynamically adjusted to establish the desired electric fields to minimize undesirable transverse defocusing fields at the entrance to the dielectric wall accelerator. Once a baseline setting with desirable output beam characteristic is established, the output beam can be dynamically modified to vary the output beam characteristics. The output beam can be modified by slightly adjusting the electric fields established across different sections of the modified dielectric wall accelerator. Additional control over the shape of the output beam can be excreted by introducing intentional timing de-synchronization offsets and producing an injected beam that is not fully matched to the entrance of the modified dielectric accelerator.

Shape, size and temperature dependency of thermal expansion ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

M GOYAL

2018-05-19

May 19, 2018 ... Oriental J. Chem.32(4), 2193 (2016), is extended in the present study using Qi and Wang model [Mater. Chem. Phys. ... Nanomaterials; shape factor; size effect; thermal expansion; equation of state. ... als are different from that of their bulk material. ..... and 1c along with the present calculated results. It is.

Size and shape-dependent cytotoxicity profile of gold nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Woźniak, Anna; Malankowska, Anna; Nowaczyk, Grzegorz; Grześkowiak, Bartosz F; Tuśnio, Karol; Słomski, Ryszard; Zaleska-Medynska, Adriana; Jurga, Stefan

2017-06-01

Metallic nanoparticles, in particular gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), offer a wide spectrum of applications in biomedicine. A crucial issue is their cytotoxicity, which depends greatly on various factors, including morphology of nanoparticles. Because metallic nanoparticles have an effect on cell membrane integrity, their shape and size may affect the viability of cells, due to their different geometries as well as physical and chemical interactions with cell membranes. Variations in the size and shape of gold nanoparticles may indicate particular nanoparticle morphologies that provide strong cytotoxicity effects. Synthesis of different sized and shaped bare AuNPs was performed with spherical (~ 10 nm), nanoflowers (~ 370 nm), nanorods (~ 41 nm), nanoprisms (~ 160 nm) and nanostars (~ 240 nm) morphologies. These nanostructures were characterized and interacting with cancer (HeLa) and normal (HEK293T) cell lines and cell viability tests were performed by WST-1 tests and fluorescent live/dead cell imaging experiments. It was shown that various shapes and sizes of gold nanostructures may affect the viability of the cells. Gold nanospheres and nanorods proved to be more toxic than star, flower and prism gold nanostructures. This may be attributed to their small size and aggregation process. This is the first report concerning a comparison of cytotoxic profile in vitro with a wide spectrum of bare AuNPs morphology. The findings show their possible use in biomedical applications.

ACCURACY RESEARCH OF THE DIAMETRICAL SIZES FORMING AT GEAR SHAPING BY STEPPED CUTTER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. M. Rasulov

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper presents research results of forming accuracy for diametrical sizes at gear shaping with stepped cutter and the traditional method. Analysis of static technological dimensional pitch size chain of wheels being cut is performed. It was revealed that the most of transmission errors of the wheels, formed by the traditional gear-shaped cutter are caused by manufacturing and installation error of the cutter and result from the formation of each tooth of the wheel with a certain tool. This is not the case with gear shaping by step cutter since at that, the profiles of all gear teeth are formed by means of tooth profile mostly remote from the tool rotation axis. Analysis of occurrence of setting-up errors typical for the above gear shaping methods has been performed. At gear shaping with stepped cutter there are no setting-up error components. It was revealed that this fact causes the absence of errors in the tool position before its each double motion. The accuracy of diametrical sizes increases. Formation mechanism of tool installation errors and workpiece are also given and their analysis is presented. Findings in the field of gear shaping with stepped cutter comply with results of research carried out by the other authors in the field of traditional gear shaping.

Determination of size and shape distributions of metal and ceramic powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovanovic, DI.

1961-01-01

For testing the size and shape distributions of metal and ceramic uranium oxide powders the following method for analysing the grain size of powders were developed and implemented: microscopic analysis and sedimentation method. A gravimetry absorption device was constructed for determining the specific surfaces of powders

Sample size adjustments for varying cluster sizes in cluster randomized trials with binary outcomes analyzed with second-order PQL mixed logistic regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Candel, Math J J M; Van Breukelen, Gerard J P

2010-06-30

Adjustments of sample size formulas are given for varying cluster sizes in cluster randomized trials with a binary outcome when testing the treatment effect with mixed effects logistic regression using second-order penalized quasi-likelihood estimation (PQL). Starting from first-order marginal quasi-likelihood (MQL) estimation of the treatment effect, the asymptotic relative efficiency of unequal versus equal cluster sizes is derived. A Monte Carlo simulation study shows this asymptotic relative efficiency to be rather accurate for realistic sample sizes, when employing second-order PQL. An approximate, simpler formula is presented to estimate the efficiency loss due to varying cluster sizes when planning a trial. In many cases sampling 14 per cent more clusters is sufficient to repair the efficiency loss due to varying cluster sizes. Since current closed-form formulas for sample size calculation are based on first-order MQL, planning a trial also requires a conversion factor to obtain the variance of the second-order PQL estimator. In a second Monte Carlo study, this conversion factor turned out to be 1.25 at most. (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dog behavior co-varies with height, bodyweight and skull shape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul D McGreevy

Full Text Available Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds' height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301 of various common breeds (n = 49 collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ. Stepwise backward elimination regressions revealed that, across the breeds, 33 behavioral traits all but one of which are undesirable in companion animals correlated with either height alone (n = 14, bodyweight alone (n = 5, CI alone (n = 3, bodyweight-and-skull shape combined (n = 2, height-and-skull shape combined (n = 3 or height-and-bodyweight combined (n = 6. For example, breed average height showed strongly significant inverse relationships (p<0.001 with mounting persons or objects, touch sensitivity, urination when left alone, dog-directed fear, separation-related problems, non-social fear, defecation when left alone, owner-directed aggression, begging for food, urine marking and attachment/attention-seeking, while bodyweight showed strongly significant inverse relationships (p<0.001 with excitability and being reported as hyperactive. Apart from trainability, all regression coefficients with height were negative indicating that, across the breeds, behavior becomes more problematic as height decreases. Allogrooming increased strongly (p<0.001 with CI and inversely with height. CI alone showed a strong significant positive relationship with self-grooming (p<0.001 but a negative relationship with chasing (p = 0.020. The current study demonstrates how aspects of CI (and therefore brain shape

Normal mediastinal lymph node size and shape; CT and cadaver study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Im, Chung Kie; Lee, Kyung Soo; Han, Man Chung; Kim, Chu Wan

1985-01-01

With the view point of size, shape and arrangement pattern, authors present normal mediastinal lymph node from the analysis of 61 cases of CT scan and multidirectional section of 2 cadavers. The result were as follows: 1. Transverse diameter of the lymph nodes, demonstrated in cadaver section, was 3 to 6mm in upper paratracheal area and 5 to 14mm in juxta-carinal and AP-window area. Arrangement of the lymph nodes showed tendency of longitudinal direction in lower paratracheal, and juxtacarinal area, while that of AP window showed tendency of AP direction as long axis. 2. Mean and the largest size of the lymph nodes demonstrated in CT scan were 3.7mm, 8mm in upper paratracheal area, and 6mm, 12mm in lower paratracheal area, and 7.1mm, 14mm in juxtacarinal area, and 6.3mm and 11mm in aorticopulmonary window area. 3. Size of the lymph nodes in CT scan showed linear increasing tendency according to increasing age (y=0.32, p<0.005). 4. Shape of the lymph nodes in CT scan were mostly round in upper paratracheal area while that of aorticopulmonary window showed higher incidence of oval and elongated shape. 5. Recommended size criterior of abnormal lymph node is 10mm in upper paratracheal area and 15mm in the other area

River adjustments under varying flow and sediment sypply regimes. The role of hydrograh shape

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrer-Boix, C.; Elgueta, M. A.; Hassan, M. A.

2016-12-01

This research aims to explore how sediment supply conditions and hydrograph shape influence bed surface evolution, vertical and downstream sediment sorting, and sediment transport in gravel bed streams. While a significant body of research has been focused on channel evolution under constant flow regimes, few studies have focused on the impacts of flow variations in channel adjustments. Particularly, we are interested in examining the impact of the sediment supply regime and hydrograph magnitude and duration on channel adjustments and sediment transport rates. To this end, we conducted a set of experiments in a 0.8 m-wide, 5 m-long tilting flume. Flow discharge during the runs was increased and decreased at steps of certain duration allowing us to vary the steepness of rising and falling limbs of hydrographs. The influence of hydrograph shape (symmetrical and asymmetrical) on river morphodynamics was tested. Flow rates during the experiments ranged from 30 l/s to 70 l/s. Some of the experiments were conducted under no feed conditions while others were carried out with sediment supply, which ranged from 10 kg/h to 80 kg/h. The feed texture in these latter runs was identical to that of the original mixture (Dmin = 0.5 mm, Dmax = 64 mm, Dg = 5.65 mm and σg = 3.05). Initial bed slope and surface configuration were obtained after varying times of conditioning under constant flow and no feed. Finally, we conducted equilibrium experiments under constant flow and sediment supply that were used as reference. All these sets of experiments benefited from a very detailed and extensive data monitoring which allowed us to provide a unique description or river adjustments under varying flow conditions. Data acquisition included: 1) bed surface images covering the entire flume, 2) bed scans at 2 mm resolution of the whole flume and 3) real-time measurements of bedload transport (rate and texture) at the outlet of the flume. This set up allows us to obtain fractional particle

Evaluation of Pure Aluminium Inoculated with Varying Grain Sizes of an Agro-waste based Inoculant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adeyemi I. Olabisi

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Pure Aluminium and its alloy are widely utilized in Engineering and Industrial applications due to certain significant properties such as softness, ductility, corrosion resistance, and high electrical conductivity which it possesses. Addition of an agro-waste based grain refiner to the melt can alter the characteristics positively or negatively. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the inoculating capability of an agro-waste based inoculant and the effect of adding varying sizes of its grains on some of the properties of pure aluminium after solidification. The beneficial outcome of this investigation would enhance the economic value of the selected agro-waste and also broaden the applications of aluminium in Engineering. The assessed properties include; microstructure, micro hardness, ductility, and tensile strength. The agro-waste used as the grain refiner is pulverised cocoa bean shells (CBS. Three sets of test samples were produced using dry sand moulding process, with each melt having a specified grain size of the inoculant added to it (150, 225 and 300microns respectively. Ladle inoculation method was adopted. The cast samples after solidification were machined to obtain various shapes/sizes for the different analysis. The microstructural examination showed that the mechanical properties are dependent on the matrix as the aluminium grains became more refined with increasing grain size of the inoculant. I.e. Due to increasing grain size of the inoculant, the micro hardness increased (56, 61, 72HB as the aluminium crystal size became finer. Meanwhile, the tensile strength (284, 251, 223N/mm2 and ductility (1.82, 0.91, 0.45%E decreased as grain size of the inoculant increased. The overall results showed that the used agro-waste based inoculant has the capability of refining the crystal size of pure aluminium as its grain size increases. This will make the resulting aluminium alloy applicable in areas where hardness is of

Body shape and size depictions of African American women in JET magazine, 1953-2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson-Andoh, Nana A; Gray, James J; Soto, José A; Parker, Scott

2011-01-01

Depictions of Caucasian women in the mainstream media have become increasingly thinner in size and straighter in shape. These changes may be inconsistent with the growing influence of African American beauty ideals, which research has established as more accepting of larger body sizes and more curvaceous body types than Caucasians. The present study looked at trends in the portrayal of African American women featured in JET magazine from 1953 to 2006. Beauty of the Week (BOW) images were collected and analyzed to examine body size (estimated by independent judges) and body shape (estimated by waist-to-hip ratio). We expected body sizes to increase and body shapes to become more curvaceous. Results revealed a rise in models' body size consistent with expectations, but an increase in waist-to-hip ratio, contrary to prediction. Our findings suggest that the African American feminine beauty ideal reflects both consistencies with and departures from mainstream cultural ideals. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Size, shape and age-related changes of the mandibular condyle during childhood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karlo, Christoph A. [University Children' s Hospital Zurich, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Zurich (Switzerland); University Hospital Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Stolzmann, Paul [University Hospital Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Habernig, Sandra; Kellenberger, Christian J. [University Children' s Hospital Zurich, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Zurich (Switzerland); Mueller, Lukas [University of Zurich, Clinics for Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry, Zurich (Switzerland); Saurenmann, Traudel [University Children' s Hospital Zurich, Department of Rheumatology, Zurich (Switzerland)

2010-10-15

To determine age-related differences in the size and shape of the mandibular condyle in children to establish anatomical reference values. A total of 420 mandibular condyles in 210 children (mean age, 7 years) were retrospectively analysed by using computed tomography (CT) imaging. The greatest left-right (LRD) and anterior-posterior (APD) diameters and the anteversion angles (AA) were measured by two readers. An APD/LRD ratio was calculated. The shape of the condyles was graded into three types on sagittal images. Correlations of parameters with the children's age were assessed by using Pearson's correlation analyses. The LRD (mean, 14.1 {+-} 2.4 mm), APD (mean, 7.3 {+-} 1.0 mm) and LRD/APD ratio (mean, 1.9 {+-} 0.3) increased (r{sub LRD} = 0.70, p < 0.01; r{sub APD} = 0.56, p < 0.01; r{sub rat} = 0.28, p < 0.01) while the AA (mean, 27 {+-} 7 ) decreased significantly (r{sub antang} = -0.26, p < 0.001) with age. The condylar shape as determined on sagittal images correlated significantly with age (r = 0.69, p < 0.05). Boys had significantly higher anteversion angles (p < 0.01), greater LRDs (p < 0.05) and greater mean ratios (p < 0.05). The mandibular condyle is subject to significant age-related changes in size and shape during childhood. As the size of the condyles increases with age, the anteversion angles decrease and the shape of the condyle turns from round to oval. (orig.)

Parking simulation of three-dimensional multi-sized star-shaped particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Zhigang; Chen, Huisu; Xu, Wenxiang; Liu, Lin

2014-01-01

The shape and size of particles may have a great impact on the microstructure as well as the physico-properties of particulate composites. However, it is challenging to configure a parking system of particles to a geometrical shape that is close to realistic grains in particulate composites. In this work, with the assistance of x-ray tomography and a spherical harmonic series, we present a star-shaped particle that is close to realistic arbitrary-shaped grains. To realize such a hard particle parking structure, an inter-particle overlapping detection algorithm is introduced. A serial sectioning approach is employed to visualize the particle parking structure for the purpose of justifying the reliability of the overlapping detection algorithm. Furthermore, the validity of the area and perimeter of solids in any arbitrary section of a plane calculated using a numerical method is verified by comparison with those obtained using an image analysis approach. This contribution is helpful to further understand the dependence of the micro-structure and physico-properties of star-shaped particles on the realistic geometrical shape. (paper)

Optical Response of CeB_6 Nanoparticles with Different Sizes and Shapes from Discrete-Dipole Approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao Luo-Meng; Bao Li-Hong; Tegus, O.

2015-01-01

The discrete dipole approximation is used to investigate the optical response of CeB_6 nanoparticles with different sizes and different shapes. The extinction valley in the visible light range becomes narrower and the extinction peak at the near infrared region (NIR) is red-shifted with the increasing particle size. In addition, the extinction peak value of the spherical particle decreases more rapidly than that of cubic-shaped particle with an increase in the particle size, and the cubic-shaped particles exhibit better performance on blocking NIR radiation than spherical-shaped particles. The calculation results coincide well with the reported experimental results. (paper)

Crystal size and shape analysis of Pt nanoparticles in two and three dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gontard, L Cervera; Dunin-Borkowski, R E; Ozkaya, D; Hyde, T; Midgley, P A; Ash, P

2006-01-01

The majority of industrial catalysts are high-surface-area solids, onto which an active component is dispersed in the form of nanoparticles that have sizes of between 1 and 20 nm. In an industrial environment, the crystal size distributions of such particles are conventionally measured by using either bright-field transmission electron microscope (TEM) images or X-ray diffraction. However, the analysis of particle sizes and shapes from two-dimensional bright-field TEM images is affected by variations in image contrast between adjacent particles, by the difficulty of distinguishing the particles from their matrix, and by overlap between particles when they are imaged in projection. High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) electron tomography provides a convenient technique for overcoming many of these problems, by allowing the three-dimensional shapes and sizes of high atomic number nanoparticles that are supported on a low atomic number support to be recorded. Here, we discuss the three-dimensional analysis of particle sizes and shapes from such tomographic data, and we assess whether such measurements provide different information from that obtained using two-dimensional TEM images and X-ray diffraction measurements

Simulataneous Formation of InGaN Nanostructures with Varying Shapes for White Light Source Applications

KAUST Repository

Gasim, Anwar A.; Bhattacharya, Pallab K.; Cha, Dong Kyu; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

2012-01-01

Varying shapes of InGaN nanostructures were simultaneously formed on silicon epitaxially. The nanowires and nanomushrooms emit violet-blue light, and broad yellow-orange-red luminescence, respectively. The combination of which is promising for white light emission.

Magnetic nanoparticles for power absorption: Optimizing size, shape and magnetic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Fernandez, M.A.; Torres, T.E.; Andres-Verges, M.; Costo, R.; Presa, P. de la; Serna, C.J.; Morales, M.P.; Marquina, C.; Ibarra, M.R.; Goya, G.F.

2009-01-01

We present a study on the magnetic properties of naked and silica-coated Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with sizes between 5 and 110 nm. Their efficiency as heating agents was assessed through specific power absorption (SPA) measurements as a function of particle size and shape. The results show a strong dependence of the SPA with the particle size, with a maximum around 30 nm, as expected for a Neel relaxation mechanism in single-domain particles. The SiO 2 shell thickness was found to play an important role in the SPA mechanism by hindering the heat outflow, thus decreasing the heating efficiency. It is concluded that a compromise between good heating efficiency and surface functionality for biomedical purposes can be attained by making the SiO 2 functional coating as thin as possible. - Graphical Abstract: The magnetic properties of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles from 5 to 110 nm are presented, and their efficiency as heating agents discussed as a function of particle size, shape and surface functionalization.

Fundamental study on laser manipulation of contamination particles with determining shape, size and species

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Isao; Fujii, Taketsugu

1995-01-01

It has been desired to eliminate or collect the contamination particles of radioisotope in each sort of species or shape and size non-invasively. The shape and size of particle can be determined from the shape and distribution of diffraction pattern of particle in the parallel laser beam, the species of particle can be discriminated by the fluorescence from resonance of laser beam, or by the laser Raman scattering, and the particle suspended in the air or falling down in a vacuum can be levitated against the gravity and trapped by the radiation force and the trapping force of the focussed laser beam in the atmosphere or in a vacuum. For the purpose of the non-invasive manipulation of contamination particles, the laser manipulation technique, image processing technique with Multiplexed Matched Spatial Filter and the determination technique of laser Raman scattering or fluorescence from resonance of laser light were combined in the experiments. The shape, size and species of particles trapped in the focal plane of focused Ar laser beam can be determined simultaneously and instantaneously from the shape and intensity distributions of diffraction patterns of the particles in the irradiation of parallel coherent beam of He-Ne laser, and fluorescence from the resonance of YAG laser beam with variable wave length. In this research, a new technique is proposed to manipulate non-invasively the contamination particles determined with the shape, size and species in the atmosphere or in a vacuum, by laser beam. (author)

Trends in maar crater size and shape using the global Maar Volcano Location and Shape (MaarVLS) database

Science.gov (United States)

Graettinger, A. H.

2018-05-01

A maar crater is the top of a much larger subsurface diatreme structure produced by phreatomagmatic explosions and the size and shape of the crater reflects the growth history of that structure during an eruption. Recent experimental and geophysical research has shown that crater complexity can reflect subsurface complexity. Morphometry provides a means of characterizing a global population of maar craters in order to establish the typical size and shape of features. A global database of Quaternary maar crater planform morphometry indicates that maar craters are typically not circular and frequently have compound shapes resembling overlapping circles. Maar craters occur in volcanic fields that contain both small volume and complex volcanoes. The global perspective provided by the database shows that maars are common in many volcanic and tectonic settings producing a similar diversity of size and shape within and between volcanic fields. A few exceptional populations of maars were revealed by the database, highlighting directions of future research to improve our understanding on the geometry and spacing of subsurface explosions that produce maars. These outlying populations, such as anomalously large craters (>3000 m), chains of maars, and volcanic fields composed of mostly maar craters each represent a small portion of the database, but provide opportunities to reinvestigate fundamental questions on maar formation. Maar crater morphometry can be integrated with structural, hydrological studies to investigate lateral migration of phreatomagmatic explosion location in the subsurface. A comprehensive database of intact maar morphometry is also beneficial for the hunt for maar-diatremes on other planets.

Influence of size and shape of sub-micrometer light scattering centers in ZnO-assisted TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Trang T. T.; Mathews, Nripan; Lam, Yeng-Ming; Mhaisalkar, Subodh

2018-03-01

Sub-micrometer cavities have been incorporated in the TiO2 photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell to enhance its optical property with light scattering effect. These are large pores of several hundred nanometers in size and scatter incident light due to the difference refraction index between the scattering center and the surrounding materials, according to Mie theory. The pores are created using polystyrene (PS) or zinc oxide (ZnO) templates reported previously which resulted in ellipsoidal and spherical shapes, respectively. The effect of size and shape of scattering center was modeled using a numerical analysis finite-difference time-domain (FDTD). The scattering cross-section was not affected significantly with different shapes if the total displacement volume of the scattering center is comparable. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the optical property with varying size of ZnO templates. Photovoltaic effect of dye-sensitized solar cells made from these ZnO-assisted films were investigated with incident-photon-to-current efficiency to understand the effect of scattering center size on the enhancement of absorption. With 380 nm macropores incorporated, the power conversion efficiency has increased by 11% mostly thanks to the improved current density, while 170 nm and 500 nm macropores samples did not have increment in sufficiently wide range of absorbing wavelengths.

Children's Concepts of the Shape and Size of the Earth, Sun and Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce, T. G. K.; Blown, E. J.

2013-02-01

Children's understandings of the shape and relative sizes of the Earth, Sun and Moon have been extensively researched and in a variety of ways. Much is known about the confusions which arise as young people try to grasp ideas about the world and our neighbouring celestial bodies. Despite this, there remain uncertainties about the conceptual models which young people use and how they theorise in the process of acquiring more scientific conceptions. In this article, the relevant published research is reviewed critically and in-depth in order to frame a series of investigations using semi-structured interviews carried out with 248 participants aged 3-18 years from China and New Zealand. Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data concerning the reasoning of these subjects (involving cognitive categorisations and their rank ordering) confirmed that (a) concepts of Earth shape and size are embedded in a 'super-concept' or 'Earth notion' embracing ideas of physical shape, 'ground' and 'sky', habitation of and identity with Earth; (b) conceptual development is similar in cultures where teachers hold a scientific world view and (c) children's concepts of shape and size of the Earth, Sun and Moon can be usefully explored within an ethnological approach using multi-media interviews combined with observational astronomy. For these young people, concepts of the shape and size of the Moon and Sun were closely correlated with their Earth notion concepts and there were few differences between the cultures despite their contrasts. Analysis of the statistical data used Kolmogorov-Smirnov Two-Sample Tests with hypotheses confirmed at K-S alpha level 0.05; rs : p < 0.01.

Temporal trends in vertebral size and shape from medieval to modern-day.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juho-Antti Junno

Full Text Available Human lumbar vertebrae support the weight of the upper body. Loads lifted and carried by the upper extremities cause significant loading stress to the vertebral bodies. It is well established that trauma-induced vertebral fractures are common especially among elderly people. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological factors that could have affected the prevalence of trauma-related vertebral fractures from medieval times to the present day. To determine if morphological differences existed in the size and shape of the vertebral body between medieval times and the present day, the vertebral body size and shape was measured from the 4th lumbar vertebra using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and standard osteometric calipers. The modern samples consisted of modern Finns and the medieval samples were from archaeological collections in Sweden and Britain. The results show that the shape and size of the 4th lumbar vertebra has changed significantly from medieval times in a way that markedly affects the biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar vertebral column. These changes may have influenced the incidence of trauma- induced spinal fractures in modern populations.

Mapping genetic variants for cranial vault shape in humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roosenboom, Jasmien; Lee, Myoung Keun; Hecht, Jacqueline T

2018-01-01

The shape of the cranial vault, a region comprising interlocking flat bones surrounding the cerebral cortex, varies considerably in humans. Strongly influenced by brain size and shape, cranial vault morphology has both clinical and evolutionary relevance. However, little is known about the geneti...

A Review of Discrete Element Method (DEM) Particle Shapes and Size Distributions for Lunar Soil

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, John E.; Metzger, Philip T.; Wilkinson, R. Allen

2010-01-01

As part of ongoing efforts to develop models of lunar soil mechanics, this report reviews two topics that are important to discrete element method (DEM) modeling the behavior of soils (such as lunar soils): (1) methods of modeling particle shapes and (2) analytical representations of particle size distribution. The choice of particle shape complexity is driven primarily by opposing tradeoffs with total number of particles, computer memory, and total simulation computer processing time. The choice is also dependent on available DEM software capabilities. For example, PFC2D/PFC3D and EDEM support clustering of spheres; MIMES incorporates superquadric particle shapes; and BLOKS3D provides polyhedra shapes. Most commercial and custom DEM software supports some type of complex particle shape beyond the standard sphere. Convex polyhedra, clusters of spheres and single parametric particle shapes such as the ellipsoid, polyellipsoid, and superquadric, are all motivated by the desire to introduce asymmetry into the particle shape, as well as edges and corners, in order to better simulate actual granular particle shapes and behavior. An empirical particle size distribution (PSD) formula is shown to fit desert sand data from Bagnold. Particle size data of JSC-1a obtained from a fine particle analyzer at the NASA Kennedy Space Center is also fitted to a similar empirical PSD function.

Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Teague O'Mara

Full Text Available Within the large order of bats, sexual size dimorphism measured by forearm length and body mass is often female-biased. Several studies have explained this through the effects on load carrying during pregnancy, intrasexual competition, as well as the fecundity and thermoregulation advantages of increased female body size. We hypothesized that wing shape should differ along with size and be under variable selection pressure in a species where there are large differences in flight behaviour. We tested whether load carrying, sex differential migration, or reproductive advantages of large females affect size and wing shape dimorphism in the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula, in which females are typically larger than males and only females migrate long distances each year. We tested for univariate and multivariate size and shape dimorphism using data sets derived from wing photos and biometric data collected during pre-migratory spring captures in Switzerland. Females had forearms that are on average 1% longer than males and are 1% heavier than males after emerging from hibernation, but we found no sex differences in other size, shape, or other functional characters in any wing parameters during this pre-migratory period. Female-biased size dimorphism without wing shape differences indicates that reproductive advantages of big mothers are most likely responsible for sexual dimorphism in this species, not load compensation or shape differences favouring aerodynamic efficiency during pregnancy or migration. Despite large behavioural and ecological sex differences, morphology associated with a specialized feeding niche may limit potential dimorphism in narrow-winged bats such as common noctules and the dramatic differences in migratory behaviour may then be accomplished through plasticity in wing kinematics.

Ecological and evolutionary influences on body size and shape in the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus).

Science.gov (United States)

Chiari, Ylenia; Glaberman, Scott; Tarroso, Pedro; Caccone, Adalgisa; Claude, Julien

2016-07-01

Oceanic islands are often inhabited by endemic species that have undergone substantial morphological evolutionary change due to processes of multiple colonizations from various source populations, dispersal, and local adaptation. Galápagos marine iguanas are an example of an island endemic exhibiting high morphological diversity, including substantial body size variation among populations and sexes, but the causes and magnitude of this variation are not well understood. We obtained morphological measurements from marine iguanas throughout their distribution range. These data were combined with genetic and local environmental data from each population to investigate the effects of evolutionary history and environmental conditions on body size and shape variation and sexual dimorphism. Our results indicate that body size and shape are highly variable among populations. Sea surface temperature and island perimeter, but not evolutionary history as depicted by phylogeographic patterns in this species, explain variation in body size among populations. Conversely, evolutionary history, but not environmental parameters or island size, was found to influence variation in body shape among populations. Finally, in all populations except one, we found strong sexual dimorphism in body size and shape in which males are larger, with higher heads than females, while females have longer heads than males. Differences among populations suggest that plasticity and/or genetic adaptation may shape body size and shape variation in marine iguanas. This study will help target future investigations to address the contribution of plasticity versus genetic adaptation on size and shape variation in marine iguanas.

Penis size interacts with body shape and height to influence male attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Mautz, Brian S; Wong, Bob B M; Peters, Richard A; Jennions, Michael D

2013-04-23

Compelling evidence from many animal taxa indicates that male genitalia are often under postcopulatory sexual selection for characteristics that increase a male's relative fertilization success. There could, however, also be direct precopulatory female mate choice based on male genital traits. Before clothing, the nonretractable human penis would have been conspicuous to potential mates. This observation has generated suggestions that human penis size partly evolved because of female choice. Here we show, based upon female assessment of digitally projected life-size, computer-generated images, that penis size interacts with body shape and height to determine male sexual attractiveness. Positive linear selection was detected for penis size, but the marginal increase in attractiveness eventually declined with greater penis size (i.e., quadratic selection). Penis size had a stronger effect on attractiveness in taller men than in shorter men. There was a similar increase in the positive effect of penis size on attractiveness with a more masculine body shape (i.e., greater shoulder-to-hip ratio). Surprisingly, larger penis size and greater height had almost equivalent positive effects on male attractiveness. Our results support the hypothesis that female mate choice could have driven the evolution of larger penises in humans. More broadly, our results show that precopulatory sexual selection can play a role in the evolution of genital traits.

WormSizer: high-throughput analysis of nematode size and shape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad T Moore

Full Text Available The fundamental phenotypes of growth rate, size and morphology are the result of complex interactions between genotype and environment. We developed a high-throughput software application, WormSizer, which computes size and shape of nematodes from brightfield images. Existing methods for estimating volume either coarsely model the nematode as a cylinder or assume the worm shape or opacity is invariant. Our estimate is more robust to changes in morphology or optical density as it only assumes radial symmetry. This open source software is written as a plugin for the well-known image-processing framework Fiji/ImageJ. It may therefore be extended easily. We evaluated the technical performance of this framework, and we used it to analyze growth and shape of several canonical Caenorhabditis elegans mutants in a developmental time series. We confirm quantitatively that a Dumpy (Dpy mutant is short and fat and that a Long (Lon mutant is long and thin. We show that daf-2 insulin-like receptor mutants are larger than wild-type upon hatching but grow slow, and WormSizer can distinguish dauer larvae from normal larvae. We also show that a Small (Sma mutant is actually smaller than wild-type at all stages of larval development. WormSizer works with Uncoordinated (Unc and Roller (Rol mutants as well, indicating that it can be used with mutants despite behavioral phenotypes. We used our complete data set to perform a power analysis, giving users a sense of how many images are needed to detect different effect sizes. Our analysis confirms and extends on existing phenotypic characterization of well-characterized mutants, demonstrating the utility and robustness of WormSizer.

Morphologically and size uniform monodisperse particles and their shape-directed self-assembly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collins, Joshua E.; Bell, Howard Y.; Ye, Xingchen; Murray, Christopher Bruce

2017-09-12

Monodisperse particles having: a single pure crystalline phase of a rare earth-containing lattice, a uniform three-dimensional size, and a uniform polyhedral morphology are disclosed. Due to their uniform size and shape, the monodisperse particles self assemble into superlattices. The particles may be luminescent particles such as down-converting phosphor particles and up-converting phosphors. The monodisperse particles of the invention have a rare earth-containing lattice which in one embodiment may be an yttrium-containing lattice or in another may be a lanthanide-containing lattice. The monodisperse particles may have different optical properties based on their composition, their size, and/or their morphology (or shape). Also disclosed is a combination of at least two types of monodisperse particles, where each type is a plurality of monodisperse particles having a single pure crystalline phase of a rare earth-containing lattice, a uniform three-dimensional size, and a uniform polyhedral morphology; and where the types of monodisperse particles differ from one another by composition, by size, or by morphology. In a preferred embodiment, the types of monodisperse particles have the same composition but different morphologies. Methods of making and methods of using the monodisperse particles are disclosed.

Genome-Wide Association Study on Male Genital Shape and Size in Drosophila melanogaster.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baku Takahara

Full Text Available Male genital morphology of animals with internal fertilization and promiscuous mating systems have been one of the most diverse and rapidly evolving morphological traits. The male genital morphology in general is known to have low phenotypic and genetic variations, but the genetic basis of the male genital variation remains unclear. Drosophila melanogaster and its closely related species are morphologically very similar, but the shapes of the posterior lobe, a cuticular projection on the male genital arch are distinct from each other, representing a model system for studying the genetic basis of male genital morphology. In this study, we used highly inbred whole genome sequenced strains of D. melanogaster to perform genome wide association analysis on posterior lobe morphology. We quantified the outline shape of posterior lobes with Fourier coefficients obtained from elliptic Fourier analysis and performed principal component analysis, and posterior lobe size. The first and second principal components (PC1 and PC2 explained approximately 88% of the total variation of the posterior lobe shape. We then examined the association between the principal component scores and posterior lobe size and 1902142 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. As a result, we obtained 15, 14 and 15 SNPs for PC1, PC2 and posterior lobe size with P-values smaller than 10(-5. Based on the location of the SNPs, 13, 13 and six protein coding genes were identified as potential candidates for PC1, PC2 and posterior lobe size, respectively. In addition to the previous findings showing that the intraspecific posterior shape variation are regulated by multiple QTL with strong effects, the present study suggests that the intraspecific variation may be under polygenic regulation with a number of loci with small effects. Further studies are required for investigating whether these candidate genes are responsible for the intraspecific posterior lobe shape variation.

Strengthening of Fe-Mn-Si based shape memory alloys by grain size refinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, A.; Masuya, T.; Kumai, S.; Inoue, A.

2000-01-01

Degree of the shape memory effect was measured either by bending, tensile and compression tests in the temperature range 77∝300 K. The yield stress increased substantially by the grain size refinement, yet maintaining a good shape memory effect. In addition to usual mentioned slow strain rate tests (about 10 -3 s -1 ), shape deformation was given at high strain rate (10 3 s -1 ) by hammering, in order to induce fine structure. It is also found that the shape memory effect under an opposing force was improved by the high-speed deformation. (orig.)

Cytotoxicity evaluation of ceramic particles of different sizes and shapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Akiko; Honma, Rieko; Sumita, Masae; Hanawa, Takao

2004-02-01

When artificial hip or knee joints are implanted in the human body, they release metallic, ceramic, and polymeric debris into the surrounding tissues. The toxicity of the released particles is of two types: chemical, caused by the released soluble ions and monomers, and mechanical, a result of mechanical stimulation produced by the insoluble particles. In this study, the cytotoxicity of particles of TiO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, Si3N4, and SiC for murine fibroblasts and macrophages were examined to evaluate just their mechanical toxicity because these particles are not expected to release soluble metal ions. Different sizes and shapes of TiO2 particles were used to evaluate the effect of size and shape on particle cytotoxicity. The results suggest that the cytotoxicity of ceramic particles does not depend on their chemical species. Cytotoxicity levels were lower than those of corresponding metal ions, indicating that the mechanical toxicity of particles is lower than the chemical toxicity of released soluble ions and monomers. The differences in size did not affect the mechanical toxicity of these particles. The dendritic particles had a higher cytotoxicity level for macrophages than did spindle and spheric particles. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 68A: 244-256, 2004

Dose variations with varying calculation grid size in head and neck IMRT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Heeteak [Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32611-8300 (United States); Jin, Hosang [Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32611-8300 (United States); Palta, Jatinder [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32610-0385 (United States); Suh, Tae-Suk [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Catholic University of Korea (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Siyong [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32610-0385 (United States)

2006-10-07

Ever since the advent and development of treatment planning systems, the uncertainty associated with calculation grid size has been an issue. Even to this day, with highly sophisticated 3D conformal and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning systems (TPS), dose uncertainty due to grid size is still a concern. A phantom simulating head and neck treatment was prepared from two semi-cylindrical solid water slabs and a radiochromic film was inserted between the two slabs for measurement. Plans were generated for a 5400 cGy prescribed dose using Philips Pinnacle{sup 3} TPS for two targets, one shallow ({approx}0.5 cm depth) and one deep ({approx}6 cm depth). Calculation grid sizes of 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 mm were considered. Three clinical cases were also evaluated. The dose differences for the varying grid sizes (2 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm from 1.5 mm) in the phantom study were 126 cGy (2.3% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), 248.2 cGy (4.6% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) and 301.8 cGy (5.6% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), respectively for the shallow target case. It was found that the dose could be varied to about 100 cGy (1.9% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), 148.9 cGy (2.8% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) and 202.9 cGy (3.8% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) for 2 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm grid sizes, respectively, simply by shifting the calculation grid origin. Dose difference with a different range of the relative dose gradient was evaluated and we found that the relative dose difference increased with an increase in the range of the relative dose gradient. When comparing varying calculation grid sizes and measurements, the variation of the dose difference histogram was insignificant, but a local effect was observed in the dose difference map. Similar results were observed in the case of the deep target and the three clinical cases also showed results comparable to those from the phantom study.

Dose variations with varying calculation grid size in head and neck IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Heeteak; Jin, Hosang; Palta, Jatinder; Suh, Tae-Suk; Kim, Siyong

2006-01-01

Ever since the advent and development of treatment planning systems, the uncertainty associated with calculation grid size has been an issue. Even to this day, with highly sophisticated 3D conformal and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning systems (TPS), dose uncertainty due to grid size is still a concern. A phantom simulating head and neck treatment was prepared from two semi-cylindrical solid water slabs and a radiochromic film was inserted between the two slabs for measurement. Plans were generated for a 5400 cGy prescribed dose using Philips Pinnacle 3 TPS for two targets, one shallow (∼0.5 cm depth) and one deep (∼6 cm depth). Calculation grid sizes of 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 mm were considered. Three clinical cases were also evaluated. The dose differences for the varying grid sizes (2 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm from 1.5 mm) in the phantom study were 126 cGy (2.3% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), 248.2 cGy (4.6% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) and 301.8 cGy (5.6% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), respectively for the shallow target case. It was found that the dose could be varied to about 100 cGy (1.9% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription), 148.9 cGy (2.8% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) and 202.9 cGy (3.8% of the 5400 cGy dose prescription) for 2 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm grid sizes, respectively, simply by shifting the calculation grid origin. Dose difference with a different range of the relative dose gradient was evaluated and we found that the relative dose difference increased with an increase in the range of the relative dose gradient. When comparing varying calculation grid sizes and measurements, the variation of the dose difference histogram was insignificant, but a local effect was observed in the dose difference map. Similar results were observed in the case of the deep target and the three clinical cases also showed results comparable to those from the phantom study

Three-dimensional computed tomography measurement accuracy of varying Hill-Sachs lesion size.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Anthony; Kurdziel, Michael D; Koueiter, Denise M; Wiater, J Michael

2018-02-01

The glenoid track concept has been proposed to correlate shoulder stability with bone loss. Accurate assessment of Hill-Sachs lesion size preoperatively may affect surgical planning and postoperative outcomes; however, no measurement method has been universally accepted. This study aimed to assess the accuracy and reliability of measuring Hill-Sachs lesion sizes using 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT). Nine polyurethane humerus bone substitutes were used to create Hill-Sachs lesions of varying sizes with a combination of lesion depth (shallow, intermediate, and deep) and width (small, medium, and large). Specimens were scanned with a clinical CT scanner for size measurements and a micro-CT scanner for measurement of true lesion size. Six evaluators repeated measurements twice in a 2-week interval. Scans were measured by use of 3D CT reconstructions for length, width, and Hill-Sachs interval and with use of 2D CT for depth. The interclass correlation coefficient evaluated interobserver and intraobserver variability and percentage error, and Student t-tests assessed measurement accuracy. Interclass correlation coefficient reliability demonstrated strong agreement for all variables measured (0.856-0.975). Percentage error between measured length and measured depth and the true measurement significantly varied with respect to both lesion depth (P = .003 and P = .005, respectively) and lesion size (P = .049 and P = .004, respectively). The 3D CT imaging is effective and reproducible in determining lesion size. Determination of Hill-Sachs interval width is also reliable when it is applied to the glenoid track concept. Measured values on 3D and 2-dimensional imaging using a conventional CT scanner may slightly underestimate true measurements. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Splenic Anomalies of Shape, Size, and Location: Pictorial Essay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adalet Elcin Yildiz

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Spleen can have a wide range of anomalies including its shape, location, number, and size. Although most of these anomalies are congenital, there are also acquired types. Congenital anomalies affecting the shape of spleen are lobulations, notches, and clefts; the fusion and location anomalies of spleen are accessory spleen, splenopancreatic fusion, and wandering spleen; polysplenia can be associated with a syndrome. Splenosis and small spleen are acquired anomalies which are caused by trauma and sickle cell disease, respectively. These anomalies can be detected easily by using different imaging modalities including ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and also Tc-99m scintigraphy. In this pictorial essay, we review the imaging findings of these anomalies which can cause diagnostic pitfalls and be interpreted as pathologic processes.

Brain response to food cues varying in portion size is associated with individual differences in the portion size effect in children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keller, Kathleen L.; English, Laural K.; Fearnbach, S.N.; Lasschuijt, Marlou; Anderson, Kaitlin; Bermudez, Maria; Fisher, Jennifer O.; Rolls, Barbara J.; Wilson, Stephen J.

2018-01-01

Large portions promote intake of energy dense foods (i.e., the portion size effect–PSE), but the neurobiological drivers of this effect are not known. We tested the association between blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) brain response to food images varied by portion size (PS) and energy density

Welcome to wonderland: the influence of the size and shape of a virtual hand on the perceived size and shape of virtual objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Linkenauger, Sally A; Leyrer, Markus; Bülthoff, Heinrich H; Mohler, Betty J

2013-01-01

The notion of body-based scaling suggests that our body and its action capabilities are used to scale the spatial layout of the environment. Here we present four studies supporting this perspective by showing that the hand acts as a metric which individuals use to scale the apparent sizes of objects in the environment. However to test this, one must be able to manipulate the size and/or dimensions of the perceiver's hand which is difficult in the real world due to impliability of hand dimensions. To overcome this limitation, we used virtual reality to manipulate dimensions of participants' fully-tracked, virtual hands to investigate its influence on the perceived size and shape of virtual objects. In a series of experiments, using several measures, we show that individuals' estimations of the sizes of virtual objects differ depending on the size of their virtual hand in the direction consistent with the body-based scaling hypothesis. Additionally, we found that these effects were specific to participants' virtual hands rather than another avatar's hands or a salient familiar-sized object. While these studies provide support for a body-based approach to the scaling of the spatial layout, they also demonstrate the influence of virtual bodies on perception of virtual environments.

Welcome to wonderland: the influence of the size and shape of a virtual hand on the perceived size and shape of virtual objects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sally A Linkenauger

Full Text Available The notion of body-based scaling suggests that our body and its action capabilities are used to scale the spatial layout of the environment. Here we present four studies supporting this perspective by showing that the hand acts as a metric which individuals use to scale the apparent sizes of objects in the environment. However to test this, one must be able to manipulate the size and/or dimensions of the perceiver's hand which is difficult in the real world due to impliability of hand dimensions. To overcome this limitation, we used virtual reality to manipulate dimensions of participants' fully-tracked, virtual hands to investigate its influence on the perceived size and shape of virtual objects. In a series of experiments, using several measures, we show that individuals' estimations of the sizes of virtual objects differ depending on the size of their virtual hand in the direction consistent with the body-based scaling hypothesis. Additionally, we found that these effects were specific to participants' virtual hands rather than another avatar's hands or a salient familiar-sized object. While these studies provide support for a body-based approach to the scaling of the spatial layout, they also demonstrate the influence of virtual bodies on perception of virtual environments.

Morpho morphometrics: Shared ancestry and selection drive the evolution of wing size and shape in Morpho butterflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Chazot, Nicolas; Panara, Stephen; Zilbermann, Nicolas; Blandin, Patrick; Le Poul, Yann; Cornette, Raphaël; Elias, Marianne; Debat, Vincent

2016-01-01

Butterfly wings harbor highly diverse phenotypes and are involved in many functions. Wing size and shape result from interactions between adaptive processes, phylogenetic history, and developmental constraints, which are complex to disentangle. Here, we focus on the genus Morpho (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, 30 species), which presents a high diversity of sizes, shapes, and color patterns. First, we generate a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of these 30 species. Next, using 911 collection specimens, we quantify the variation of wing size and shape across species, to assess the importance of shared ancestry, microhabitat use, and sexual selection in the evolution of the wings. While accounting for phylogenetic and allometric effects, we detect a significant difference in wing shape but not size among microhabitats. Fore and hindwings covary at the individual and species levels, and the covariation differs among microhabitats. However, the microhabitat structure in covariation disappears when phylogenetic relationships are taken into account. Our results demonstrate that microhabitat has driven wing shape evolution, although it has not strongly affected forewing and hindwing integration. We also found that sexual dimorphism of forewing shape and color pattern are coupled, suggesting a common selective force. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution © 2015 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Assessment of optimum threshold and particle shape parameter for the image analysis of aggregate size distribution of concrete sections

Science.gov (United States)

Ozen, Murat; Guler, Murat

2014-02-01

Aggregate gradation is one of the key design parameters affecting the workability and strength properties of concrete mixtures. Estimating aggregate gradation from hardened concrete samples can offer valuable insights into the quality of mixtures in terms of the degree of segregation and the amount of deviation from the specified gradation limits. In this study, a methodology is introduced to determine the particle size distribution of aggregates from 2D cross sectional images of concrete samples. The samples used in the study were fabricated from six mix designs by varying the aggregate gradation, aggregate source and maximum aggregate size with five replicates of each design combination. Each sample was cut into three pieces using a diamond saw and then scanned to obtain the cross sectional images using a desktop flatbed scanner. An algorithm is proposed to determine the optimum threshold for the image analysis of the cross sections. A procedure was also suggested to determine a suitable particle shape parameter to be used in the analysis of aggregate size distribution within each cross section. Results of analyses indicated that the optimum threshold hence the pixel distribution functions may be different even for the cross sections of an identical concrete sample. Besides, the maximum ferret diameter is the most suitable shape parameter to estimate the size distribution of aggregates when computed based on the diagonal sieve opening. The outcome of this study can be of practical value for the practitioners to evaluate concrete in terms of the degree of segregation and the bounds of mixture's gradation achieved during manufacturing.

Size- and shape-controlled synthesis of hexagonal bipyramidal crystals and hollow self-assembled Al-MOF spheres

KAUST Repository

Sarawade, Pradip; Tan, Hua; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Cha, Dong Kyu; Polshettiwar, Vivek

2013-01-01

We report an efficient protocol for the synthesis of monodisperse crystals of an aluminum (Al)-based metal organic framework (MOF) while obtaining excellent control over the size and shape solely by tuning of the reaction parameters without the use of a template or structure-directing agent. The size of the hexagonal crystals of the Al-MOF can be selectively varied from 100 nm to 2000 nm by simply changing the reaction time and temperature via its nucleation-growth mechanism. We also report a self-assembly phenomenon, observed for the first time in case of Al-MOF, whereby hollow spheres of Al-MOF were formed by the spontaneous organization of triangular sheet building blocks. These MOFs showed broad hysteresis loops during the CO2 capture, indicating that the adsorbed CO2 is not immediately desorbed upon decreasing the external pressure and is instead confined within the framework, which allows for the capture and subsequent selective trapping of CO2 from gaseous mixtures. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Size- and shape-controlled synthesis of hexagonal bipyramidal crystals and hollow self-assembled Al-MOF spheres

KAUST Repository

Sarawade, Pradip

2013-11-25

We report an efficient protocol for the synthesis of monodisperse crystals of an aluminum (Al)-based metal organic framework (MOF) while obtaining excellent control over the size and shape solely by tuning of the reaction parameters without the use of a template or structure-directing agent. The size of the hexagonal crystals of the Al-MOF can be selectively varied from 100 nm to 2000 nm by simply changing the reaction time and temperature via its nucleation-growth mechanism. We also report a self-assembly phenomenon, observed for the first time in case of Al-MOF, whereby hollow spheres of Al-MOF were formed by the spontaneous organization of triangular sheet building blocks. These MOFs showed broad hysteresis loops during the CO2 capture, indicating that the adsorbed CO2 is not immediately desorbed upon decreasing the external pressure and is instead confined within the framework, which allows for the capture and subsequent selective trapping of CO2 from gaseous mixtures. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

SU-D-201-04: Study On the Impact of Tumor Shape and Size On Drug Delivery to Pancreatic Tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soltani, M; Bazmara, H; Sefidgar, M; Subramaniam, R; Rahmim, A

2015-01-01

Purpose: Drug delivery to solid tumors can be expressed physically using transport phenomena such as convection and diffusion for the drug of interest within extracellular matrices. We aimed to carefully model these phenomena, and to investigate the effect of tumor shape and size on drug delivery to solid tumors in the pancreas. Methods: In this study, multiple tumor geometries as obtained from clinical PET/CT images were considered. An advanced numerical method was used to simultaneously solve fluid flow and solute transport equations. Data from n=45 pancreatic cancer patients with non-resectable locoregional disease were analyzed, and geometrical information from the tumors including size, shape, and aspect ratios were classified. To investigate effect of tumor shape, tumors with similar size but different shapes were selected and analyzed. Moreover, to investigate effect of tumor size, tumors with similar shapes but different sizes, ranging from 1 to 77 cm 3 , were selected and analyzed. A hypothetical tumor similar to one of the analyzed tumors, but scaled to reduce its size below 0.2 cm 3 , was also analyzed. Results: The results showed relatively similar average drug concentration profiles in tumors with different sizes. Generally, smaller tumors had higher absolute drug concentration. In the hypothetical tumor, with volume less than 0.2 cm 3 , the average drug concentration was 20% higher in comparison to its counterparts. For the various real tumor geometries, however, the maximum difference between average drug concentrations was 10% for the smallest and largest tumors. Moreover, the results demonstrated that for pancreatic tumors the shape is not significant. The negligible difference of drug concentration in different tumor shapes was due to the minimum effect of convection in pancreatic tumors. Conclusion: In tumors with different sizes, smaller tumors have higher drug delivery; however, the impact of tumor shape in the case of pancreatic tumors is not

SU-D-201-04: Study On the Impact of Tumor Shape and Size On Drug Delivery to Pancreatic Tumors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soltani, M [ohns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and KNT university, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Bazmara, H [KNT university, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sefidgar, M [IKI University, Qazvin (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Subramaniam, R; Rahmim, A [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Drug delivery to solid tumors can be expressed physically using transport phenomena such as convection and diffusion for the drug of interest within extracellular matrices. We aimed to carefully model these phenomena, and to investigate the effect of tumor shape and size on drug delivery to solid tumors in the pancreas. Methods: In this study, multiple tumor geometries as obtained from clinical PET/CT images were considered. An advanced numerical method was used to simultaneously solve fluid flow and solute transport equations. Data from n=45 pancreatic cancer patients with non-resectable locoregional disease were analyzed, and geometrical information from the tumors including size, shape, and aspect ratios were classified. To investigate effect of tumor shape, tumors with similar size but different shapes were selected and analyzed. Moreover, to investigate effect of tumor size, tumors with similar shapes but different sizes, ranging from 1 to 77 cm{sup 3}, were selected and analyzed. A hypothetical tumor similar to one of the analyzed tumors, but scaled to reduce its size below 0.2 cm{sup 3}, was also analyzed. Results: The results showed relatively similar average drug concentration profiles in tumors with different sizes. Generally, smaller tumors had higher absolute drug concentration. In the hypothetical tumor, with volume less than 0.2 cm{sup 3}, the average drug concentration was 20% higher in comparison to its counterparts. For the various real tumor geometries, however, the maximum difference between average drug concentrations was 10% for the smallest and largest tumors. Moreover, the results demonstrated that for pancreatic tumors the shape is not significant. The negligible difference of drug concentration in different tumor shapes was due to the minimum effect of convection in pancreatic tumors. Conclusion: In tumors with different sizes, smaller tumors have higher drug delivery; however, the impact of tumor shape in the case of pancreatic

The effect of particle shape and size distribution on the acoustical properties of mixtures of hemp particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Glé, Philippe; Gourdon, Emmanuel; Arnaud, Laurent; Horoshenkov, Kirill-V; Khan, Amir

2013-12-01

Hemp concrete is an attractive alternative to traditional materials used in building construction. It has a very low environmental impact, and it is characterized by high thermal insulation. Hemp aggregate particles are parallelepiped in shape and can be organized in a plurality of ways to create a considerable proportion of open pores with a complex connectivity pattern, the acoustical properties of which have never been examined systematically. Therefore this paper is focused on the fundamental understanding of the relations between the particle shape and size distribution, pore size distribution, and the acoustical properties of the resultant porous material mixture. The sound absorption and the transmission loss of various hemp aggregates is characterized using laboratory experiments and three theoretical models. These models are used to relate the particle size distribution to the pore size distribution. It is shown that the shape of particles and particle size control the pore size distribution and tortuosity in shiv. These properties in turn relate directly to the observed acoustical behavior.

Automatic focusing of attention on object size and shape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cesar Galera

2005-01-01

Full Text Available In two experiments we investigated the automatic adjusting of the attentional focus to simple geometric shapes. The participants performed a visual search task with four stimuli (the target and three distractors presented always around the fixation point, inside an outlined frame not related to the search task. A cue informed the subject only about the possible size and shape of the frame, not about the target. The results of the first experiment showed faster target detection in the valid cue trials, suggesting that attention was captured automatically by the cue shape. In the second experiment, we introduced a flanker stimulus (compatible or incompatible with the target in order to determine if attentional resources spread homogenously inside and outside the frame. The results showed that performance depended both on cue validity and frame orientation. The flanker effect was dependent on compatibility and flanker position (vertical or horizontal meridian. The results of both experiments suggest that the form of an irrelevant object can capture attention despite participants’ intention and the results of the second experiment suggest that the attentional resources are more concentrated along the horizontal meridian.

Entropic effects, shape, and size of mixed micelles formed by copolymers with complex architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Kalogirou, Andreas; Gergidis, Leonidas N.; Moultos, Othonas; Vlahos, Costas

2015-11-01

The entropic effects in the comicellization behavior of amphiphilic A B copolymers differing in the chain size of solvophilic A parts were studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations. In particular, mixtures of miktoarm star copolymers differing in the molecular weight of solvophilic arms were investigated. We found that the critical micelle concentration values show a positive deviation from the analytical predictions of the molecular theory of comicellization for chemically identical copolymers. This can be attributed to the effective interactions between copolymers originated from the arm size asymmetry. The effective interactions induce a very small decrease in the aggregation number of preferential micelles triggering the nonrandom mixing between the solvophilic moieties in the corona. Additionally, in order to specify how the chain architecture affects the size distribution and the shape of mixed micelles we studied star-shaped, H-shaped, and homo-linked-rings-linear mixtures. In the first case the individual constituents form micelles with preferential and wide aggregation numbers and in the latter case the individual constituents form wormlike and spherical micelles.

Size matters: Perceived depth magnitude varies with stimulus height.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsirlin, Inna; Wilcox, Laurie M; Allison, Robert S

2016-06-01

Both the upper and lower disparity limits for stereopsis vary with the size of the targets. Recently, Tsirlin, Wilcox, and Allison (2012) suggested that perceived depth magnitude from stereopsis might also depend on the vertical extent of a stimulus. To test this hypothesis we compared apparent depth in small discs to depth in long bars with equivalent width and disparity. We used three estimation techniques: a virtual ruler, a touch-sensor (for haptic estimates) and a disparity probe. We found that depth estimates were significantly larger for the bar stimuli than for the disc stimuli for all methods of estimation and different configurations. In a second experiment, we measured perceived depth as a function of the height of the bar and the radius of the disc. Perceived depth increased with increasing bar height and disc radius suggesting that disparity is integrated along the vertical edges. We discuss size-disparity correlation and inter-neural excitatory connections as potential mechanisms that could account for these results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Size Effects to the Mixing Performance on the X-shaped Micro-Channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Tu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the developing of micro-electro-mechanical-system, MEMS, the fabrication of the microminiaturization devices becomes obviously important. The advances in the basic understanding of fluid physics have opened an era of application of fluid dynamics systems using microchannels. The purpose of this study is to research the flow transport phenomenon by employing different kinds of micro-channel sizing in X-shaped micro-channels. As the working fluid, water is injected to microchannel at different mass flow rate. Over a wide range of flow condition, 1.06 < Re < 514, in X-shaped micro-channels, the mixture performances of numerical simulation, flow visualization, and temperature distribution remain the same. At the same mass flow rate as the Reynolds number below 112.53, the biggest channel size had the slowest flow velocity and got the best mixing performance; as the Reynolds number above 112.53, the smaller the channel sizing, the lower the pressure drops and the faster velocity becomes. The transition form early from laminar flow, the unsteady flow is an advantage for mixing in the limited mixing area, therefore 0.7 mm got the best mixing performance. It is clear that the size of the channel plays an important role in the X-shaped micro-channels.

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winkler, Thomas W; Justice, Anne E; Graff, Mariaelisa

2015-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially...... (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR... effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may provide further insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape....

Shape Modification and Size Classification of Microcrystalline Graphite Powder as Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Cong; Gai, Guosheng; Yang, Yufen

2018-03-01

Natural microcrystalline graphite (MCG) composed of many crystallites is a promising new anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) and has received considerable attention from researchers. MCG with narrow particle size distribution and high sphericity exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. A nonaddition process to prepare natural MCG as a high-performance LiB anode material is described. First, raw MCG was broken into smaller particles using a pulverization system. Then, the particles were modified into near-spherical shape using a particle shape modification system. Finally, the particle size distribution was narrowed using a centrifugal rotor classification system. The products with uniform hemispherical shape and narrow size distribution had mean particle size of approximately 9 μm, 10 μm, 15 μm, and 20 μm. Additionally, the innovative pilot experimental process increased the product yield of the raw material. Finally, the electrochemical performance of the prepared MCG was tested, revealing high reversible capacity and good cyclability.

One-pot size and shape controlled synthesis of DMSO capped iron

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/boms/029/06/0617-0621. Keywords. Iron oxide; thermal decomposition; TEM; VSM. Abstract. We report here the capping of iron oxide nanoparticles with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to make chloroform soluble iron oxide nanoparticles. Size and shape of the capped iron oxide nanoparticles ...

General classification of maturation reaction-norm shape from size-based processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Asbjørn; Andersen, Ken Haste

2011-01-01

for growth and mortality is based on processes at the level of the individual, and is motivated by the energy budget of fish. MRN shape is a balance between opposing factors and depends on subtle details of size dependence of growth and mortality. MRNs with both positive and negative slopes are predicted...

Chest roentgenographic findings of thymic size and shape in respiratory distress syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Young Ho; Yoon, Sung Do; Sung, Ki Yeal; Park, Seog Hee; Kim, Jong Woo; Bahk, Yong Whee

1984-01-01

Thymic size can be affected by both exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoids. Development of the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is influenced by adrenal cortical function. Thus, thymic size in RDS is considered to be enlarged due to decreased adrenal cortical function. To find whether the presence of RDS correlates with the thymus, the size and shape of the thymus were evaluated in the radiographs of premature infants with RDS, without RDS (control prematurity) and normal infants. The subjects were consisted of chest films of Korean premature infants, 120 with RDS, 60 without RDS, and 60 of normal infants taken at the Department of Radiology, Our Lady of Mercy Hospital during the period of 62 months since January 1978. Relative size of the thymus was determine by cardiothymic/thoracic ratio (CT /T ratio). Grading and location of the thymic prominence as well as incidence of the shape were examined. And all the relations among the radiographs of RDS, control prematurity and normal infants were analyzed. The results were as follows: 1. The CT/T ratio of premature infants with RDS was significantly greater than that of control prematurity and normal infants (P< 0.01). 2. The incidence of bilateral thymic prominence was more frequent in premature infant with RDS than in control prematurity and normal infants (P<0.05). 3. The frequency of thymic prominence was greater in the right than left side in all the three groups (P<0.05). 4. As in the shape of the thymus, a rounded type was most frequent, and a triangular type was least frequent in all three groups. 5. Incident of RDS was very low (9.8%) when the CT/T ratio is below 0.3 and it was very high (90.9%) when the CT/T ratio is above 0.49.

Active liquid-like behavior of nucleoli determines their size and shape in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Brangwynne, Clifford P; Mitchison, Timothy J; Hyman, Anthony A

2011-03-15

For most intracellular structures with larger than molecular dimensions, little is known about the connection between underlying molecular activities and higher order organization such as size and shape. Here, we show that both the size and shape of the amphibian oocyte nucleolus ultimately arise because nucleoli behave as liquid-like droplets of RNA and protein, exhibiting characteristic viscous fluid dynamics even on timescales of Nucleoli exhibit a broad distribution of sizes with a characteristic power law, which we show is a consequence of spontaneous coalescence events. These results have implications for the function of nucleoli in ribosome subunit processing and provide a physical link between activity within a macromolecular assembly and its physical properties on larger length scales.

Identification of different shapes, colors and sizes of standard oral dosage forms in diabetes type 2 patients-A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stegemann, Sven; Riedl, Regina; Sourij, Harald

2017-01-30

The clear identification of drug products by the patients is essential for a safe and effective medication management. In order to understand the impact of shape, size and color on medication identification a study was performed in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Ten model drugs differentiated by shape, size and color were evaluated using a mixed method of medication schedule preparation by the participants followed by a semi-structured interview. Detection times were fastest for the large round tablet shape and the bi-chromatic forms. Larger size was easier to identify than the smaller sizes except for the bi-chromatic forms. The shape was the major source of errors, followed by the size and the color dimension. The results from this study suggests that color as a single dimension are perceived more effectively by subjects with T2D compared to shape and size, which requires a more demanding processing of three dimension and is dependent on the perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Topology, Shape, and Sizing Optimisation of Plane Trusses with Adaptive Ground Finite Elements Using MOEAs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norapat Noilublao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel integrated design strategy to accomplish simultaneous topology shape and sizing optimisation of a two-dimensional (2D truss. An optimisation problem is posed to find a structural topology, shape, and element sizes of the truss such that two objective functions, mass and compliance, are minimised. Design constraints include stress, buckling, and compliance. The procedure for an adaptive ground elements approach is proposed and its encoding/decoding process is detailed. Two sets of design variables defining truss layout, shape, and element sizes at the same time are applied. A number of multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs are implemented to solve the design problem. Comparative performance based on a hypervolume indicator shows that multiobjective population-based incremental learning (PBIL is the best performer. Optimising three design variable types simultaneously is more efficient and effective.

Magnetic properties of crystalline nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, Ana T.A. [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Caixa Postal 6030, Campus do Pici, 60455-760 Fortaleza, Ceará (Brazil); Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Campus de Caraubas, RN 333, Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil); Dantas, Ana L.; Almeida, N.S. [Departamento de Física, Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, 59610-210 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil)

2017-03-01

The effects of shape and finite size on the physical behavior of nanostructured antiferromagnetic particles are investigated. They were modeled as ellipsoidal systems which preserve the crystalline structure of the correspondent bulk material. In our analysis we consider nanoparticles composed by magnetic ions which are themselves insensitive to the presence of surfaces and/or interfaces. Results are shown for structures similar to MnF{sub 2} and NiO crystals. Special attention is given to these last once their singular magnetic arrangement, as well as, their use at different technological and/or biomedical applications, has motivated intense experimental studies at different laboratories. We use the parameters that describe the correspondent bulk material to discuss the magnetic behavior of these particles for different volumes and shapes. - Highlights: • The number of magnetic phases of tetragonal AFM nanoparticles depends on their shape. • Hysteresis loops of NiO particles depends on the direction of the dc magnetic field. • The high frequencies normal modes of NiO particles are insensitive to their geometry.

One-pot size and shape controlled synthesis of DMSO capped iron ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Size and shape of the capped iron oxide nanoparticles are well controlled by simply ... quently used to synthesize magnetic ferrites from different iron precursors ... added to the mixture resulting in a dark brown precipitate. Figure 2. (a–c). TG–DTA .... Doyle P S, Bibette J, Bancaud A and Viovy J L 2002 Science. 295 2237.

Engineering cartilage substitute with a specific size and shape using porous high-density polyethylene (HDPE) as internal support.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yujia; Zhu, Lie; Jiang, Hua; Liu, Wei; Liu, Yu; Cao, Yilin; Zhou, Guangdong

2010-04-01

Despite the great advances in cartilage engineering, constructing cartilage of large sizes and appropriate shapes remains a great challenge, owing to limits in thickness of regenerated cartilage and to inferior mechanical properties of scaffolds. This study introduces a pre-shaped polyglycolic acid (PGA)-coated porous high-density polyethylene (HDPE) scaffold to overcome these challenges. HDPE was carved into cylindrical rods and wrapped around by PGA fibres to form PGA-HDPE scaffolds. Porcine chondrocytes were seeded into the scaffolds and the constructs were cultured in vitro for 2 weeks before subcutaneous implantation into nude mice. Scaffolds made purely of PGA with the same size and shape were used as a control. After 8 weeks of implantation, the construct formed cartilage-like tissue and retained its pre-designed shape and size. In addition, the regenerated cartilage grew and completely surrounded the HDPE core, which made the entire cartilage substitute biocompatible to its implanted environment as native cartilage similarly does. By contrast, the shape and size of the constructs in the control group seriously deformed and obvious hollow cavity and necrotic tissue were observed in the inner region. These results demonstrate that the use of HDPE as the internal support of a biodegradable scaffold has the potential to circumvent the problems of limitations in size and shape, with promising implications for the development of engineered cartilage appropriate for clinical applications. Copyright 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of preservative and mounting media on the size and shape of monogenean sclerites.

Science.gov (United States)

Fankoua, Severin-Oscar; Bitja Nyom, Arnold R; Bahanak, Dieu Ne Dort; Bilong Bilong, Charles F; Pariselle, Antoine

2017-08-01

Based on Cichlidogyrus sp. (Monogenea, Ancyrocephalidae) specimens from Hemichromis sp. hosts, we tested the influence of different methods to fix/preserve samples/specimens [frozen material, alcohol or formalin preserved, museum process for fish preservation (fixed in formalin and preserved in alcohol)] and different media used to mount the slides [tap water, glycerin ammonium picrate (GAP), Hoyer's one (HM)] on the size/shape of sclerotized parts of monogenean specimens. The results show that the use of HM significantly increases the size of haptoral sclerites [marginal hooks I, II, IV, V, and VI; dorsal bar length, width, distance between auricles and auricle length, ventral bar length and width], and changes their shape [angle opening between shaft and guard (outer and inner roots) in both ventral and dorsal anchors, ventral bar much wider, dorsal one less curved]. This influence seems to be reduced when specimens/samples are fixed in formalin. The systematics of Monogenea being based on the size and shape of their sclerotized parts, to prevent misidentifications or description of invalid new species, we recommend the use of GAP as mounting medium; Hoyer's one should be restricted to monogenean specimens fixed for a long time which are more shrunken.

Size and shape dependent deprotonation potential and proton affinity of nanodiamond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, Amanda S; Per, Manolo C

2014-01-01

Many important reactions in biology and medicine involve proton abstraction and transfer, and it is integral to applications such as drug delivery. Unlike electrons, which are quantum mechanically delocalized, protons are instantaneously localized on specific residues in these reactions, which can be a distinct advantage. However, the introduction of nanoparticles, such as non-toxic nanodiamonds, to this field complicates matters, as the number of possible sites increases as the inverse radius of the particle. In this paper we present >10 4 simulations that map the size- and shape-dependence of the deprotonation potential and proton affinity of nanodiamonds in the range 1.8–2.7 nm in average diameter. We find that while the average deprotonation potential and proton affinities decrease with size, the site-specific values are inhomogeneous over the surface of the particles, exhibiting strong shape-dependence. The proton affinity is strongly facet-dependent, whereas the deprotonation potential is edge/corner-dependent, which creates a type of spatial hysteresis in the transfer of protons to and from the nanodiamond, and provides new opportunities for selective functionalization. (paper)

Size and shape dependent deprotonation potential and proton affinity of nanodiamond

Science.gov (United States)

Barnard, Amanda S.; Per, Manolo C.

2014-11-01

Many important reactions in biology and medicine involve proton abstraction and transfer, and it is integral to applications such as drug delivery. Unlike electrons, which are quantum mechanically delocalized, protons are instantaneously localized on specific residues in these reactions, which can be a distinct advantage. However, the introduction of nanoparticles, such as non-toxic nanodiamonds, to this field complicates matters, as the number of possible sites increases as the inverse radius of the particle. In this paper we present \\gt {{10}4} simulations that map the size- and shape-dependence of the deprotonation potential and proton affinity of nanodiamonds in the range 1.8-2.7 nm in average diameter. We find that while the average deprotonation potential and proton affinities decrease with size, the site-specific values are inhomogeneous over the surface of the particles, exhibiting strong shape-dependence. The proton affinity is strongly facet-dependent, whereas the deprotonation potential is edge/corner-dependent, which creates a type of spatial hysteresis in the transfer of protons to and from the nanodiamond, and provides new opportunities for selective functionalization.

Calcium Pectinate Beads Formation: Shape and Size Analysis

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Boon-Beng Lee

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-relationship between process variables and the size and shape of pectin solution droplets upon detachment from a dripping tip as well as Ca-pectinate beads formed after gelation via image analysis. The sphericity factor (SF of the droplets was generally smaller than 0.05. There was no specific trend between the SF of the droplets and the pectin concentration or the dripping tip radius. The SF the beads formed from high-concentration pectin solutions and a small dripping tip was smaller than 0.05. The results show that the Reynolds number and Ohnesorge number of the droplets fall within the operating region for forming spherical beads in the shape diagram, with the exception to the lower boundary. The lower boundary of the operating region has to be revised to Oh = 2.3. This is because the critical viscosity for Ca-pectinate bead formation is higher than that of Ca-alginate beads. On the other hand, the radius of the droplets and beads increased as the dripping tip radius increased. The bead radius can easily be predicted by Tate’s law equation.

WIDE AND THICK GRAIN 1, which encodes an otubain-like protease with deubiquitination activity, influences grain size and shape in rice.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ke; Wang, Dekai; Duan, Penggen; Zhang, Baolan; Xu, Ran; Li, Na; Li, Yunhai

2017-09-01

Grain size and shape are two crucial traits that influence grain yield and grain appearance in rice. Although several factors that affect grain size have been described in rice, the molecular mechanisms underlying the determination of grain size and shape are still elusive. In this study we report that WIDE AND THICK GRAIN 1 (WTG1) functions as an important factor determining grain size and shape in rice. The wtg1-1 mutant exhibits wide, thick, short and heavy grains and also shows an increased number of grains per panicle. WTG1 determines grain size and shape mainly by influencing cell expansion. WTG1 encodes an otubain-like protease, which shares similarity with human OTUB1. Biochemical analyses indicate that WTG1 is a functional deubiquitinating enzyme, and the mutant protein (wtg1-1) loses this deubiquitinating activity. WTG1 is expressed in developing grains and panicles, and the GFP-WTG1 fusion protein is present in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Overexpression of WTG1 results in narrow, thin, long grains due to narrow and long cells, further supporting the role of WTG1 in determining grain size and shape. Thus, our findings identify the otubain-like protease WTG1 to be an important factor that determines grain size and shape, suggesting that WTG1 has the potential to improve grain size and shape in rice. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hydrologic Controls on Shallow Landslide Location, Size, and Shape

Science.gov (United States)

Bellugi, D.; Milledge, D.; Perron, T.; McKean, J. A.; Dietrich, W.; Rulli, M.

2012-12-01

Shallow landslides, typically involving just the soil mantle, are principally controlled by topography, soil and root strengths, and soil thickness, and are typically triggered by storm-induced increases in pore water pressure. The response of a landscape to landslide-triggering storms will thus depend on factors such as rainfall totals, storm intensity and duration, and antecedent moisture conditions. The two dominant mechanisms that generate high pore water pressures at a point are topographically-steered lateral subsurface flow (over timescales of days to weeks), and rapid vertical infiltration (over timescales of minutes to hours). We aim to understand the impact of different storm characteristics and hydrologic regimes on shallow landslide location, size, and shape. We have developed a regional-scale model, which applies a low-parameter grid-based multi-dimensional slope stability model within a novel search algorithm, to generate discrete landslide predictions. This model shows that the spatial organization of parameters such as root strength and pore water pressure has a strong control on shallow landslide location, size, and shape. We apply this model to a field site near Coos Bay, OR, where a ten-year landslide inventory has been mapped onto high-resolution topographic data. Our model predicts landslide size generally increases with increasing rainfall intensity, except when root strength is extremely high and pore pressures are topographically steered. The distribution of topographic index values (the ratios of contributing area to slope) of predicted landslides is a clear signature of the pore water pressure generation mechanism: as laterally dominated flow increases, landslides develop in locations with lower slopes and higher contributing areas; in contrast, in the case of vertically-dominated pore pressure rise, landslides are consistently found in locations with higher slopes and lower contributing areas. While in both cases landslides are found in

Lead, zinc and copper fine powder with controlled size and shape

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Mahmoud A Rabah

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study describes the preparation of lead, zinc and copper powders by hydrometallurgy from secondary resources. Chloride, sulphate and acetate salts of zinc, copper and lead were prepared. The powders were prepared by reducing the ionic species of these metals by hydrazine hydrate or ascorbic acid. The effect of addition of some water soluble polar organic solvents to the aqueous salt solutions on the morphology and particle size of the prepared powder was studied. Findings were explained on the basis of the transition state theory and according to the Hughes and Ingold’s rule. Aqueous solutions alone produce metal powder having different size and irregular shape. The presence of polar organic solvents with high molecular weight and polarity produce powders having controlled size and regular morphology. The reason was because solvent polarity enhances the rate of red-ox reactions between metal ions and the reducing agent. The mean particle size of the powder was 60 um with zinc, 80 um with copper, and 90 um with lead. The extent of productivity was ≥98%. Results highlighted that the chemical reduction of the ionic species took place in a sequence steps. The first is a diffusion of the reactants across a boundary layer established at the polar site of the organic solvent molecules. The next step is the direct contact of the reactants. The third step involved reduction to yield powder. The last is the backward diffusion of the powder outside the boundary layer. Results showed that addition of water-miscible solvents having high dielectric constant increased the polarity of the medium. This energizes and enhances the one or more t step of the model to be more rapid to yield particles with small size and symmetrical shape.

Anti-Gravity Loop-shaped heat pipe with graded pore-size wick

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Yong; Zhou Rui; Lu Longsheng; Xie Zichun

2012-01-01

An Anti-Gravity Loop-Shaped Heat Pipe (AGLSHP) with a Continuous Graded Pore-Size Wick (CGPSW) was developed for the cooling of electronic devices at the anti-gravity orientation on the ground. At this orientation, heat is transferred toward the direction of the gravitational field. The AGLSHP consists of an evaporator, a condenser, a vapor line and a liquid line. The CGPSW is formed by sintered copper powders and it is filled inside the evaporator and the liquid line. The corresponding test system was developed to investigate the start-up characteristics and heat transfer performance of the AGLSHP at the anti-gravity orientation. The experimental result shows that, the AGLSHP has the capability to start-up reliably without any temperature overshoot or oscillation at the test heat loads. And the AGLSHP is able to keep the temperature of the evaporator below 105 °C and the overall thermal resistance below 0.24 °C/W at the heat load of 100 W. It is also found that the ideal heat load range of the AGLSHP at the anti-gravity orientation is from 30 W to 90 W. In this power range the overall thermal resistance stabilizes at about 0.15 °C/W, and the maximum temperature of the evaporator is lower than 84 °C at the heat load of 90 W. - Highlights: ► We present a loop-shaped heat pipe for the anti-gravity application on the ground. ► We present the continuous graded pore-size wick and its fabrication process. ► We test the start-up and heat transfer performance of this loop-shaped heat pipe. ► This loop-shaped heat pipe starts up reliably and has satisfying heat transfer capability.

Investigation of influence of falling rock size and shape on traveling distance due to earthquake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tochigi, Hitoshi

2010-01-01

In evaluation of seismic stability of surrounding slope in a nuclear power plant, as a part of residual risk evaluation, it is essential to confirm the effects of surrounding slope failure on a important structure, when slope failure probability is not sufficiently small for extremely large earthquake. So evaluation of slope failure potential based on a falling rocks analyses considering slope failure using discontinuous model such as distinct element method(DEM) will be employed in near future. But, these slope collapse analysis by discontinuous model needs determination of input data of falling rock size and shape, and some problems about determination method of these size and shape condition and analysis accuracy are remained. In this study, the results of slope collapse experiment by shaking table and numerical simulation of this experiment by DEM is conducted to clarify the influence of falling rock size and shape on traveling distance. As a results, it is indicated that more massive and larger rock model gives safety side evaluation for traveling distance. (author)

A multidimensional stability model for predicting shallow landslide size and shape across landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Milledge, David G; Bellugi, Dino; McKean, Jim A; Densmore, Alexander L; Dietrich, William E

2014-11-01

The size of a shallow landslide is a fundamental control on both its hazard and geomorphic importance. Existing models are either unable to predict landslide size or are computationally intensive such that they cannot practically be applied across landscapes. We derive a model appropriate for natural slopes that is capable of predicting shallow landslide size but simple enough to be applied over entire watersheds. It accounts for lateral resistance by representing the forces acting on each margin of potential landslides using earth pressure theory and by representing root reinforcement as an exponential function of soil depth. We test our model's ability to predict failure of an observed landslide where the relevant parameters are well constrained by field data. The model predicts failure for the observed scar geometry and finds that larger or smaller conformal shapes are more stable. Numerical experiments demonstrate that friction on the boundaries of a potential landslide increases considerably the magnitude of lateral reinforcement, relative to that due to root cohesion alone. We find that there is a critical depth in both cohesive and cohesionless soils, resulting in a minimum size for failure, which is consistent with observed size-frequency distributions. Furthermore, the differential resistance on the boundaries of a potential landslide is responsible for a critical landslide shape which is longer than it is wide, consistent with observed aspect ratios. Finally, our results show that minimum size increases as approximately the square of failure surface depth, consistent with observed landslide depth-area data.

Study of droplet flow in a T-shape microchannel with bottom wall fluctuation

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Yan; Wang, Xiang; Liu, Zhaomiao

2018-03-01

Droplet generation in a T-shape microchannel, with a main channel width of 50 μm , side channel width of 25 μm, and height of 50 μm, is simulated to study the effects of the forced fluctuation of the bottom wall. The periodic fluctuations of the bottom wall are applied on the near junction part of the main channel in the T-shape microchannel. Effects of bottom wall's shape, fluctuation periods, and amplitudes on the droplet generation are covered in the research of this protocol. In the simulation, the average size is affected a little by the fluctuations, but significantly by the fixed shape of the deformed bottom wall, while the droplet size range is expanded by the fluctuations under most of the conditions. Droplet sizes are distributed in a periodic pattern with small amplitude along the relative time when the fluctuation is forced on the bottom wall near the T-junction, while the droplet emerging frequency is not varied by the fluctuation. The droplet velocity is varied by the bottom wall motion, especially under the shorter period and the larger amplitude. When the fluctuation period is similar to the droplet emerging period, the droplet size is as stable as the non-fluctuation case after a development stage at the beginning of flow, while the droplet velocity is varied by the moving wall with the scope up to 80% of the average velocity under the conditions of this investigation.

A Quantitative Comparison Between Size, Shape, Topology and Simultaneous Optimization for Truss Structures

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T.E. Müller

Full Text Available Abstract There are typically three broad categories of structural optimization namely size, shape and topology. Over the past few decades various researchers have focused on developing techniques for optimizing structures by considering either one or a combination of these aspects. In this paper the efficiency of these techniques are investigated in an effort to quantify the improvement of the result obtained by utilizing a more complex optimization routine. The percentage of the structural weight saved and computational effort required are used as measures to compare these techniques. The well-known genetic algorithm with elitism is used to perform these tests on various benchmark structures found in literature. Some of the results that are obtained include that a simultaneous approach produces, on average, a 22 % better solution than a simple size optimization and a 12 % improvement when compared to a staged approach where the size, shape and topology of the structure is considered sequentially. From these results, it is concluded that a significant saving can be made by using a more complex optimization routine, such as a simultaneous approach.

Nuclear export of RNA: Different sizes, shapes and functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Tobias; Ngo, Linh H; Wickramasinghe, Vihandha O

2018-03-01

Export of protein-coding and non-coding RNA molecules from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is critical for gene expression. This necessitates the continuous transport of RNA species of different size, shape and function through nuclear pore complexes via export receptors and adaptor proteins. Here, we provide an overview of the major RNA export pathways in humans, highlighting the similarities and differences between each. Its importance is underscored by the growing appreciation that deregulation of RNA export pathways is associated with human diseases like cancer. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Protein structure and ionic selectivity in calcium channels: selectivity filter size, not shape, matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Malasics, Attila; Gillespie, Dirk; Nonner, Wolfgang; Henderson, Douglas; Eisenberg, Bob; Boda, Dezso

2009-12-01

Calcium channels have highly charged selectivity filters (4 COO(-) groups) that attract cations in to balance this charge and minimize free energy, forcing the cations (Na(+) and Ca(2+)) to compete for space in the filter. A reduced model was developed to better understand the mechanism of ion selectivity in calcium channels. The charge/space competition (CSC) mechanism implies that Ca(2+) is more efficient in balancing the charge of the filter because it provides twice the charge as Na(+) while occupying the same space. The CSC mechanism further implies that the main determinant of Ca(2+) versus Na(+) selectivity is the density of charged particles in the selectivity filter, i.e., the volume of the filter (after fixing the number of charged groups in the filter). In this paper we test this hypothesis by changing filter length and/or radius (shape) of the cylindrical selectivity filter of our reduced model. We show that varying volume and shape together has substantially stronger effects than varying shape alone with volume fixed. Our simulations show the importance of depletion zones of ions in determining channel conductance calculated with the integrated Nernst-Planck equation. We show that confining the protein side chains with soft or hard walls does not influence selectivity.

Slow-fast stochastic diffusion dynamics and quasi-stationarity for diploid populations with varying size.

Science.gov (United States)

Coron, Camille

2016-01-01

We are interested in the long-time behavior of a diploid population with sexual reproduction and randomly varying population size, characterized by its genotype composition at one bi-allelic locus. The population is modeled by a 3-dimensional birth-and-death process with competition, weak cooperation and Mendelian reproduction. This stochastic process is indexed by a scaling parameter K that goes to infinity, following a large population assumption. When the individual birth and natural death rates are of order K, the sequence of stochastic processes indexed by K converges toward a new slow-fast dynamics with variable population size. We indeed prove the convergence toward 0 of a fast variable giving the deviation of the population from quasi Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while the sequence of slow variables giving the respective numbers of occurrences of each allele converges toward a 2-dimensional diffusion process that reaches (0,0) almost surely in finite time. The population size and the proportion of a given allele converge toward a Wright-Fisher diffusion with stochastically varying population size and diploid selection. We insist on differences between haploid and diploid populations due to population size stochastic variability. Using a non trivial change of variables, we study the absorption of this diffusion and its long time behavior conditioned on non-extinction. In particular we prove that this diffusion starting from any non-trivial state and conditioned on not hitting (0,0) admits a unique quasi-stationary distribution. We give numerical approximations of this quasi-stationary behavior in three biologically relevant cases: neutrality, overdominance, and separate niches.

Spall Strength Measurements of Concrete for Varying Aggregate Sizes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chhabildas, Lalit C.; Kipp, Marlin E.; Reinhart, William D.; Wilson, Leonard T.

1999-01-01

Controlled impact experiments have been performed to determine the spall strength of four different concrete compositions. The four concrete compositions are identified as, 'SAC-5, CSPC', (''3/4'') large, and (''3/8'') small, Aggregate. They differ primarily in aggregate size but with average densities varying by less than five percent. Wave profiles from sixteen experiments, with shock amplitudes of 0.07 to 0.55 GPa, concentrate primarily within the elastic regime. Free-surface particle velocity measurements indicate consistent pullback signals in the release profiles, denoting average span strength of approximately 40 MPa. It is the purpose of this paper to present spall measurements under uniaxial strain loading. Notwithstanding considerable wave structure that is a unique characteristic to the heterogeneous nature of the scaled concrete, the spall amplitudes appear reproducible and consistent over the pressure range reported in this study

Size, shape, and appearance of the normal female pituitary gland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolpert, S.M.; Molitch, M.E.; Goldman, J.A.; Wood, J.B.

1984-01-01

One hundred seven women 18-65 years old were studied who were referred for suspected central nervous system disease not related to the pituitary gland or hypothalamus. High-resolution, direct, coronal, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) was used to examine the size; shape, and density of the normal pituitary gland. There were three major conclusions: (1) the height of the normal gland can be as much as 9 mm; (2) the superior margin of the gland may bulge in normal patients; and (3) both large size and convex contour appear to be associated with younger age. It was also found that serum prolactin levels do not appear to correlate with the CT appearances. Noise artifacts inherent in high-detail, thin-section, soft-tissue scanning may be a limiting factor in defining reproducible patterns in different parts of the normal pituitary gland

Optimization of the size and shape of the set-in nozzle for a PWR reactor pressure vessel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murtaza, Usman Tariq, E-mail: maniiut@yahoo.com; Javed Hyder, M., E-mail: hyder@pieas.edu.pk

2015-04-01

Highlights: • The size and shape of the set-in nozzle of the RPV have been optimized. • The optimized nozzle ensure the reduction of the mass around 198 kg per nozzle. • The mass of the RPV should be minimized for better fracture toughness. - Abstract: The objective of this research work is to optimize the size and shape of the set-in nozzle for a typical reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of a 300 MW pressurized water reactor. The analysis was performed by optimizing the four design variables which control the size and shape of the nozzle. These variables are inner radius of the nozzle, thickness of the nozzle, taper angle at the nozzle-cylinder intersection, and the point where taper of the nozzle starts from. It is concluded that the optimum design of the nozzle is the one that minimizes the two conflicting state variables, i.e., the stress intensity (Tresca yield criterion) and the mass of the RPV.

Sub-10 nm Platinum Nanocrystals with Size and Shape Control: Catalytic Study for Ethylene and Pyrrole Hydrogenation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsung, Chia-Kuang; Kuhn, John N.; Huang, Wenyu; Aliaga, Cesar; Hung, Ling-I; Somorjai, Gabor A.; Yang, Peidong

2009-03-02

Platinum nanocubes and nanopolyhedra with tunable size from 5 to 9 nm were synthesized by controlling the reducing rate of metal precursor ions in a one-pot polyol synthesis. A two-stage process is proposed for the simultaneous control of size and shape. In the first stage, the oxidation state of the metal ion precursors determined the nucleation rate and consequently the number of nuclei. The reaction temperature controlled the shape in the second stage by regulation of the growth kinetics. These well-defined nanocrystals were loaded into MCF-17 mesoporous silica for examination of catalytic properties. Pt loadings and dispersions of the supported catalysts were determined by elemental analysis (ICP-MS) and H2 chemisorption isotherms, respectively. Ethylene hydrogenation rates over the Pt nanocrystals were independent of both size and shape and comparable to Pt single crystals. For pyrrole hydrogenation, the nanocubes enhanced ring-opening ability and thus showed a higher selectivity to n-butylamine as compared to nanopolyhedra.

Improvement of Galilean refractive beam shaping system for accurately generating near-diffraction-limited flattop beam with arbitrary beam size.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Haotong; Liu, Zejin; Jiang, Pengzhi; Xu, Xiaojun; Du, Shaojun

2011-07-04

We propose and demonstrate the improvement of conventional Galilean refractive beam shaping system for accurately generating near-diffraction-limited flattop beam with arbitrary beam size. Based on the detailed study of the refractive beam shaping system, we found that the conventional Galilean beam shaper can only work well for the magnifying beam shaping. Taking the transformation of input beam with Gaussian irradiance distribution into target beam with high order Fermi-Dirac flattop profile as an example, the shaper can only work well at the condition that the size of input and target beam meets R(0) ≥ 1.3 w(0). For the improvement, the shaper is regarded as the combination of magnifying and demagnifying beam shaping system. The surface and phase distributions of the improved Galilean beam shaping system are derived based on Geometric and Fourier Optics. By using the improved Galilean beam shaper, the accurate transformation of input beam with Gaussian irradiance distribution into target beam with flattop irradiance distribution is realized. The irradiance distribution of the output beam is coincident with that of the target beam and the corresponding phase distribution is maintained. The propagation performance of the output beam is greatly improved. Studies of the influences of beam size and beam order on the improved Galilean beam shaping system show that restriction of beam size has been greatly reduced. This improvement can also be used to redistribute the input beam with complicated irradiance distribution into output beam with complicated irradiance distribution.

Unimodal tree size distributions possibly result from relatively strong conservatism in intermediate size classes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Bin

Full Text Available Tree size distributions have long been of interest to ecologists and foresters because they reflect fundamental demographic processes. Previous studies have assumed that size distributions are often associated with population trends or with the degree of shade tolerance. We tested these associations for 31 tree species in a 20 ha plot in a Dinghushan south subtropical forest in China. These species varied widely in growth form and shade-tolerance. We used 2005 and 2010 census data from that plot. We found that 23 species had reversed J shaped size distributions, and eight species had unimodal size distributions in 2005. On average, modal species had lower recruitment rates than reversed J species, while showing no significant difference in mortality rates, per capita population growth rates or shade-tolerance. We compared the observed size distributions with the equilibrium distributions projected from observed size-dependent growth and mortality. We found that observed distributions generally had the same shape as predicted equilibrium distributions in both unimodal and reversed J species, but there were statistically significant, important quantitative differences between observed and projected equilibrium size distributions in most species, suggesting that these populations are not at equilibrium and that this forest is changing over time. Almost all modal species had U-shaped size-dependent mortality and/or growth functions, with turning points of both mortality and growth at intermediate size classes close to the peak in the size distribution. These results show that modal size distributions do not necessarily indicate either population decline or shade-intolerance. Instead, the modal species in our study were characterized by a life history strategy of relatively strong conservatism in an intermediate size class, leading to very low growth and mortality in that size class, and thus to a peak in the size distribution at intermediate sizes.

Survival of alpha particle irradiated cells as a function of the shape and size of the sensitive volume (nucleus)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stinchcomb, T.G.; Roeske, J.C.

1995-01-01

Microdosimetry is the study of the stochastic variation of energy deposited within sub-cellular targets. As such, the size and shape of the critical target (i.e. cell nucleus) are essential when considering microdosimetric quantities. In this work, a microdosimetric analysis examines the expected cell survival as a function of the size and shape of the cell nucleus under conditions of irradiation emitting alpha particles. The results indicate that, in general, cell survival is relatively insensitive to changes in the shape of the cell nucleus when the volume is held constant. However, cell survival is a strong function of the variation in the size of the target. These results are useful when analysing the results of cell survival experiments for alpha particle emitters. (Author)

Illustrating ontogenetic change in the dentition of the Nile monitor lizard, Varanus niloticus: a case study in the application of geometric morphometric methods for the quantification of shape-size heterodonty.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amore, Domenic C

2015-05-01

Many recent attempts have been made to quantify heterodonty in non-mammalian vertebrates, but the majority of these are limited to Euclidian measurements. One taxon frequently investigated is Varanus niloticus, the Nile monitor. Juveniles possess elongate, pointed teeth (caniniform) along the entirety of the dental arcade, whereas adults develop large, bulbous distal teeth (molariform). The purpose of this study was to present a geometric morphometric method to quantify V. niloticus heterodonty through ontogeny that may be applied to other non-mammalian taxa. Data were collected from the entire tooth row of 19 dry skull specimens. A semilandmark analysis was conducted on the outline of the photographed teeth, and size and shape were derived. Width was also measured with calipers. From these measures, sample ranges and allometric functions were created using multivariate statistical analyses for each tooth position separately, as well as overall measures of heterodonty for each specimen based on morphological disparity. The results confirm and expand upon previous studies, showing measurable shape-size heterodonty in the species with significant differences at each tooth position. Tooth size increases with body size at most positions, and the allometric coefficient increases at more distal positions. Width shows a dramatic increase at the distal positions with ontogeny, often displaying pronounced positive allometry. Dental shape varied in two noticeable ways, with the first composing the vast majority of shape variance: (i) caniniformy vs. molariformy and (ii) mesially leaning, 'rounded' apices vs. distally leaning, 'pointed' apices. The latter was twice as influential in the mandible, a consequence of host bone shape. Mesial teeth show no significant shape change with growth, whereas distal teeth change significantly due primarily to an increase in molariformy. Overall, heterodonty increases with body size concerning both tooth size and shape, but shape

Seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton in two tropical rivers of varying size and human impact in Southeast Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okechukwu Idumah Okogwu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Phytoplankton occurrence and dynamics in rivers are mainly shaped by hydrophysical conditions and nutrient availability. Phytoplankton main structuring factors have been poorly studied in West African rivers, and this study was undertaken to identify these conditions in two tropical rivers that vary in size and human impact. For this, environmental variables and phytoplankton monthly samples were collected from the middle reaches of Asu and Cross rivers during an 18 months survey from March 2005-July 2006. Phytoplankton biomass (F=11.87, p=0.003, Shannon-Weiner diversity and species richness (F=5.93, p=0.003 showed significant seasonality in Asu but not in Cross River. Data was analyzed with Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA and showed environmental differences between the two rivers, nitrate in Asu River (5.1-15.5mg/L was significantly higher than Cross River (0.03-1.7mg/L, while PO4 (0.2-0.9mg/L was significantly lower in Asu River compared to Cross River (0.03-2.6mg/L (p<0.05. Eutrophic factors (NO3 determined primarily phytoplankton dynamics in Asu River, especially during the dry season, whereas hydrophysical factors (depth, transparency and temperature shaped phytoplankton in Cross River. Taxa indicative of an eutrophic condition, such as Euglena, Chlorella, Chlorococcus, Ceratium, Peridinium, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Closterium, Scenedesmus and Pediastrum spp., were frequently encountered in the shallow impounded Asu River, while riverine species, such as Frustulia rhomboids, Gyrosigma sp., Opephora martyr and Surirella splendida dominated Cross River. A succession pattern was observed in the functional groups identified: Na/MP→TB→P (rainy→dry season was observed in Asu River, whereas MP/D predominated in Cross River for both seasons. We concluded that, if nutrients predominate hydrophysical factors in shaping phytoplankton during dry season (half of the year then, they are as important as hydrophysical factors structuring

Size effect and scaling power-law for superelasticity in shape-memory alloys at the nanoscale.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Cortés, Jose F; Nó, Maria L; López-Ferreño, Iñaki; Hernández-Saz, Jesús; Molina, Sergio I; Chuvilin, Andrey; San Juan, Jose M

2017-08-01

Shape-memory alloys capable of a superelastic stress-induced phase transformation and a high displacement actuation have promise for applications in micro-electromechanical systems for wearable healthcare and flexible electronic technologies. However, some of the fundamental aspects of their nanoscale behaviour remain unclear, including the question of whether the critical stress for the stress-induced martensitic transformation exhibits a size effect similar to that observed in confined plasticity. Here we provide evidence of a strong size effect on the critical stress that induces such a transformation with a threefold increase in the trigger stress in pillars milled on [001] L2 1 single crystals from a Cu-Al-Ni shape-memory alloy from 2 μm to 260 nm in diameter. A power-law size dependence of n = -2 is observed for the nanoscale superelasticity. Our observation is supported by the atomic lattice shearing and an elastic model for homogeneous martensite nucleation.

The Effect of Sterilization on Size and Shape of Fat Globules in Model Processed Cheese Samples

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B. Tremlová

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Model cheese samples from 4 independent productions were heat sterilized (117 °C, 20 minutes after the melting process and packing with an aim to prolong their durability. The objective of the study was to assess changes in the size and shape of fat globules due to heat sterilization by using image analysis methods. The study included a selection of suitable methods of preparation mounts, taking microphotographs and making overlays for automatic processing of photographs by image analyser, ascertaining parameters to determine the size and shape of fat globules and statistical analysis of results obtained. The results of the experiment suggest that changes in shape of fat globules due to heat sterilization are not unequivocal. We found that the size of fat globules was significantly increased (p < 0.01 due to heat sterilization (117 °C, 20 min, and the shares of small fat globules (up to 500 μm2, or 100 μm2 in the samples of heat sterilized processed cheese were decreased. The results imply that the image analysis method is very useful when assessing the effect of technological process on the quality of processed cheese quality.

In vitro toxicity analysis of nanoscale aluminum: Particle size and shape effects

Science.gov (United States)

Palazuelos Jorganes, Maria

2007-12-01

Nanostructured materials promise to revolutionize many key areas of science and technology. As our ability to manipulate matter at the nanoscale increases, there is a need to assess the effects of these materials on human health and the environment. Materials at the nanoscale are interesting and useful because they possess properties that are different from the equivalent bulk or molecular scale. These same properties can make toxicological profiles very different from those of the same materials on a different scale. There is a rising consensus that toxicity analysis of nanomaterials should start from a thorough physicochemical characterization of the materials under investigation in order to be able to establish a proper correlation between the nanoparticles characteristics and their effects and behavior in physiological environments. This research is a clear example of the necessity of comprehensive studies when investigating the toxicity of nanomaterials. Aluminum nanoparticles are being extensively used for their very unique energetic properties. These materials offer a very promising market that is fostering many startup companies which are expected to consolidate on strong technological positions. Aluminum is generally recognized as a non-toxic material to humans and it is widely used for applications which imply direct human contact. The effect of aluminum nanoparticles in human health is still an unknown. My research consisted of an in vitro toxicity screening of aluminum materials from nano to micron size, including spherical irregularly shaped particles. Several issues relating to size, shape, detection and characterization of nanoparticles in the different environments relevant to in vitro toxicity analysis were addressed and suitable protocols were developed. Lung human epithelial cells were exposed to different concentrations of these materials and the effects were analyzed by means of various toxicity tests. Some of the materials investigated caused

Induced polyploidy dramatically increases the size and alters the shape of fruit in Actinidia chinensis

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jin-Hu; Ferguson, A. Ross; Murray, Brian G.; Jia, Yilin; Datson, Paul M.; Zhang, Jingli

2012-01-01

Background and Aims Some otherwise promising selections of Actinidia chinensis (kiwifruit) have fruit that are too small for successful commercialization. We have therefore made the first detailed study in diploid kiwifruit of the effects of chromosome doubling induced by colchicine on fruit size, shape and crop loading. Methods Flow cytometric analysis of young leaves and chromosome analysis of flower buds and root tips was used to confirm the stability of induced autotetraploids. Fruit weight, size and crop load were measured in the third year after planting in the field and for three consecutive years. DNA fingerprinting was used to confirm the origin of the material. Key Results There was a very significant increase in fruit size in induced autotetraploids of different genotypes of A. chinensis. With the commercially important diploid cultivar ‘Hort16A’, most regenerants, Type A plants, had fruit which were much the same shape as fruit of the diploid but, at the same fruit load, were much larger and heavier. Some regenerants, Type B plants, produced fruit similar to ‘fasciated’ fruit. Fruit of the autotetraploids induced from three female red-fleshed A. chinensis selections were also 50–60 % larger than fruit of their diploid progenitors. The main increase in fruit dimensions was in their diameters. These improved fruit characteristics were stable over several seasons. Conclusions Chromosome doubling has been shown to increase significantly fruit size in autotetraploid A. chinensis, highlighting the considerable potential of this technique to produce new cultivars with fruit of adequate size. Other variants with differently shaped fruit were also produced but the genetic basis of this variation remains to be elucidated. Autoploids of other Actinidia species with commercial potential may also show improved fruit characteristics, opening up many new possibilities for commercial development. PMID:21980192

Effects of shape and size of inclusions on the sintering of ZnO-ZrO2 composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakada, Yohsuke; Kimura, Toshio

1997-01-01

The densification behavior and microstructure development of ZnO matrices containing rigid ZrO 2 inclusions were studied, with special emphasis on the effect of inclusion shape and size. The inclusions retarded the densification of the matrix, regardless of the inclusion shape and size. For large inclusions with diameter of > 10 microm, dense regions developed between inclusion particles. The inclusion particles and dense regions formed a continuous network, which constrained the densification of the composites. The inclusion shape had a small effect on the development of dense regions. Severe retardation in densification was observed for compacts containing inclusions with diameters of < 10 microm. In these cases, dense regions between inclusion particles did not develop. The formation of the continuous network cannot be applicable to small inclusions as an origin of retardation of densification

Effects of shape, size, and pyrene doping on electronic properties of graphene nanoflakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuamit, Thanawit; Ratanasak, Manussada; Rungnim, Chompoonut; Parasuk, Vudhichai

2017-11-25

Effects of size, shape, and pyrene doping on electronic properties of graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) were theoretically investigated using density functional theory method with PBE, B3PW91, and M06-2X functionals and cc-pVDZ basis set. Two shapes of zigzag GNFs, hexagonal (HGN) and rhomboidal (RGN), were considered. The energy band gap of GNF depends on shape and decreases with size. The HGN has larger band gap energy (1.23-3.96 eV) than the RGN (0.13-2.12 eV). The doping of pyrene and pyrene derivatives on both HGN and RGN was also studied. The adsorption energy of pyrene and pyrene derivatives on GNF does not depend on the shape of GNFs with energies between 21 and 27 kcal mol -1 . The substituent on pyrene enhances the binding to GNF but the strength does not depend on electron withdrawing or donating capability. The doping by pyrene and pyrene derivatives also shifts the HOMO and LUMO energies of GNFs. Both positive (destabilizing) and negative (stabilizing) shifts on HOMO and LUMO of GNFs were seen. The direction and magnitude of the shift do not follow the electron withdrawing and donating capability of pyrene substituents. However, only a slight shift was observed for doped RGN. A shift of 0.19 eV was noticed for HOMO of HGN doped with 1-aminopyrene (pyNH 2 ) and of 0.04 eV for LUMO of HGN doped with 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid (pyCOOH). Graphical Abstract HOMO and LUMO Energies of pyrene/pyrene derivatives doped Graphene Nanoflakes.

Evaluation of Decontamination Factor of Aerosol in Pool Scrubber according to Bubble Shape and Size

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jo, Hyun Joung; Ha, Kwang Soon; Jang, Dong Soon [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The scrubbing pool could play an important role in the wet type FCVS because a large amount of aerosol is captured in the water pool. The pool scrubbing phenomena have been modelled and embedded in several computer codes, such as SPARC (Suppression Pool Aerosol Removal Code), BUSCA (BUbble Scrubbing Algorithm) and SUPRA (Suppression Pool Retention Analysis). These codes aim at simulating the pool scrubbing process and estimating the decontamination factors (DFs) of the radioactive aerosol and iodine gas in the water pool, which is defined as the ratio of initial mass of the specific radioactive material to final massy after passing through the water pool. The pool scrubbing models were reviewed and an aerosol scrubbing code has been prepared to calculate decontamination factor through the pool. The developed code has been verified using the experimental results and parametric studies the decontamination factor according to bubble shape and size. To evaluate the decontamination factor more accurate whole pool scrubber phenomena, the code was improved to consider the variety shape and size of bubbles. The decontamination factor were largely evaluated in ellipsoid bubble rather than in sphere bubble. The pool scrubbing models will be enhanced to apply more various model such as aerosol condensation of hygroscopic. And, it is need to experiment to measure to bubble shape and size distribution in pool to improve bubble model.

Cosmic Topology: Studying The Shape And Size Of Our Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Yzaguirre, Amelia; Hajian, A.

2010-01-01

The question of the size and the shape of our universe is a very old problem that has received considerable attention over the past few years. The simplest cosmological model predicts that the mean density of the universe is very close to the critical density, admitting a local geometry of the universe that is flat. Current results from different cosmological observations confirm this to the percent level accuracy. General Relativity (being a local theory) only determines local geometry, which allows for the possibility of a multiply connected universe with a zero (or small) curvature. To study the global shape, or topology, of the universe, one can use cosmological observations on large scales. In this project we investigate the possibility of a ``small universe'', that is, a compact finite space, by searching for planar symmetries in the CMB anisotropy maps provided by the five-year WMAP observations in two foreground cleaned maps (WMAP ILC map and the Tegmark, et al. (TOH) map ). Our results strongly suggest that the small universe model is not a viable topology for the universe.

The Sizes of Early-Type Galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janz, Joachim; Lisker, Thorsten

2008-01-01

In this letter we present a study of the size luminosity relation of 475 early-type galaxies in the Virgo Cluster with Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging data. The analysis of our homogeneous, model-independent data set reveals that giant and dwarf early-type galaxies do not form one common sequence in this relation. The dwarfs seem to show weak or no dependence on luminosity, and do not fall on the extension of the rather steep relation of the giants. Under the assumption that the light profile shape varies continuously with magnitude, a curved relation of size and magnitude would be expected. While the galaxies do roughly follow this trend overall, we find that the dwarf galaxies are significantly larger and the low-luminosity giants are significantly smaller than what is predicted. We come to the conclusion that in this scaling relation there is not one common sequence from dwarfs to giants, but a dichotomy that cannot be resolved by varying profile shapes. The comparison of our data to a semianalytic model supports the idea of a physical origin for this dichotomy.

Eye shape and the nocturnal bottleneck of mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Margaret I; Kamilar, Jason M; Kirk, E Christopher

2012-12-22

Most vertebrate groups exhibit eye shapes that vary predictably with activity pattern. Nocturnal vertebrates typically have large corneas relative to eye size as an adaptation for increased visual sensitivity. Conversely, diurnal vertebrates generally demonstrate smaller corneas relative to eye size as an adaptation for increased visual acuity. By contrast, several studies have concluded that many mammals exhibit typical nocturnal eye shapes, regardless of activity pattern. However, a recent study has argued that new statistical methods allow eye shape to accurately predict activity patterns of mammals, including cathemeral species (animals that are equally likely to be awake and active at any time of day or night). Here, we conduct a detailed analysis of eye shape and activity pattern in mammals, using a broad comparative sample of 266 species. We find that the eye shapes of cathemeral mammals completely overlap with nocturnal and diurnal species. Additionally, most diurnal and cathemeral mammals have eye shapes that are most similar to those of nocturnal birds and lizards. The only mammalian clade that diverges from this pattern is anthropoids, which have convergently evolved eye shapes similar to those of diurnal birds and lizards. Our results provide additional evidence for a nocturnal 'bottleneck' in the early evolution of crown mammals.

Design of a size-efficient tunable metamaterial absorber based on leaf-shaped cell at near-infrared regions

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Hailong; Xia, Hui; Xie, Wenke; Guo, Zhibo; Li, Hongjian

2018-06-01

A size-efficient tunable metamaterial absorber (MA) composed of metallic leaf-shaped cell, graphene layer, silicon substrate, and bottom metal film is investigated theoretically and numerically at near-infrared (NIR) regions. Simulation results reveal that the single-band high absorption of 91.9% is obtained at 1268.7 nm. Further results show that the single-band can be simply changed into dual-band high absorption by varying the geometric parameters of top metallic layer at same wavelength regions, yielding two high absorption coefficients of 96.6% and 95.3% at the wavelengths of 1158.7 nm and 1323.6 nm, respectively. And the effect of related geometric parameter on dual-band absorption intensities is also investigated to obtain the optimized one. The peak wavelength can be tuned via modifying the Fermi energy of the graphene layer through controlling the external gate voltage. The work shows that the proposed strategy can be applied to other design of the dual-band structure at infrared regions.

Vacuum atomization of powder and shaping of net-shape components of molybdenum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devillard, Jacques.

1979-01-01

The paper reports an electron beam process and furnace for the production of spherical molybdenum powders of varying particle size prepared by vacuum atomization. Technical parameters of this process are discussed in an industrial plant. Powders of molybdenum alloys were extruded into round bars and tubes and the conditions of extrusion are specified. The mechanical properties in the as extruded state and after recrystallization were found to depend on the interstitial elements content and the particle size of the powder used. Tubes were cold bent to a 5 cm radius of curvature before or after uncanning. In the as-extruded state the tubes have a ligneous surface, the roughness depends on the particle size of the powder used. A new step of development in shaping molybdenum tubes is investigated and the cost of this process in an industrial plant is discussed [fr

Size- and shape-dependent clinical and mycological efficacy of silver nanoparticles on dandruff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anwar MF

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Mohammad F Anwar,1 Deepak Yadav,2 Swati Jain,3 Sumeet Kapoor,4 Shweta Rastogi,5 Indu Arora,6 Mohammed Samim1 1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, 2Faculty of Medicine, Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, 3Amity Institute of Nanotechnology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 4Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 5Department of Chemistry, Hans Raj College, 6Department of Biomedical Sciences, Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Abstract: Dandruff is a prominent scalp problem caused by the growth of fungus Malassezia furfur, potentially cascading into dermal inflammation, itching, and tissue damage. The present work outlines a detailed analysis of the treatment of scalp infection using silver nanomaterials (Ag NMs, and focuses on biocidal activity owing to manipulation of size, shape, and structure. Monodisperse silver spherical nanoparticles (NPs and nanorods (NRs were synthesized by chemical routes that were characterized using analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Ag NMs demonstrated enhanced biocidal tendencies compared to market available drugs, itracanozole and ketoconazole, showing greater zones of inhibition. The obtained 20 nm and 50 nm spherical-shaped NPs and 50 nm NRs showed concentration-, size-, and shape-dependent antifungal activity, with 20 nm spherical-shaped NPs exhibiting excellent potency. Minimum inhibitory concentration for 20 nm was lowest at 0.2 mg/mL in comparison to 0.3 mg/mL for NRs. Primary irritation index was 0.33 and 0.16 for 20 nm and 50 nm spherical-shaped NPs, respectively, while 50 nm rod-shaped NMs exhibited negligible redness. An in vivo model for M. furfur infection was generated by passing fungi subcutaneously in rats’ skin. Again, 20 nm particles showed best normalization of skin after 10 days on regular dosing, in comparison with bigger and rod-shaped particles. The statistical clinical score was

Membrane shape modulates transmembrane protein distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Aimon, Sophie; Callan-Jones, Andrew; Berthaud, Alice; Pinot, Mathieu; Toombes, Gilman E S; Bassereau, Patricia

2014-01-27

Although membrane shape varies greatly throughout the cell, the contribution of membrane curvature to transmembrane protein targeting is unknown because of the numerous sorting mechanisms that take place concurrently in cells. To isolate the effect of membrane shape, we used cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) containing either the potassium channel KvAP or the water channel AQP0 to form membrane nanotubes with controlled radii. Whereas the AQP0 concentrations in flat and curved membranes were indistinguishable, KvAP was enriched in the tubes, with greater enrichment in more highly curved membranes. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching measurements showed that both proteins could freely diffuse through the neck between the tube and GUV, and the effect of each protein on membrane shape and stiffness was characterized using a thermodynamic sorting model. This study establishes the importance of membrane shape for targeting transmembrane proteins and provides a method for determining the effective shape and flexibility of membrane proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Line shapes and time dynamics of the Förster resonances between two Rydberg atoms in a time-varying electric field

KAUST Repository

Yakshina, E. A.

2016-10-21

The observation of the Stark-tuned Förster resonances between Rydberg atoms excited by narrowband cw laser radiation requires usage of a Stark-switching technique in order to excite the atoms first in a fixed electric field and then to induce the interactions in a varied electric field, which is scanned across the Förster resonance. In our experiments with a few cold Rb Rydberg atoms, we have found that the transients at the edges of the electric pulses strongly affect the line shapes of the Förster resonances, since the population transfer at the resonances occurs on a time scale of ∼100 ns, which is comparable with the duration of the transients. For example, a short-term ringing at a certain frequency causes additional radio-frequency-assisted Förster resonances, while nonsharp edges lead to asymmetry. The intentional application of the radio-frequency field induces transitions between collective states, whose line shape depends on the interaction strengths and time. Spatial averaging over the atom positions in a single interaction volume yields a cusped line shape of the Förster resonance. We present a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of the line shape and time dynamics of the Stark-tuned Förster resonances Rb(nP3/2)+Rb(nP3/2)→Rb(nS1/2)+Rb([n+1]S1/2) for two Rb Rydberg atoms interacting in a time-varying electric field.

Line shapes and time dynamics of the Förster resonances between two Rydberg atoms in a time-varying electric field

KAUST Repository

Yakshina, E. A.; Tretyakov, D. B.; Beterov, I. I.; Entin, V. M.; Andreeva, C.; Cinins, A.; Markovski, A.; Iftikhar, Z.; Ekers, Aigars; Ryabtsev, I. I.

2016-01-01

The observation of the Stark-tuned Förster resonances between Rydberg atoms excited by narrowband cw laser radiation requires usage of a Stark-switching technique in order to excite the atoms first in a fixed electric field and then to induce the interactions in a varied electric field, which is scanned across the Förster resonance. In our experiments with a few cold Rb Rydberg atoms, we have found that the transients at the edges of the electric pulses strongly affect the line shapes of the Förster resonances, since the population transfer at the resonances occurs on a time scale of ∼100 ns, which is comparable with the duration of the transients. For example, a short-term ringing at a certain frequency causes additional radio-frequency-assisted Förster resonances, while nonsharp edges lead to asymmetry. The intentional application of the radio-frequency field induces transitions between collective states, whose line shape depends on the interaction strengths and time. Spatial averaging over the atom positions in a single interaction volume yields a cusped line shape of the Förster resonance. We present a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of the line shape and time dynamics of the Stark-tuned Förster resonances Rb(nP3/2)+Rb(nP3/2)→Rb(nS1/2)+Rb([n+1]S1/2) for two Rb Rydberg atoms interacting in a time-varying electric field.

New Atrophic Acne Scar Classification: Reliability of Assessments Based on Size, Shape, and Number.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Sewon; Lozada, Vicente Torres; Bettoli, Vincenzo; Tan, Jerry; Rueda, Maria Jose; Layton, Alison; Petit, Lauren; Dréno, Brigitte

2016-06-01

Post-acne atrophic scarring is a major concern for which standardized outcome measures are needed. Traditionally, this type of scar has been classified based on shape; but survey of practicing dermatologists has shown that atrophic scar morphology has not been well enough defined to allow good agreement in clinical classification. Reliance on clinical assessment is still needed at the current time, since objective tools are not yet available in routine practice. Evaluate classification for atrophic acne scars by shape, size, and facial location and establish reliability in assessments. We conducted a non-interventional study with dermatologists performing live clinical assessments of atrophic acne scars. To objectively compare identification of lesions, individual lesions were marked on a high-resolution photo of the patient that was displayed on a computer during the clinical evaluation. The Jacob clinical classification system was used to define three primary shapes of scars 1) icepick, 2) boxcar, and 3) rolling. To determine agreement for classification by size, independent technicians assessed the investigators' markings on digital images. Identical localization of scars was denoted if the maximal distance between their centers was ≤ 60 pixels (approximately 3 mm). Raters assessed scars on the same patients twice (morning/afternoon). Aggregate models of rater assessments were created and analyzed for agreement. Raters counted a mean scar count per subject ranging from 15.75 to 40.25 scars. Approximately 50% of scars were identified by all raters and ~75% of scars were identified by at least 2 of 3 raters (weak agreement, Kappa pairwise agreement 0.30). Agreement between consecutive counts was moderate, with Kappa index ranging from 0.26 to 0.47 (after exclusion of one outlier investigator who had significantly higher counts than all others). Shape classifications of icepick, boxcar, and rolling differed significantly between raters and even for same raters at

Size dependent nanomechanics of coil spring shaped polymer nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Ushiba, Shota; Masui, Kyoko; Taguchi, Natsuo; Hamano, Tomoki; Kawata, Satoshi; Shoji, Satoru

2015-11-27

Direct laser writing (DLW) via two-photon polymerization (TPP) has been established as a powerful technique for fabrication and integration of nanoscale components, as it enables the production of three dimensional (3D) micro/nano objects. This technique has indeed led to numerous applications, including micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), metamaterials, mechanical metamaterials, and photonic crystals. However, as the feature sizes decrease, an urgent demand has emerged to uncover the mechanics of nanosized polymer materials. Here, we fabricate coil spring shaped polymer nanowires using DLW via two-photon polymerization. We find that even the nanocoil springs follow a linear-response against applied forces, following Hooke's law, as revealed by compression tests using an atomic force microscope. Further, the elasticity of the polymer material is found to become significantly greater as the wire radius is decreased from 550 to 350 nm. Polarized Raman spectroscopy measurements show that polymer chains are aligned in nanowires along the axis, which may be responsible for the size dependence. Our findings provide insight into the nanomechanics of polymer materials fabricated by DLW, which leads to further applications based on nanosized polymer materials.

Children's Concepts of the Shape and Size of the Earth, Sun and Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce, T. G. K.; Blown, E. J.

2013-01-01

Children's understandings of the shape and relative sizes of the Earth, Sun and Moon have been extensively researched and in a variety of ways. Much is known about the confusions which arise as young people try to grasp ideas about the world and our neighbouring celestial bodies. Despite this, there remain uncertainties about the conceptual models…

Size and shape variability in the skull of Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae from two geographic areas in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Bornholdt

Full Text Available We present a quantitative analysis of sexual dimorphism and geographic variation in the skull of Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821 assessed by geometric morphometrics. Differences in size and shape of skulls were investigated using 30 landmarks plotted on two-dimensional images of lateral and ventral views. Results of geometric morphometrics revealed sexual dimorphism in the centroid size of the skull in both views. Females were larger than males. Nevertheless, there was no sexual dimorphism in skull shape of M. nigricans. Geographic variation was detected in size and shape of the skull. South Brazilian specimens were significantly larger than Ceará specimens only in the lateral view. Differences in skull shape were statistically significant in both views: specimens from South Brazil were brevirostri and presented a more expanded skull in the posterior region while Ceará specimens were longirostri and do not present any expansion in the brain case. Ecological factors for these phenomena are discussed in the text.

Are range-size distributions consistent with species-level heritability?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borregaard, Michael Krabbe; Gotelli, Nicholas; Rahbek, Carsten

2012-01-01

The concept of species-level heritability is widely contested. Because it is most likely to apply to emergent, species-level traits, one of the central discussions has focused on the potential heritability of geographic range size. However, a central argument against range-size heritability has...... been that it is not compatible with the observed shape of present-day species range-size distributions (SRDs), a claim that has never been tested. To assess this claim, we used forward simulation of range-size evolution in clades with varying degrees of range-size heritability, and compared the output...

Shape and size controlled synthesis of Au nanorods: H2S gas-sensing characterizations and antibacterial application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanh, Le Thi; Hoa, Tran Thai; Cuong, Nguyen Duc; Khieu, Dinh Quang; Quang, Duong Tuan; Van Duy, Nguyen; Hoa, Nguyen Duc; Van Hieu, Nguyen

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We have demonstrated a facile method to prepare colloid Au nanorods. • The size and shape of Au nanorods can be controlled via seed-mediated growth method. • The H 2 S gas-sensing properties have been investigated. • The antibacterial application has been conducted. - Abstract: Controlling their size and shape is one of the important issues in the fundamental study and application of colloidal metal nanoparticles. In the current study, different sizes and shapes of Au nanorods were fabricated using a seed-mediated growth method. Material characterization by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the obtained products were made of single-crystal Au nanorods with an average diameter and length of 10 nm and 40 nm, respectively. The Au nanorod-based sensor exhibited significantly high sensitivity and fast response/recovery time to low concentrations (2.5–10 ppm) of H 2 S at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 400 °C. Additionally, they exhibited antibacterial effect at low concentration. These results suggested that the fabricated Au nanorods have excellent potential for practical application in air pollution monitoring and biomedicine

Effects of Particle Size and Shape on U-Mo/Al Thermal Conductivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Tae-Won; Sohn, Dong-Seong [Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The thermal conductivity of atomized U-Mo/Al dispersion fuels was measured only by Lee et al. by laser-flash and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. For the U-Mo particles, they are deformed during manufacturing process such as hot rolling and during irradiation by the creep deformation. Fricke developed a model for the effective thermal conductivity of a dilute suspension of randomly oriented spheroidal particles. In general, the thermal conductivity of composite increase when the particle shape is not sphere. This model is also based on continuum theory which assumes both temperature and heat flux are continuous across the interface. Kapitza, however, showed that there is a discontinuity in temperature across the interface at metal/liquid helium interface. In general, the discontinuity is from the thermal resistance at the interface. If the thermal resistance has a significant impact on the thermal conductivity, particle size is one of the essential parameter for determining the effective thermal conductivity of composite materials. Every, et al modified Bruggeman model to consider the interfacial thermal resistance. The U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel thermal conductivity calculation can be improved by considering the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances. There have been various works to analyze the thermal conductivity through Finite Element Method (FEM). Coulson developed a realistic FEM model to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of the fuel meat. This FEM model does not consider the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances. Therefore, these effects can be evaluated by comparing the FEM calculated effective thermal conductivity with measured data. In this work, the FEM analysis was done and the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances was estimated. From this results, the particle shape and size effects will be discussed. Many thermal conductivity models for the particle dispersed composites have been

Effects of Particle Size and Shape on U-Mo/Al Thermal Conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Tae-Won; Sohn, Dong-Seong

2014-01-01

The thermal conductivity of atomized U-Mo/Al dispersion fuels was measured only by Lee et al. by laser-flash and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. For the U-Mo particles, they are deformed during manufacturing process such as hot rolling and during irradiation by the creep deformation. Fricke developed a model for the effective thermal conductivity of a dilute suspension of randomly oriented spheroidal particles. In general, the thermal conductivity of composite increase when the particle shape is not sphere. This model is also based on continuum theory which assumes both temperature and heat flux are continuous across the interface. Kapitza, however, showed that there is a discontinuity in temperature across the interface at metal/liquid helium interface. In general, the discontinuity is from the thermal resistance at the interface. If the thermal resistance has a significant impact on the thermal conductivity, particle size is one of the essential parameter for determining the effective thermal conductivity of composite materials. Every, et al modified Bruggeman model to consider the interfacial thermal resistance. The U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel thermal conductivity calculation can be improved by considering the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances. There have been various works to analyze the thermal conductivity through Finite Element Method (FEM). Coulson developed a realistic FEM model to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of the fuel meat. This FEM model does not consider the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances. Therefore, these effects can be evaluated by comparing the FEM calculated effective thermal conductivity with measured data. In this work, the FEM analysis was done and the anisotropic effects and interface thermal resistances was estimated. From this results, the particle shape and size effects will be discussed. Many thermal conductivity models for the particle dispersed composites have been

Characteristics Of Basaltic Sand: Size, Shape, And Composition As A Function Of Transport Process And Distance

Science.gov (United States)

Craddock, R. A.; Needell, Z. A.; Rose, T. R.

2012-04-01

quartz, feldspar, and heavy minerals commonly found in most terrestrial sedimentary deposits, basaltic sediments are composed of varying amounts of olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase, and vitric and lithic fragments. One of the few locations on Earth containing such material is the Ka'u Desert of Hawaii. This area is unique in that both eolian and fluvial sediment pathways occur in the same area, thus allowing a direct comparison of particles transported by different processes over identical distances (~20 km). We are currently documenting the physical and chemical changes that take place in basaltic sediments as they are transported by wind and water over increasing distances. This will result in an improvement in our understanding of traditional sedimentological concepts when applying them to Martian surface materials. Process: The Ka'u Desert is ~350 km2 and contains the largest basaltic dune fields on Earth. We have identified several different dune types located in various parts of the desert, including climbing and falling dunes, sand sheets, parabolic dunes (that were initially barchans), and crescentic dunes. Fluvial sediments occur as floodout deposits where ephemeral streams go from confined to unconfined flow outside the continuous Keanakako'i Formation [7]. There are also a number of sand bottom streams and playas that occur along a series of channels that extend from the Keanakako'i Formation ~20 km to the sea. We have collected samples from dunes and fluvial deposits at various locations in the Ka'u Desert, at varying distances from sources and subject to different environmental processes. In the lab, we have begun to use optical and scanning electron microscopic images to assess how grain size, shape, and angularity of individual particles change with increasing transport distances. We are also conducting point counts of particles contained within each sample to better understand how olivine, pyroxene, feldspar, and lithic and vitric fragments weather with

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape: A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.W. Winkler (Thomas W.); A.E. Justice (Anne); M.J. Graff (Maud J.L.); Barata, L. (Llilda); M.F. Feitosa (Mary Furlan); Chu, S. (Su); J. Czajkowski (Jacek); T. Esko (Tõnu); M. Fall (Magnus); T.O. Kilpeläinen (Tuomas); Y. Lu (Yingchang); R. Mägi (Reedik); E. Mihailov (Evelin); T.H. Pers (Tune); Rüeger, S. (Sina); A. Teumer (Alexander); G.B. Ehret (Georg); T. Ferreira (Teresa); N.L. Heard-Costa (Nancy); J. Karjalainen (Juha); V. Lagou (Vasiliki); A. Mahajan (Anubha); Neinast, M.D. (Michael D.); I. Prokopenko (Inga); J. Simino (Jeannette); T.M. Teslovich (Tanya M.); R. Jansen; H.J. Westra (Harm-Jan); C.C. White (Charles); D. Absher (Devin); T.S. Ahluwalia (Tarunveer Singh); S. Ahmad (Shafqat); E. Albrecht (Eva); A.C. Alves (Alexessander Couto); Bragg-Gresham, J.L. (Jennifer L.); A.J. de Craen (Anton); J.C. Bis (Joshua); A. Bonnefond (Amélie); G. Boucher (Gabrielle); G. Cadby (Gemma); Y.-C. Cheng (Yu-Ching); Chiang, C.W. (Charleston W K); G. Delgado; A. Demirkan (Ayşe); N. Dueker (Nicole); N. Eklund (Niina); G. Eiriksdottir (Gudny); J. Eriksson (Joel); B. Feenstra (Bjarke); K. Fischer (Krista); F. Frau (Francesca); T.E. Galesloot (Tessel); F. Geller (Frank); A. Goel (Anuj); M. Gorski (Mathias); T.B. Grammer (Tanja); S. Gustafsson (Stefan); Haitjema, S. (Saskia); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); J.E. Huffman (Jennifer); A.U. Jackson (Anne); K.B. Jacobs (Kevin); A. Johansson (Åsa); M. Kaakinen (Marika); M.E. Kleber (Marcus); J. Lahti (Jari); I.M. Leach (Irene Mateo); Lehne, B. (Benjamin); Liu, Y. (Youfang); K.S. Lo; M. Lorentzon (Mattias); J. Luan (Jian'An); P.A. Madden (Pamela); M. Mangino (Massimo); B. McKnight (Barbara); Medina-Gomez, C. (Carolina); K.L. Monda (Keri); M.E. Montasser (May E.); G. Müller (Gabriele); M. Müller-Nurasyid (Martina); I.M. Nolte (Ilja); Panoutsopoulou, K. (Kalliope); L. Pascoe (Laura); L. Paternoster (Lavinia); N.W. Rayner (Nigel William); F. Renström (Frida); Rizzi, F. (Federica); L.M. Rose (Lynda); Ryan, K.A. (Kathy A.); P. Salo (Perttu); S. Sanna (Serena); H. Scharnagl (Hubert); Shi, J. (Jianxin); A.V. Smith (Albert Vernon); L. Southam (Lorraine); A. Stancáková (Alena); V. Steinthorsdottir (Valgerdur); R.J. Strawbridge (Rona); Sung, Y.J. (Yun Ju); I. Tachmazidou (Ioanna); T. Tanaka (Toshiko); G. Thorleifsson (Gudmar); S. Trompet (Stella); N. Pervjakova (Natalia); J.P. Tyrer (Jonathan); L. Vandenput (Liesbeth); S.W. Van Der Laan (Sander W.); N. van der Velde (Nathalie); J. van Setten (Jessica); J.V. van Vliet-Ostaptchouk (Jana); N. Verweij (Niek); E. Vlachopoulou (Efthymia); L. Waite (Lindsay); S.R. Wang (Sophie); Z. Wang (Zhaoming); S.H. Wild (Sarah); C. Willenborg (Christina); J.F. Wilson (James); A. Wong (Andrew); Yang, J. (Jian); L. Yengo (Loic); L.M. Yerges-Armstrong (Laura); Yu, L. (Lei); W. Zhang (Weihua); Zhao, J.H. (Jing Hua); E.A. Andersson (Ehm Astrid); S.J.L. Bakker (Stephan); D. Baldassarre (Damiano); Banasik, K. (Karina); Barcella, M. (Matteo); Barlassina, C. (Cristina); C. Bellis (Claire); P. Benaglio (Paola); J. Blangero (John); M. Blüher (Matthias); Bonnet, F. (Fabrice); L.L. Bonnycastle (Lori); H.A. Boyd (Heather); M. Bruinenberg (M.); Buchman, A.S. (Aron S.); H. Campbell (Harry); Y.D. Chen (Y.); P.S. Chines (Peter); S. Claudi-Boehm (Simone); J.W. Cole (John W.); F.S. Collins (Francis); E.J.C. de Geus (Eco); L.C.P.G.M. de Groot (Lisette); M. Dimitriou (Maria); J. Duan (Jubao); S. Enroth (Stefan); E. Eury (Elodie); A.-E. Farmaki (Aliki-Eleni); N.G. Forouhi (Nita); N. Friedrich (Nele); P.V. Gejman (Pablo); B. Gigante (Bruna); N. Glorioso (Nicola); A. Go (Attie); R.F. Gottesman (Rebecca); J. Gräßler (Jürgen); H. Grallert (Harald); N. Grarup (Niels); Gu, Y.-M. (Yu-Mei); L. Broer (Linda); A.C. Ham (Annelies); T. Hansen (T.); T.B. Harris (Tamara); C.A. Hartman (Catharina A.); Hassinen, M. (Maija); N. Hastie (Nick); A.T. Hattersley (Andrew); A.C. Heath (Andrew); A.K. Henders (Anjali); D.G. Hernandez (Dena); H.L. Hillege (Hans); O.L. Holmen (Oddgeir); G.K. 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Widen; G.A.H.M. Willemsen (Gonneke); T. Wilsgaard (Tom); A.F. Wright (Alan); M.C. Zillikens (Carola); S. Van Dijk (Suzanne); N.M. van Schoor (Natasja); F.W. Asselbergs (Folkert); P.I.W. de Bakker (Paul); J.S. Beckmann (Jacques); J.P. Beilby (John); D.A. Bennett (David A.); R.N. Bergman (Richard); S.M. Bergmann (Sven); C.A. Böger (Carsten); B.O. Boehm (Bernhard); E.A. Boerwinkle (Eric); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); S.R. Bornstein (Stefan); E.P. Bottinger (Erwin); C. Bouchard (Claude); J.C. Chambers (John); S.J. Chanock (Stephen); D.I. Chasman (Daniel); F. Cucca (Francesco); D. Cusi (Daniele); G.V. Dedoussis (George); J. Erdmann (Jeanette); K. Hagen (Knut); D. Evans; U. de Faire (Ulf); M. Farrall (Martin); L. Ferrucci (Luigi); I. Ford (Ian); L. Franke (Lude); P.W. Franks (Paul); P. Froguel (Philippe); R.T. Gansevoort (Ron); C. Gieger (Christian); H. Grönberg (Henrik); V. Gudnason (Vilmundur); U. Gyllensten (Ulf); P. Hall (Per); A. Hamsten (Anders); P. van der Harst (Pim); C. Hayward (Caroline); M. Heliovaara (Markku); C. Hengstenberg (Christian); A.A. Hicks (Andrew); A. Hingorani (Aroon); A. Hofman (Albert); Hu, F. (Frank); H.V. Huikuri (Heikki); K. Hveem (Kristian); A. James (Alan); Jordan, J.M. (Joanne M.); A. Jula (Antti); M. Kähönen (Mika); E. Kajantie (Eero); S. Kathiresan (Sekar); L.A.L.M. Kiemeney (Bart); M. Kivimaki (Mika); P. Knekt; H. Koistinen (Heikki); J.S. Kooner (Jaspal S.); S. Koskinen (Seppo); J. Kuusisto (Johanna); W. Maerz (Winfried); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); M. Laakso (Markku); T.A. Lakka (Timo); T. Lehtimäki (Terho); G. Lettre (Guillaume); D.F. Levinson (Douglas); W.H.L. Kao (Wen); M.L. Lokki; Mäntyselkä, P. (Pekka); M. Melbye (Mads); A. Metspalu (Andres); B.D. Mitchell (Braxton); F.L. Moll (Frans); J.C. Murray (Jeffrey); A.W. Musk (Arthur); M.S. Nieminen (Markku); I. Njølstad (Inger); C. Ohlsson (Claes); A.J. Oldehinkel (Albertine); B.A. Oostra (Ben); C. Palmer (Cameron); J.S. Pankow (James); G. Pasterkamp (Gerard); N.L. Pedersen (Nancy); O. Pedersen (Oluf); B.W.J.H. Penninx (Brenda); M. Perola (Markus); A. Peters (Annette); O. Polasek (Ozren); P.P. Pramstaller (Peter Paul); Psaty, B.M. (Bruce M.); Qi, L. (Lu); T. Quertermous (Thomas); Raitakari, O.T. (Olli T.); T. Rankinen (Tuomo); R. Rauramaa (Rainer); P.M. Ridker (Paul); J.D. Rioux (John); F. Rivadeneira Ramirez (Fernando); J.I. Rotter (Jerome I.); I. Rudan (Igor); H.M. den Ruijter (Hester ); J. Saltevo (Juha); N. Sattar (Naveed); Schunkert, H. (Heribert); P.E.H. Schwarz (Peter); A.R. Shuldiner (Alan); J. Sinisalo (Juha); H. Snieder (Harold); T.I.A. Sørensen (Thorkild); T.D. Spector (Timothy); Staessen, J.A. (Jan A.); Stefania, B. (Bandinelli); U. Thorsteinsdottir (Unnur); M. Stumvoll (Michael); J.-C. Tardif (Jean-Claude); E. Tremoli (Elena); J. Tuomilehto (Jaakko); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); M. Uusitupa (Matti); A.L.M. Verbeek; S.H.H.M. Vermeulen (Sita); J. Viikari (Jorma); Vitart, V. (Veronique); H. Völzke (Henry); P. Vollenweider (Peter); G. Waeber (Gérard); M. Walker (Mark); H. Wallaschofski (Henri); N.J. Wareham (Nick); H. Watkins (Hugh); E. Zeggini (Eleftheria); A. Chakravarti (Aravinda); Clegg, D.J. (Deborah J.); L.A. Cupples (Adrienne); P. Gordon-Larsen (Penny); C.E. Jaquish (Cashell); D.C. Rao (Dabeeru C.); Abecasis, G.R. (Goncalo R.); T.L. Assimes (Themistocles); I.E. Barroso (Inês); S.I. Berndt (Sonja); M. Boehnke (Michael); P. Deloukas (Panagiotis); C.S. Fox (Caroline); L. Groop (Leif); D. Hunter (David); E. Ingelsson (Erik); R.C. Kaplan (Robert); McCarthy, M.I. (Mark I.); K.L. Mohlke (Karen); J.R. O´Connell; Schlessinger, D. (David); D.P. Strachan (David); J-A. Zwart (John-Anker); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); J.N. Hirschhorn (Joel); C.M. Lindgren (Cecilia M.); I.M. Heid (Iris); K.E. North (Kari); I.B. Borecki (Ingrid); Z. Kutalik (Zoltán); R.J.F. Loos (Ruth)

2015-01-01

textabstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ

Using Light Curves to Characterize Size and Shape of Pseudo-Debris

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriquez, Heather M.; Abercromby, Kira J.; Jarvis, Kandy S.; Barker, Edwin

2006-01-01

Photometric measurements were collected for a new study aimed at estimating orbital debris sizes based on object brightness. To obtain a size from optical measurements the current practice is to assume an albedo and use a normalized magnitude to calculate optical size. However, assuming a single albedo value may not be valid for all objects or orbit types; material type and orientation can mask an object s true optical cross section. This experiment used a CCD camera to record data, a 300 W Xenon, Ozone Free collimated light source to simulate solar illumination, and a robotic arm with five degrees of freedom to move the piece of simulated debris through various orientations. The pseudo-debris pieces used in this experiment originate from the European Space Operations Centre s ESOC2 ground test explosion of a mock satellite. A uniformly illuminated white ping-pong ball was used as a zero-magnitude reference. Each debris piece was then moved through specific orientations and rotations to generate a light curve. This paper discusses the results of five different object-based light curves as measured through an x-rotation. Intensity measurements, from which each light curve was generated, were recorded in five degree increments from zero to 180 degrees. Comparing light curves of different shaped and sized pieces against their characteristic length establishes the start of a database from which an optical size estimation model will be derived in the future.

Effects of shape and size of agar gels on heating uniformity during pulsed microwave treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Soto-Reyes, Nohemí; Temis-Pérez, Ana L; López-Malo, Aurelio; Rojas-Laguna, Roberto; Sosa-Morales, María Elena

2015-05-01

Model gel systems with different shape (sphere, cylinder, and slab) and size (180 and 290 g) were prepared with agar (5%) and sucrose (5%). Dielectric constant (ε'), loss factor (ε"), thermophysical properties, and temperature distribution of the model system were measured. Each agar model system was immersed and suspended in water, and then, heated in a microwave oven with intermittent heating until the core temperature reached 50 °C. The ε' and ε" of agar gels decreased when frequency increased. The density and thermal conductivity values of the agar gels were 1033 kg/m(3) and 0.55 W/m °C, respectively. The temperature distribution of sphere, cylinder, and slab was different when similar power doses were applied. The slab reached 50 °C in less time (10 min) and showed a more uniform heating than spheres and cylinders in both sizes. Agar model systems of 180 g heated faster than those of 290 g. The coldest point was the center of the model systems in all studied cases. Shape and size are critical food factors that affect the heating uniformity during microwave heating processes. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Effects of particle shape and size on nanofluid properties for potential Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tengku Mohd Tengku Amran

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR in oil and gas industry is very important to increase oil recovery and prolong the lifetime of a reservoir but it has been very costly and losing properties of EOR agent due to harsh condition. Nanoparticles have been used in EOR application since they are not degradable in reservoir condition and used in smaller amount compared to polymer usage. Commonly, EOR techniques are focusing on increasing the sweep efficiency by controlling the mobility ratio between reservoir fluid and injected fluid. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the nanofluid viscosity at different particle size and shape, volumetric concentration and types of dispersing fluid, as well as to determine the oil recovery performance at different nanofluid concentration. The nanofluid viscosity was investigated at nanoparticle sizes of 15nm and 60nm and shapes of 15nm spherical-solid and porous. Five nanofluid samples with concentration ranging from 0.1wt.% to 7wt.% were used to investigate the effect of volumetric concentration. Distilled water, ethanol, ethylene glycol (EG and brine were used for the effect of dispersing fluids. Oil recovery was investigated at five different concentrations of nanofluid samples through flooding test. It was found that viscosity of nanofluid increased with decreasing particle size and increasing volumetric concentration. Solid shape particle and increasing dispersing fluid viscosity resulted in higher nanofluid viscosity. The higher the nanofluid concentration, the higher the oil recovery obtained. It can be concluded that nanofluid properties have been significantly affected by the environment and the particle used for potential EOR application.

Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco

OpenAIRE

Hollands, Gareth J; Shemilt, Ian; Marteau, Theresa M; Jebb, Susan A; Lewis, Hannah B; Wei, Yinghui; Higgins, Julian Pt; Ogilvie, David

2015-01-01

Background Overeating and harmful alcohol and tobacco use have been linked to the aetiology of various non-communicable diseases, which are among the leading global causes of morbidity and premature mortality. As people are repeatedly exposed to varying sizes and shapes of food, alcohol and tobacco products in environments such as shops, restaurants, bars and homes, this has stimulated public health policy interest in product size and shape as potential targets for intervention. Objectives 1)...

Complex calculation and improvement of beam shaping and accelerating system of the ''Sokol'' small-size electrostatic accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonenko, A.V.; Pistryak, V.M.; Zats, A.V.; Levchenko, Yu.Z.; Kuz'menko, V.V.

1987-01-01

Features of charged particle accelerated beam shaping in the electrostatic part of the ''Sokol'' small-size accelerator are considered in complex taking into account the electrode real geometry. Effect of the extracting, accelerating electorde potential and accelerator total voltage on beam behaviour is investigated. A modified variation of the beam shaping system, allowing to decrease 2 times the required interval of accelerating electrode potential adjustment and to decrease the beam size in the starting acceleration region, is presented. It permits to simplify the construction and to improve accelerator operation. Comparison of experimental and calculational data on the beam in the improved accelerator variation is carried out. Effect of peripheral parts of accelerating tube electrodes on the beam is investigated

Mass size distribution of particle-bound water

Science.gov (United States)

Canepari, S.; Simonetti, G.; Perrino, C.

2017-09-01

The thermal-ramp Karl-Fisher method (tr-KF) for the determination of PM-bound water has been applied to size-segregated PM samples collected in areas subjected to different environmental conditions (protracted atmospheric stability, desert dust intrusion, urban atmosphere). This method, based on the use of a thermal ramp for the desorption of water from PM samples and the subsequent analysis by the coulometric KF technique, had been previously shown to differentiate water contributes retained with different strength and associated to different chemical components in the atmospheric aerosol. The application of the method to size-segregated samples has revealed that water showed a typical mass size distribution in each one of the three environmental situations that were taken into consideration. A very similar size distribution was shown by the chemical PM components that prevailed during each event: ammonium nitrate in the case of atmospheric stability, crustal species in the case of desert dust, road-dust components in the case of urban sites. The shape of the tr-KF curve varied according to the size of the collected particles. Considering the size ranges that better characterize the event (fine fraction for atmospheric stability, coarse fraction for dust intrusion, bi-modal distribution for urban dust), this shape is coherent with the typical tr-KF shape shown by water bound to the chemical species that predominate in the same PM size range (ammonium nitrate, crustal species, secondary/combustion species - road dust components).

Shape-forming and densification of ceramic superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prakash, Om; Thomas, C.A.; Magadum, A.P.; Anklekar, R.M.; Khosla, N.K.; Kumar, Sunil; Chaudhuri, B.; Ramesh, M.; Rao, B.T.; Rama Mohan, T.R.

1991-01-01

Processing studies on varied shape-forming and densification of bulk ceramic superconductor, YBa 2 Cu 3 Osub(7-δ), are reported in this paper. Polyvinyl butyral-polyethylene glycol-trichloroethylene has been found to be the best binder-plasticizer-solvent system in plastic shape-forming. The effect of initial particle morphology on final densification has been the most sensitive single parameter as compared to compaction pressure and final sintering durations at ∼930degC. 1-2-3 powders of mean particle size ∼1.94μm have yielded sintered densities ∼92%T.D. albeit with lower oxygen intake Osub(6.7). (author). 8 refs., 8 figs

Generalized Bragg-Williams model for the size-dependent order-disorder transition of bimetallic nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Y J; Qi, W H; Wang, M P; Liu, J F; Xiong, S Y; Huang, B Y

2011-01-01

Considering the different effects of exterior atoms (face, edge and corner atoms), the Bragg-Williams model is generalized to account for the size, shape and composition-dependent order-disorder transition of bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with B 2 , L1 0 and L1 2 ordered structures. The results show that the order-disorder temperatures T C,p are different for different shapes even in the identical particle size. The order of order-disorder temperatures of different shapes varies for different sizes. The long-range order parameter decreases with the increase in temperature in all size ranges and decreases smoothly in large sizes, but drops dramatically in small sizes. Moreover, it is also found that the order-disorder temperature of bimetallic NPs rises with increasing particle sizes and decreases with a deviation from the ideal compositions. The present predictions are consistent with the available literature results, indicating its capability in predicting other order-disorder transition phenomena of bimetallic NPs.

Preliminary quantification of a shape model for etch-pits formed during natural weathering of olivine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowicki, M. Anna; Velbel, Michael A.

2011-01-01

Many etch-pits on olivine grains occur as a pair of cone-shaped pits sharing a base, which consequently appear as diamond-shaped etch-pits in cross-section. Quantitative image analysis of back-scattered electron images establishes empirical dimensions of olivine etch-pits in naturally weathered samples from Hawaii and North Carolina. Images of naturally etched olivine were acquired from polished thin-sections by scanning electron microscopy. An average cone-radius-to-height ratio (r:h) of 1.78 was determined for diamond-shaped cross-sections of etch-pits occurring in naturally weathered olivine grains, largely consistent with previous qualitative results. Olivine etch-pit shape as represented by r:h varies from slightly more than half the average value to slightly more than twice the average. Etch-pit shape does not appear to vary systematically with etch-pit size.

Comparison of Two Methods Used to Model Shape Parameters of Pareto Distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, C.; Charpentier, R.R.; Su, J.

2011-01-01

Two methods are compared for estimating the shape parameters of Pareto field-size (or pool-size) distributions for petroleum resource assessment. Both methods assume mature exploration in which most of the larger fields have been discovered. Both methods use the sizes of larger discovered fields to estimate the numbers and sizes of smaller fields: (1) the tail-truncated method uses a plot of field size versus size rank, and (2) the log-geometric method uses data binned in field-size classes and the ratios of adjacent bin counts. Simulation experiments were conducted using discovered oil and gas pool-size distributions from four petroleum systems in Alberta, Canada and using Pareto distributions generated by Monte Carlo simulation. The estimates of the shape parameters of the Pareto distributions, calculated by both the tail-truncated and log-geometric methods, generally stabilize where discovered pool numbers are greater than 100. However, with fewer than 100 discoveries, these estimates can vary greatly with each new discovery. The estimated shape parameters of the tail-truncated method are more stable and larger than those of the log-geometric method where the number of discovered pools is more than 100. Both methods, however, tend to underestimate the shape parameter. Monte Carlo simulation was also used to create sequences of discovered pool sizes by sampling from a Pareto distribution with a discovery process model using a defined exploration efficiency (in order to show how biased the sampling was in favor of larger fields being discovered first). A higher (more biased) exploration efficiency gives better estimates of the Pareto shape parameters. ?? 2011 International Association for Mathematical Geosciences.

Evolutionary morphology in shape and size of haptoral anchors in 14 Ligophorus spp. (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae).

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-González, Abril; Sarabeev, Volodimir; Balbuena, Juan Antonio

2017-01-01

The search for phylogenetic signal in morphological traits using geometric morphometrics represents a powerful approach to estimate the relative weights of convergence and shared evolutionary history in shaping organismal form. We assessed phylogenetic signal in the form of ventral and dorsal haptoral anchors of 14 species of Ligophorus occurring on grey mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae) from the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The phylogenetic relationships among these species were mapped onto the morphospaces of shape and size of dorsal and ventral anchors and two different tests were applied to establish whether the spatial positions in the morphospace were dictated by chance. Overall significant phylogenetic signal was found in the data. Allometric effects on anchor shape were moderate or non-significant in the case of evolutionary allometry. Relatively phylogenetically distant species occurring on the same host differed markedly in anchor morphology indicating little influence of host species on anchor form. Our results suggest that common descent and shared evolutionary history play a major role in determining the shape and, to a lesser degree in the size of haptoral anchors in Ligophorus spp. The present approach allowed tracing paths of morphological evolution in anchor shape. Species with narrow anchors and long shafts were associated predominately with Liza saliens. This morphology was considered to be ancestral relative to anchors of species occurring on Liza haematocheila and M. cephalus possessing shorter shafts and longer roots. Evidence for phylogenetic signal was more compelling for the ventral anchors, than for the dorsal ones, which could reflect different functional roles in attachment to the gills. Although phylogeny and homoplasy may act differently in other monogeneans, the present study delivers a common framework to address effectively the relationships among morphology, phylogeny and other traits, such as host specificity

Evolutionary morphology in shape and size of haptoral anchors in 14 Ligophorus spp. (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abril Rodríguez-González

Full Text Available The search for phylogenetic signal in morphological traits using geometric morphometrics represents a powerful approach to estimate the relative weights of convergence and shared evolutionary history in shaping organismal form. We assessed phylogenetic signal in the form of ventral and dorsal haptoral anchors of 14 species of Ligophorus occurring on grey mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae from the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The phylogenetic relationships among these species were mapped onto the morphospaces of shape and size of dorsal and ventral anchors and two different tests were applied to establish whether the spatial positions in the morphospace were dictated by chance. Overall significant phylogenetic signal was found in the data. Allometric effects on anchor shape were moderate or non-significant in the case of evolutionary allometry. Relatively phylogenetically distant species occurring on the same host differed markedly in anchor morphology indicating little influence of host species on anchor form. Our results suggest that common descent and shared evolutionary history play a major role in determining the shape and, to a lesser degree in the size of haptoral anchors in Ligophorus spp. The present approach allowed tracing paths of morphological evolution in anchor shape. Species with narrow anchors and long shafts were associated predominately with Liza saliens. This morphology was considered to be ancestral relative to anchors of species occurring on Liza haematocheila and M. cephalus possessing shorter shafts and longer roots. Evidence for phylogenetic signal was more compelling for the ventral anchors, than for the dorsal ones, which could reflect different functional roles in attachment to the gills. Although phylogeny and homoplasy may act differently in other monogeneans, the present study delivers a common framework to address effectively the relationships among morphology, phylogeny and other traits, such

Size- and Shape-Dependent Antibacterial Studies of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Wet Chemical Routes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Akram Raza

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs of different shapes and sizes were prepared by solution-based chemical reduction routes. Silver nitrate was used as a precursor, tri-sodium citrate (TSC and sodium borohydride as reducing agents, while polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP was used as a stabilizing agent. The morphology, size, and structural properties of obtained nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS, and X-ray diffraction (XRD techniques. Spherical AgNPs, as depicted by SEM, were found to have diameters in the range of 15 to 90 nm while lengths of the edges of the triangular particles were about 150 nm. The characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR peaks of different spherical silver colloids occurring in the wavelength range of 397 to 504 nm, whereas triangular particles showed two peaks, first at 392 nm and second at 789 nm as measured by UV-VIS. The XRD spectra of the prepared samples indicated the face-centered cubic crystalline structure of metallic AgNPs. The in vitro antibacterial properties of all synthesized AgNPs against two types of Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were examined by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility method. It was noticed that the smallest-sized spherical AgNPs demonstrated a better antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains as compared to the triangular and larger spherical shaped AgNPs.

Set Size, Individuation, and Attention to Shape

Science.gov (United States)

Cantrell, Lisa; Smith, Linda B.

2013-01-01

Much research has demonstrated a shape bias in categorizing and naming solid objects. This research has shown that when an entity is conceptualized as an individual object, adults and children attend to the object's shape. Separate research in the domain of numerical cognition suggest that there are distinct processes for quantifying small and…

Assessment of tricuspid valve annulus size, shape and function using real-time three-dimensional echocardiography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.M. Anwar (Ashraf); M.L. Geleijnse (Marcel); F.J. ten Cate (Folkert); F.J. Meijboom (Folkert)

2006-01-01

textabstractTricuspid annulus (TA) evaluation continues to be a major problem in the surgical decision-making process. Obviously, 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2D TTE) is limited in TA visualization due to its complex 3D shape. The study aimed to determine TA morphology, size and

Effect of grain size on superelasticity in Fe-Mn-Al-Ni shape memory alloy wire

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T. Omori

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Effects of grain size on superelastic properties in Fe-34Mn-15Al-7.5Ni alloy wires with a ⟨110⟩ fiber-texture were investigated by cyclic tensile tests. It was confirmed that the critical stress for induced martensitic transformation and the superelastic strain are functions of relative grain size d/D (d: mean grain diameter, D: wire diameter, and that the critical stress is proportional to (1–d/D2 as well as in Cu-based shape memory alloys. A large superelastic strain of about 5% was obtained in the specimen with a large relative grain size over d/D = 1.

Synthesis of different-sized silver nanoparticles by simply varying reaction conditions with leaf extracts of Bauhinia variegata L.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, V; Yadav, S K

2012-03-01

Green synthesis of nanoparticles is one of the crucial requirements in today's climate change scenario all over the world. In view of this, leaf extract (LE) of Bauhinia variegata L. possessing strong antidiabetic and antibacterial properties has been used to synthesise silver nanoparticles (SNP) in a controlled manner. Various-sized SNP (20-120 nm) were synthesised by varying incubation temperature, silver nitrate and LE concentrations. The rate of SNP synthesis and their size increased with increase in AgNO(3) concentration up to 4 mM. With increase in LE concentration, size and aggregation of SNP was increased. The size and aggregation of SNP were also increased at temperatures above and below 40°C. This has suggested that size and dispersion of SNP can be controlled by varying reaction components and conditions. Polarity-based fractionation of B. variegata LE has suggested that only water-soluble fraction is responsible for SNP synthesis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed the attachment of polyphenolic and carbohydrate moieties to SNP. The synthesised SNPs were found stable in double distilled water, BSA and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). On the contrary, incubation of SNP with NaCl induced aggregation. This suggests the safe use of SNP for various in vivo applications.

Template-directed nucleation and growth of CdS nanocrystal: the role of helical and nonhelical nanofibers on their shape and size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, Partha Pratim; Banerjee, Arindam

2010-01-01

This study describes the use of chiral nature of synthetic self-assembled nanofibers for nucleation and growth of Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystals with different sizes and shapes in room temperature. The templates are built by immobilizing a peptide capping agent on the surface of synthetic self-assembled helical or nonhelical nanofibers and CdS nanocrystals were allowed to grow on them. It is observed that there are differences in shapes and sizes of the nanocrystals depending on the chiral nature of the nanofibers on which they were growing. Even the CdS nanocrystals grown on different chiral and achiral nanofibers differ markedly in their photoluminescence properties. Thus, here we introduce a new way of using chirality of nanofibers to nucleate and grow CdS nanocrystals of different shape, size, and optical property.

Application of geometric morphometrics to the study of postnatal size and shape changes in the skull of Calomys expulsus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika Hingst-Zaher

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract We analyzed ontogenetic patterns of landmarks for 169 laboratory-raised specimens of Calomys expulsus, at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, and 300 days of age, using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics. There is sexual dimorphism in size, with males smaller than females at earlier ages, but larger after 50 days. Differences in shape between sexes are strong only until 10 days of age, suggesting that shape is more constrained than size. Combining sexes, there is strong variation in size with age, reduced after 200 days, while most of the variation in shape occurs before 20 days. This dissociation is common for sigmodontine rodents, and might be the basis of heterochronic processes responsible for the morphological variation of this South American group. Centroid size does not show any reduction in the coefficient of variation over ages, while Procrustes distances within sucessive ages are reduced after 20 days. Uniform component and the more global partial warps explain most of the shape changes with age. Cranial and Facial parts of the skull increase in size at different rates with a relative lengthening of the snout and decrease in height of the braincase. We were unable to detect a clear pattern of integration for the rostrum and braincase, besides that shown by landmark displacements.

Distribution and predictors of wing shape and size variability in three sister species of solitary bees.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Dellicour

Full Text Available Morphological traits can be highly variable over time in a particular geographical area. Different selective pressures shape those traits, which is crucial in evolutionary biology. Among these traits, insect wing morphometry has already been widely used to describe phenotypic variability at the inter-specific level. On the contrary, fewer studies have focused on intra-specific wing morphometric variability. Yet, such investigations are relevant to study potential convergences of variation that could highlight micro-evolutionary processes. The recent sampling and sequencing of three solitary bees of the genus Melitta across their entire species range provides an excellent opportunity to jointly analyse genetic and morphometric variability. In the present study, we first aim to analyse the spatial distribution of the wing shape and centroid size (used as a proxy for body size variability. Secondly, we aim to test different potential predictors of this variability at both the intra- and inter-population levels, which includes genetic variability, but also geographic locations and distances, elevation, annual mean temperature and precipitation. The comparison of spatial distribution of intra-population morphometric diversity does not reveal any convergent pattern between species, thus undermining the assumption of a potential local and selective adaptation at the population level. Regarding intra-specific wing shape differentiation, our results reveal that some tested predictors, such as geographic and genetic distances, are associated with a significant correlation for some species. However, none of these predictors are systematically identified for the three species as an important factor that could explain the intra-specific morphometric variability. As a conclusion, for the three solitary bee species and at the scale of this study, our results clearly tend to discard the assumption of the existence of a common pattern of intra-specific signal

Distribution and predictors of wing shape and size variability in three sister species of solitary bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Dellicour, Simon; Gerard, Maxence; Prunier, Jérôme G; Dewulf, Alexandre; Kuhlmann, Michael; Michez, Denis

2017-01-01

Morphological traits can be highly variable over time in a particular geographical area. Different selective pressures shape those traits, which is crucial in evolutionary biology. Among these traits, insect wing morphometry has already been widely used to describe phenotypic variability at the inter-specific level. On the contrary, fewer studies have focused on intra-specific wing morphometric variability. Yet, such investigations are relevant to study potential convergences of variation that could highlight micro-evolutionary processes. The recent sampling and sequencing of three solitary bees of the genus Melitta across their entire species range provides an excellent opportunity to jointly analyse genetic and morphometric variability. In the present study, we first aim to analyse the spatial distribution of the wing shape and centroid size (used as a proxy for body size) variability. Secondly, we aim to test different potential predictors of this variability at both the intra- and inter-population levels, which includes genetic variability, but also geographic locations and distances, elevation, annual mean temperature and precipitation. The comparison of spatial distribution of intra-population morphometric diversity does not reveal any convergent pattern between species, thus undermining the assumption of a potential local and selective adaptation at the population level. Regarding intra-specific wing shape differentiation, our results reveal that some tested predictors, such as geographic and genetic distances, are associated with a significant correlation for some species. However, none of these predictors are systematically identified for the three species as an important factor that could explain the intra-specific morphometric variability. As a conclusion, for the three solitary bee species and at the scale of this study, our results clearly tend to discard the assumption of the existence of a common pattern of intra-specific signal/structure within the

Shape and size controlled synthesis of Au nanorods: H{sub 2}S gas-sensing characterizations and antibacterial application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lanh, Le Thi [College of Sciences, Hue University, 77 Nguyen Hue, Hue City (Viet Nam); Hoa, Tran Thai, E-mail: trthaihoa@yahoo.com [College of Sciences, Hue University, 77 Nguyen Hue, Hue City (Viet Nam); Cuong, Nguyen Duc [College of Sciences, Hue University, 77 Nguyen Hue, Hue City (Viet Nam); Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University, 22 Lam Hoang, Hue City (Viet Nam); Khieu, Dinh Quang [College of Sciences, Hue University, 77 Nguyen Hue, Hue City (Viet Nam); Quang, Duong Tuan [College of Education, Hue University, 34 Le Loi, Hue City (Viet Nam); Van Duy, Nguyen; Hoa, Nguyen Duc [International Training Institute for Materials Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi (Viet Nam); Van Hieu, Nguyen, E-mail: hieu@itims.edu.vn [International Training Institute for Materials Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi (Viet Nam)

2015-06-25

Highlights: • We have demonstrated a facile method to prepare colloid Au nanorods. • The size and shape of Au nanorods can be controlled via seed-mediated growth method. • The H{sub 2}S gas-sensing properties have been investigated. • The antibacterial application has been conducted. - Abstract: Controlling their size and shape is one of the important issues in the fundamental study and application of colloidal metal nanoparticles. In the current study, different sizes and shapes of Au nanorods were fabricated using a seed-mediated growth method. Material characterization by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the obtained products were made of single-crystal Au nanorods with an average diameter and length of 10 nm and 40 nm, respectively. The Au nanorod-based sensor exhibited significantly high sensitivity and fast response/recovery time to low concentrations (2.5–10 ppm) of H{sub 2}S at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 400 °C. Additionally, they exhibited antibacterial effect at low concentration. These results suggested that the fabricated Au nanorods have excellent potential for practical application in air pollution monitoring and biomedicine.

Prospective assessment of pituitary size and shape on MR imaging after suppressive hormonal therapy in central precocious puberty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beek, J.T. van; Sharafuddin, M.J.A.; Kao, S.C.S. [Department of Radiology-JPP 3889, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52246 (United States); Luisiri, A. [Cardinal Glennon Children' s Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Garibaldi, L.R. [Children' s Hospital of New Jersey, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey (United States); St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, New Jersey (United States)

2000-07-01

Objective. The diagnostic significance of an enlarged pituitary gland regarding both shape and size parameters on MR imaging has previously been demonstrated in children with central precocious puberty. This study was designed to assess changes in these parameters following successful suppressive therapy of central precocious puberty with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue. Materials and methods. Twelve girls (mean age 7.3 years) with central precocious puberty were prospectively enrolled in our study protocol. Sagittal and coronal MR images of the pituitary region were obtained in all patients before treatment and after at least 6 months of GnRH analogue therapy (mean 18.0 months). Parameters measured included pituitary gland height, length, width, sagittal cross-sectional area, and volume. Results. All patients had excellent clinical response to treatment with arrest of secondary sexual development, normalization of serum estradiol levels, and complete obliteration of the LH response to diagnostic GnRH stimulation. No significant change occurred in any pituitary size or shape parameter following GnRH analogue therapy. Conclusion. Favorable clinical response to GnRH analogue therapy in central precocious puberty is not accompanied by significant a change in pituitary gland size and shape. (orig.)

Prospective assessment of pituitary size and shape on MR imaging after suppressive hormonal therapy in central precocious puberty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beek, J.T. van; Sharafuddin, M.J.A.; Kao, S.C.S.; Luisiri, A.; Garibaldi, L.R.

2000-01-01

Objective. The diagnostic significance of an enlarged pituitary gland regarding both shape and size parameters on MR imaging has previously been demonstrated in children with central precocious puberty. This study was designed to assess changes in these parameters following successful suppressive therapy of central precocious puberty with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue. Materials and methods. Twelve girls (mean age 7.3 years) with central precocious puberty were prospectively enrolled in our study protocol. Sagittal and coronal MR images of the pituitary region were obtained in all patients before treatment and after at least 6 months of GnRH analogue therapy (mean 18.0 months). Parameters measured included pituitary gland height, length, width, sagittal cross-sectional area, and volume. Results. All patients had excellent clinical response to treatment with arrest of secondary sexual development, normalization of serum estradiol levels, and complete obliteration of the LH response to diagnostic GnRH stimulation. No significant change occurred in any pituitary size or shape parameter following GnRH analogue therapy. Conclusion. Favorable clinical response to GnRH analogue therapy in central precocious puberty is not accompanied by significant a change in pituitary gland size and shape. (orig.)

Understanding the shape of the Earth and measuring its size

Science.gov (United States)

Baltatzis, Evangelos; Galanaki, Angeliki

2016-04-01

Most elementary students have problems and misconceptions regarding the shape of the Earth. Teachers often contribute to this confusion telling the students that the Earth is almost spherical, but not explaining to them, how the Earth can be spherical while it appears. It would be helpful for students to understand how humanity came with the idea of the spherical Earth (to be precise the Earth is ellipsoid). Historically, most cultures describe the Earth as flat. That changes with the ancient Greek culture. We don't know exactly how the Greeks first understood the spherical shape of the Earth, but some Greek philosophers give some arguments why the Earth must be a sphere. We can discuss these arguments and observations with the students. First, if someone travels in the south, he can see the southern constellations rise higher above the horizon. We can give students pictures of the night sky in southern regions and compare them with observations of ''their'' night sky. Second, in the lunar eclipse we can see the round shadow of the Earth. Third, whenever a ship is on the horizon, his low part is invisible . This is known as "hull-down". Moreover, the low part of mountains is invisible from the sea, due to the curvature of the Earth. It is always better to make these observations in real life but it can also be done via videos and pictures. The realization of the spherical shape of the Earth was sine qua non for the first good measurement of its size. In the second part of the project, following the ancient mathematician Eratosthenes's steps, students can measure the size of the Earth, , find pleasure in doing experimental work and realize how important mathematics is in everyday life. Two sticks, situated a long distance away from each other, can give us approximately the circumference , the radius and the diameter of the Earth. Eratosthenes used geometry combined to the knowledge of ancient Greek culture that the Earth is spherical (360°). He knew the distance

Influence of the particle size on phase transformation temperatures of Ni-49at.%Ti shape memory alloy powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anselmo, George Carlos. S.; Castro, Walman B. de; Araujo, Carlos Jose de

2009-01-01

It is important to control the martensitic transformation start temperature (Ms) of Ti-Ni alloys because it determines the temperature range over which the shape memory effect and superelasticity appear. Powder metallurgy (PM) is known to provide the possibility of material saving and automated fabrication of at least semi-finished products as well as net-shape components for NiTi alloys. In this study powder with different particle sizes was subjected by gas atomization. The evolution of the control the martensitic transformation start temperature (Ms) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The effect of the particle size of powders on the transformation temperatures behaviors was discussed. (author)

Deposition of Nanostructured Thin Film from Size-Classified Nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Camata, Renato P.; Cunningham, Nicholas C.; Seol, Kwang Soo; Okada, Yoshiki; Takeuchi, Kazuo

2003-01-01

Materials comprising nanometer-sized grains (approximately 1_50 nm) exhibit properties dramatically different from those of their homogeneous and uniform counterparts. These properties vary with size, shape, and composition of nanoscale grains. Thus, nanoparticles may be used as building blocks to engineer tailor-made artificial materials with desired properties, such as non-linear optical absorption, tunable light emission, charge-storage behavior, selective catalytic activity, and countless other characteristics. This bottom-up engineering approach requires exquisite control over nanoparticle size, shape, and composition. We describe the design and characterization of an aerosol system conceived for the deposition of size classified nanoparticles whose performance is consistent with these strict demands. A nanoparticle aerosol is generated by laser ablation and sorted according to size using a differential mobility analyzer. Nanoparticles within a chosen window of sizes (e.g., (8.0 plus or minus 0.6) nm) are deposited electrostatically on a surface forming a film of the desired material. The system allows the assembly and engineering of thin films using size-classified nanoparticles as building blocks.

Dissection of Genetic Factors underlying Wheat Kernel Shape and Size in an Elite × Nonadapted Cross using a High Density SNP Linkage Map

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay Kumar

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Wheat kernel shape and size has been under selection since early domestication. Kernel morphology is a major consideration in wheat breeding, as it impacts grain yield and quality. A population of 160 recombinant inbred lines (RIL, developed using an elite (ND 705 and a nonadapted genotype (PI 414566, was extensively phenotyped in replicated field trials and genotyped using Infinium iSelect 90K assay to gain insight into the genetic architecture of kernel shape and size. A high density genetic map consisting of 10,172 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP markers, with an average marker density of 0.39 cM/marker, identified a total of 29 genomic regions associated with six grain shape and size traits; ∼80% of these regions were associated with multiple traits. The analyses showed that kernel length (KL and width (KW are genetically independent, while a large number (∼59% of the quantitative trait loci (QTL for kernel shape traits were in common with genomic regions associated with kernel size traits. The most significant QTL was identified on chromosome 4B, and could be an ortholog of major rice grain size and shape gene or . Major and stable loci also were identified on the homeologous regions of Group 5 chromosomes, and in the regions of (6A and (7A genes. Both parental genotypes contributed equivalent positive QTL alleles, suggesting that the nonadapted germplasm has a great potential for enhancing the gene pool for grain shape and size. This study provides new knowledge on the genetic dissection of kernel morphology, with a much higher resolution, which may aid further improvement in wheat yield and quality using genomic tools.

Hydrodynamic discrimination of wakes caused by objects of different size or shape in a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wieskotten, S.; Mauck, B.; Miersch, L.

2011-01-01

Harbour seals can use their mystacial vibrissae to detect and track hydrodynamic wakes. We investigated the ability of a harbour seal to discriminate objects of different size or shape by their hydrodynamic signature and used particle image velocimetry to identify the hydrodynamic parameters...... that a seal may be using to do so. Hydrodynamic trails were generated by different sized or shaped paddles that were moved in the calm water of an experimental box to produce a characteristic signal. In a two-alternative forced-choice procedure the blindfolded subject was able to discriminate size differences...... of down to 3.6. cm (Weber fraction 0.6) when paddles were moved at the same speed. Furthermore the subject distinguished hydrodynamic signals generated by flat, cylindrical, triangular or undulated paddles of the same width. Particle image velocimetry measurements demonstrated that the seal could have...

Foraging Habitat Distributions Affect Territory Size and Shape in the Tuamotu Kingfisher

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dylan C. Kesler

2012-01-01

Full Text Available I studied factors influencing territory configuration in the Tuamotu kingfisher (Todiramphus gambieri. Radiotelemetry data were used to define territory boundaries, and I tested for effects on territory size and shape of landscape habitat composition and foraging patch configuration. Tuamotu kingfisher territories were larger in areas with reduced densities of coconut plantation foraging habitat, and territories were less circular in the study site that had a single slender patch of foraging habitat. Maximum territory length did not differ between study sites, however, which suggested that the size of Tuamotu kingfisher territories might be bounded by the combined influence of maximum travel distances and habitat configurations. Results also suggested that birds enlarge territories as they age. Together, results supported previous work indicating that territory configurations represent a balance between the costs of defending a territory and gains from territory ownership.

Ion guiding in macro-size insulating capillaries: straight, tapered, and curved shapes

Science.gov (United States)

Kojima, Takao M.

2018-02-01

When keV energy ions are injected into a tilted insulating capillary, a certain fraction of the injected ions are transported through the tilt angle of the capillary. This ion guiding phenomenon is considered to be caused by a self-organizing charge distribution, where the inner wall of the capillary becomes charged by initial incoming ions. The charge distribution, which is formed, can guide following ions toward the exit of the capillary. Since the initial discovery of this effect, studies of ion guiding by insulating capillaries have been extended to various materials, and different sizes and shapes of capillaries. In recent years, some investigations of the guiding effect of macro-size curved capillaries have also been reported. In this review, relevant studies in a history of ion guiding in curved capillaries are discussed and future directions in this field are considered.

Development of a multi-lane X-ray mirror providing variable beam sizes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laundy, D., E-mail: david.laundy@diamond.ac.uk; Sawhney, K.; Nistea, I.; Alcock, S. G.; Pape, I.; Sutter, J.; Alianelli, L.; Evans, G. [Diamond Light Source Ltd., Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

2016-05-15

Grazing incidence mirrors are used on most X-ray synchrotron beamlines to focus, collimate or suppress harmonics. Increasingly beamline users are demanding variable beam shapes and sizes at the sample position. We have now developed a new concept to rapidly vary the beam size and shape of a focused X-ray beam. The surface of an elliptically figured mirror is divided into a number of laterally separated lanes, each of which is given an additional longitudinal height profile calculated to shape the X-ray beam to a top-hat profile in the focal plane. We have now fabricated two prototype mirrors and present the results of metrology tests and measurements made with one of the mirrors focusing the X-rays on a synchrotron beamline. We envisage that such mirrors could be widely applied to rapid beam-size switching on many synchrotron beamlines.

A simple shape-free model for pore-size estimation with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wada, Ken; Hyodo, Toshio

2013-01-01

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy is one of the methods for estimating pore size in insulating materials. We present a shape-free model to be used conveniently for such analysis. A basic model in classical picture is modified by introducing a parameter corresponding to an effective size of the positronium (Ps). This parameter is adjusted so that its Ps-lifetime to pore-size relation merges smoothly with that of the well-established Tao-Eldrup model (with modification involving the intrinsic Ps annihilation rate) applicable to very small pores. The combined model, i.e., modified Tao-Eldrup model for smaller pores and the modified classical model for larger pores, agrees surprisingly well with the quantum-mechanics based extended Tao-Eldrup model, which deals with Ps trapped in and thermally equilibrium with a rectangular pore.

A simple shape-free model for pore-size estimation with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Ken; Hyodo, Toshio

2013-06-01

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy is one of the methods for estimating pore size in insulating materials. We present a shape-free model to be used conveniently for such analysis. A basic model in classical picture is modified by introducing a parameter corresponding to an effective size of the positronium (Ps). This parameter is adjusted so that its Ps-lifetime to pore-size relation merges smoothly with that of the well-established Tao-Eldrup model (with modification involving the intrinsic Ps annihilation rate) applicable to very small pores. The combined model, i.e., modified Tao-Eldrup model for smaller pores and the modified classical model for larger pores, agrees surprisingly well with the quantum-mechanics based extended Tao-Eldrup model, which deals with Ps trapped in and thermally equilibrium with a rectangular pore.

Investigating the size, shape and surface roughness dependence of polarization lidars with light-scattering computations on real mineral dust particles: Application to dust particles' external mixtures and dust mass concentration retrievals

Science.gov (United States)

Mehri, Tahar; Kemppinen, Osku; David, Grégory; Lindqvist, Hannakaisa; Tyynelä, Jani; Nousiainen, Timo; Rairoux, Patrick; Miffre, Alain

2018-05-01

Our understanding of the contribution of mineral dust to the Earth's radiative budget is limited by the complexity of these particles, which present a wide range of sizes, are highly-irregularly shaped, and are present in the atmosphere in the form of particle mixtures. To address the spatial distribution of mineral dust and atmospheric dust mass concentrations, polarization lidars are nowadays frequently used, with partitioning algorithms allowing to discern the contribution of mineral dust in two or three-component particle external mixtures. In this paper, we investigate the dependence of the retrieved dust backscattering (βd) vertical profiles with the dust particle size and shape. For that, new light-scattering numerical simulations are performed on real atmospheric mineral dust particles, having determined mineralogy (CAL, DOL, AGG, SIL), derived from stereogrammetry (stereo-particles), with potential surface roughness, which are compared to the widely-used spheroidal mathematical shape model. For each dust shape model (smooth stereo-particles, rough stereo-particles, spheroids), the dust depolarization, backscattering Ångström exponent, lidar ratio are computed for two size distributions representative of mineral dust after long-range transport. As an output, two Saharan dust outbreaks involving mineral dust in two, then three-component particle mixtures are studied with Lyon (France) UV-VIS polarization lidar. If the dust size matters most, under certain circumstances, βd can vary by approximately 67% when real dust stereo-particles are used instead of spheroids, corresponding to variations in the dust backscattering coefficient as large as 2 Mm- 1·sr- 1. Moreover, the influence of surface roughness in polarization lidar retrievals is for the first time discussed. Finally, dust mass-extinction conversion factors (ηd) are evaluated for each assigned shape model and dust mass concentrations are retrieved from polarization lidar measurements. From

Retinal response of Macaca mulatta to picosecond laser pulses of varying energy and spot size.

Science.gov (United States)

Roach, William P; Cain, Clarence P; Narayan, Drew G; Noojin, Gary D; Boppart, Stephen A; Birngruber, Reginald; Fujimoto, James G; Toth, Cynthia A

2004-01-01

We investigate the relationship between the laser beam at the retina (spot size) and the extent of retinal injury from single ultrashort laser pulses. From previous studies it is believed that the retinal effect of single 3-ps laser pulses should vary in extent and location, depending on the occurrence of laser-induced breakdown (LIB) at the site of laser delivery. Single 3-ps pulses of 580-nm laser energy are delivered over a range of spot sizes to the retina of Macaca mulatta. The retinal response is captured sequentially with optical coherence tomography (OCT). The in vivo OCT images and the extent of pathology on final microscopic sections of the laser site are compared. With delivery of a laser pulse with peak irradiance greater than that required for LIB, OCT and light micrographs demonstrate inner retinal injury with many intraretinal and/or vitreous hemorrhages. In contrast, broad outer retinal injury with minimal to no choriocapillaris effect is seen after delivery of laser pulses to a larger retinal area (60 to 300 microm diam) when peak irradiance is less than that required for LIB. The broader lesions extend into the inner retina when higher energy delivery produces intraretinal injury. Microscopic examination of stained fixed tissues provide better resolution of retinal morphology than OCT. OCT provides less resolution but could be guided over an in vivo, visible retinal lesion for repeated sampling over time during the evolution of the lesion formation. For 3-ps visible wavelength laser pulses, varying the spot size and laser energy directly affects the extent of retinal injury. This again is believed to be partly due to the onset of LIB, as seen in previous studies. Spot-size dependence should be considered when comparing studies of retinal effects or when pursuing a specific retinal effect from ultrashort laser pulses. Copyright 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Dissection of Genetic Factors underlying Wheat Kernel Shape and Size in an Elite × Nonadapted Cross using a High Density SNP Linkage Map.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ajay; Mantovani, E E; Seetan, R; Soltani, A; Echeverry-Solarte, M; Jain, S; Simsek, S; Doehlert, D; Alamri, M S; Elias, E M; Kianian, S F; Mergoum, M

2016-03-01

Wheat kernel shape and size has been under selection since early domestication. Kernel morphology is a major consideration in wheat breeding, as it impacts grain yield and quality. A population of 160 recombinant inbred lines (RIL), developed using an elite (ND 705) and a nonadapted genotype (PI 414566), was extensively phenotyped in replicated field trials and genotyped using Infinium iSelect 90K assay to gain insight into the genetic architecture of kernel shape and size. A high density genetic map consisting of 10,172 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, with an average marker density of 0.39 cM/marker, identified a total of 29 genomic regions associated with six grain shape and size traits; ∼80% of these regions were associated with multiple traits. The analyses showed that kernel length (KL) and width (KW) are genetically independent, while a large number (∼59%) of the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for kernel shape traits were in common with genomic regions associated with kernel size traits. The most significant QTL was identified on chromosome 4B, and could be an ortholog of major rice grain size and shape gene or . Major and stable loci also were identified on the homeologous regions of Group 5 chromosomes, and in the regions of (6A) and (7A) genes. Both parental genotypes contributed equivalent positive QTL alleles, suggesting that the nonadapted germplasm has a great potential for enhancing the gene pool for grain shape and size. This study provides new knowledge on the genetic dissection of kernel morphology, with a much higher resolution, which may aid further improvement in wheat yield and quality using genomic tools. Copyright © 2016 Crop Science Society of America.

Preparation and thermodynamic stability of micron-sized, monodisperse composite polymer particles of disc-like shapes by seeded dispersion polymerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujibayashi, Teruhisa; Okubo, Masayoshi

2007-07-17

Micron-sized, monodisperse composite polymer particles having "disc-like" and "polyhedral" shapes were prepared by seeded dispersion polymerization of 2-ethylhexylmethacrylate (EHMA) with 2.67-mum-sized polystyrene (PS) seed particles in methanol/water media in the presence of droplets of various saturated hydrocarbons and evaporation of the hydrocarbon after the polymerization. Such nonspherical shapes were based on the volume reduction due to the evaporation. The primary factors influencing the particle shape seemed to be the absorption rate of the hydrocarbon into the resulting PS/poly(EHMA)/hydrocarbon composite particles during the polymerization, which affected the viscosities and the volumes of the PS and poly(EHMA) phases. It was found that the morphological development during the polymerization was retarded at "hamburger-like" morphology, which is a precursor of the disc-like particle, although this morphology is a thermodynamically metastable state.

Heritability of Wing Size and Shape of the Rice and Corn Strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Cañas-Hoyos, N; Márquez, E J; Saldamando-Benjumea, C I

2016-08-01

Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) represents a pest of economic importance in all Western Hemisphere. This polyphagous species has diverged into two populations that have been mainly recognized with various mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers and named "the rice" and "the corn" strains. In Colombia, both strains have evolved prezygotic and postzygotic isolation. They differ in tolerance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Cry1Ac and Cry1Ab endotoxins) and the insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin and methomyl. In 2014, a wing morphometric analysis made in 159 individuals from a colony showed that both strains significantly differ in wing shape. The species also exhibits sexual dimorphism in the rice strain as in females wing size is larger than in males. Here, we continued this work with another wing morphometric approach in laboratory-reared strains to calculate wing size and shape heritabilities using a full-sib design and in wild populations to determine if this method distinguishes these strains. Our results show that male heritabilities of both traits were higher than female ones. Wild populations were significantly different in wing shape and size. These results suggest that wing morphometrics can be used as an alternative method to molecular markers to differentiate adults from laboratory-reared populations and wild populations of this pest, particularly in males of this species. Finally, Q ST values obtained for wing size and shape further demonstrated that both strains are genetically differentiated in nature.

Matching Ge detector element geometry to sample size and shape: One does not fit all exclamation point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keyser, R.M.; Twomey, T.R.; Sangsingkeow, P.

1998-01-01

For 25 yr, coaxial germanium detector performance has been specified using the methods and values specified in Ref. 1. These specifications are the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM), FW.1M, FW.02M, peak-to-Compton ratio, and relative efficiency. All of these measurements are made with a 60 Co source 25 cm from the cryostat endcap and centered on the axis of the detector. These measurements are easy to reproduce, both because they are simple to set up and use a common source. These standard tests have been useful in guiding the user to an appropriate detector choice for the intended measurement. Most users of germanium gamma-ray detectors do not make measurements in this simple geometry. Germanium detector manufacturers have worked over the years to make detectors with better resolution, better peak-to-Compton ratios, and higher efficiency--but all based on measurements using the IEEE standard. Advances in germanium crystal growth techniques have made it relatively easy to provide detector elements of different shapes and sizes. Many of these different shapes and sizes can give better results for a specific application than other shapes and sizes. But, the detector specifications must be changed to correspond to the actual application. Both the expected values and the actual parameters to be specified should be changed. In many cases, detection efficiency, peak shape, and minimum detectable limit for a particular detector/sample combination are valuable specifications of detector performance. For other situations, other parameters are important, such as peak shape as a function of count rate. In this work, different sample geometries were considered. The results show the variation in efficiency with energy for all of these sample and detector geometries. The point source at 25 cm from the endcap measurement allows the results to be compared with the currently given IEEE criteria. The best sample/detector configuration for a specific measurement requires more and

Background field removal technique using regularization enabled sophisticated harmonic artifact reduction for phase data with varying kernel sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kan, Hirohito; Kasai, Harumasa; Arai, Nobuyuki; Kunitomo, Hiroshi; Hirose, Yasujiro; Shibamoto, Yuta

2016-09-01

An effective background field removal technique is desired for more accurate quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) prior to dipole inversion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of regularization enabled sophisticated harmonic artifact reduction for phase data with varying spherical kernel sizes (REV-SHARP) method using a three-dimensional head phantom and human brain data. The proposed REV-SHARP method used the spherical mean value operation and Tikhonov regularization in the deconvolution process, with varying 2-14mm kernel sizes. The kernel sizes were gradually reduced, similar to the SHARP with varying spherical kernel (VSHARP) method. We determined the relative errors and relationships between the true local field and estimated local field in REV-SHARP, VSHARP, projection onto dipole fields (PDF), and regularization enabled SHARP (RESHARP). Human experiment was also conducted using REV-SHARP, VSHARP, PDF, and RESHARP. The relative errors in the numerical phantom study were 0.386, 0.448, 0.838, and 0.452 for REV-SHARP, VSHARP, PDF, and RESHARP. REV-SHARP result exhibited the highest correlation between the true local field and estimated local field. The linear regression slopes were 1.005, 1.124, 0.988, and 0.536 for REV-SHARP, VSHARP, PDF, and RESHARP in regions of interest on the three-dimensional head phantom. In human experiments, no obvious errors due to artifacts were present in REV-SHARP. The proposed REV-SHARP is a new method combined with variable spherical kernel size and Tikhonov regularization. This technique might make it possible to be more accurate backgroud field removal and help to achive better accuracy of QSM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phylogeny and adaptation shape the teeth of insular mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Ledevin, Ronan; Chevret, Pascale; Ganem, Guila; Britton-Davidian, Janice; Hardouin, Emilie A; Chapuis, Jean-Louis; Pisanu, Benoit; da Luz Mathias, Maria; Schlager, Stefan; Auffray, Jean-Christophe; Renaud, Sabrina

2016-02-10

By accompanying human travels since prehistorical times, the house mouse dispersed widely throughout the world, and colonized many islands. The origin of the travellers determined the phylogenetic source of the insular mice, which encountered diverse ecological and environmental conditions on the various islands. Insular mice are thus an exceptional model to disentangle the relative role of phylogeny, ecology and climate in evolution. Molar shape is known to vary according to phylogeny and to respond to adaptation. Using for the first time a three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, compared with a classical two-dimensional quantification, the relative effects of size variation, phylogeny, climate and ecology were investigated on molar shape diversity across a variety of islands. Phylogeny emerged as the factor of prime importance in shaping the molar. Changes in competition level, mostly driven by the presence or absence of the wood mouse on the different islands, appeared as the second most important effect. Climate and size differences accounted for slight shape variation. This evidences a balanced role of random differentiation related to history of colonization, and of adaptation possibly related to resource exploitation. © 2016 The Author(s).

Hematoma Shape, Hematoma Size, Glasgow Coma Scale Score and ICH Score: Which Predicts the 30-Day Mortality Better for Intracerebral Hematoma?

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chih-Wei; Liu, Yi-Jui; Lee, Yi-Hsiung; Hueng, Dueng-Yuan; Fan, Hueng-Chuen; Yang, Fu-Chi; Hsueh, Chun-Jen; Kao, Hung-Wen; Juan, Chun-Jung; Hsu, Hsian-He

2014-01-01

Purpose To investigate the performance of hematoma shape, hematoma size, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, and intracerebral hematoma (ICH) score in predicting the 30-day mortality for ICH patients. To examine the influence of the estimation error of hematoma size on the prediction of 30-day mortality. Materials and Methods This retrospective study, approved by a local institutional review board with written informed consent waived, recruited 106 patients diagnosed as ICH by non-enhanced computed tomography study. The hemorrhagic shape, hematoma size measured by computer-assisted volumetric analysis (CAVA) and estimated by ABC/2 formula, ICH score and GCS score was examined. The predicting performance of 30-day mortality of the aforementioned variables was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, paired t test, nonparametric test, linear regression analysis, and binary logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristics curves were plotted and areas under curve (AUC) were calculated for 30-day mortality. A P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results The overall 30-day mortality rate was 15.1% of ICH patients. The hematoma shape, hematoma size, ICH score, and GCS score all significantly predict the 30-day mortality for ICH patients, with an AUC of 0.692 (P = 0.0018), 0.715 (P = 0.0008) (by ABC/2) to 0.738 (P = 0.0002) (by CAVA), 0.877 (Phematoma shape, hematoma size, ICH scores and GCS score all significantly predict the 30-day mortality in an increasing order of AUC. The effect of overestimation of hematoma size by ABC/2 formula in predicting the 30-day mortality could be remedied by using ICH score. PMID:25029592

Integrated topology and shape optimization in structural design

Science.gov (United States)

Bremicker, M.; Chirehdast, M.; Kikuchi, N.; Papalambros, P. Y.

1990-01-01

Structural optimization procedures usually start from a given design topology and vary its proportions or boundary shapes to achieve optimality under various constraints. Two different categories of structural optimization are distinguished in the literature, namely sizing and shape optimization. A major restriction in both cases is that the design topology is considered fixed and given. Questions concerning the general layout of a design (such as whether a truss or a solid structure should be used) as well as more detailed topology features (e.g., the number and connectivities of bars in a truss or the number of holes in a solid) have to be resolved by design experience before formulating the structural optimization model. Design quality of an optimized structure still depends strongly on engineering intuition. This article presents a novel approach for initiating formal structural optimization at an earlier stage, where the design topology is rigorously generated in addition to selecting shape and size dimensions. A three-phase design process is discussed: an optimal initial topology is created by a homogenization method as a gray level image, which is then transformed to a realizable design using computer vision techniques; this design is then parameterized and treated in detail by sizing and shape optimization. A fully automated process is described for trusses. Optimization of two dimensional solid structures is also discussed. Several application-oriented examples illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology.

Biosynthesis of Inorganic Nanoparticles: A Fresh Look at the Control of Shape, Size and Composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si Amar Dahoumane

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Several methodologies have been devised for the design of nanomaterials. The “Holy Grail” for materials scientists is the cost-effective, eco-friendly synthesis of nanomaterials with controlled sizes, shapes and compositions, as these features confer to the as-produced nanocrystals unique properties making them appropriate candidates for valuable bio-applications. The present review summarizes published data regarding the production of nanomaterials with special features via sustainable methodologies based on the utilization of natural bioresources. The richness of the latter, the diversity of the routes adopted and the tuned experimental parameters have led to the fabrication of nanomaterials belonging to different chemical families with appropriate compositions and displaying interesting sizes and shapes. It is expected that these outstanding findings will encourage researchers and attract newcomers to continue and extend the exploration of possibilities offered by nature and the design of innovative and safer methodologies towards the synthesis of unique nanomaterials, possessing desired features and exhibiting valuable properties that can be exploited in a profusion of fields.

Investigation of Drag Coefficient for Rigid Ballute-like Shapes

Science.gov (United States)

Carnasciali, Maria-Isabel; Mastromarino, Anthony

2014-11-01

One common method of decelerating an object during atmospheric entry, descent, and landing is the use of parachutes. Another deceleration technology is the ballute - a combination of balloon and parachute. A CFD study was conducted using commercially available software to investigate the flow-field and the coefficient of drag for various rigid ballute-like shapes at varying Reynolds numbers. The impact of size and placement of the burble-fence as well as number, size, and shape of inlets was considered. Recent experimental measurements conducted during NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator program revealed a much higher coefficient of drag (Cd) for ballutes than previously encountered. Using atmospheric drag to slow down and land reduces the need for heavy fuel and rocket engines and thus, high values of drag are desired. Funding for this work, in part, provided by the CT Space Grant Consortium.

Shape distortion and dimensional precision in tungsten heavy alloy liquid phase sintering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wuwen Yi; German, R.M.; Lu, P.K.

2001-01-01

Microstructure effects on densification and shape distortion in liquid phase sintering of tungsten heavy alloy were investigated. Microstructure parameters such as the solid volume fraction, dihedral angle, initial porosity, and pore size were varied to measure densification and distortion behavior during LPS using W-Ni-Cu alloys. Green compacts were formed using ethylene-bis-stearamide as a pore-forming agent with the amount of polymer controlling the initial porosity. Different initial pore sizes were generated by varying the polymer particle size. Dihedral angle was varied by changing the Ni:Cu ratio in the alloys. Finally, the solid volume fraction was adjusted via the tungsten content. Distortion was quantified using profiles determined with a coordinate measuring machine to calculate a distortion parameter. Sintering results showed that solid volume fraction and dihedral angle are the dominant factors on densification and distortion during liquid phase sintering. Distortion decreases with increasing solid volume fraction and dihedral angle, while initial porosity and pore size have no observable effect on distortion at nearly full densification. Various strategies emerge to improve distortion control in liquid phase sintering. (author)

Mixing state of regionally transported soot particles and the coating effect on their size and shape at a mountain site in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Kouji; Zaizen, Yuji; Kajino, Mizuo; Igarashi, Yasuhito

2014-05-01

Soot particles influence the global climate through interactions with sunlight. A coating on soot particles increases their light absorption by increasing their absorption cross section and cloud condensation nuclei activity when mixed with other hygroscopic aerosol components. Therefore, it is important to understand how soot internally mixes with other materials to accurately simulate its effects in climate models. In this study, we used a transmission electron microscope (TEM) with an auto particle analysis system, which enables more particles to be analyzed than a conventional TEM. Using the TEM, soot particle size and shape (shape factor) were determined with and without coating from samples collected at a remote mountain site in Japan. The results indicate that ~10% of aerosol particles between 60 and 350 nm in aerodynamic diameters contain or consist of soot particles and ~75% of soot particles were internally mixed with nonvolatile ammonium sulfate or other materials. In contrast to an assumption that coatings change soot shape, both internally and externally mixed soot particles had similar shape and size distributions. Larger aerosol particles had higher soot mixing ratios, i.e., more than 40% of aerosol particles with diameters >1 µm had soot inclusions, whereas <20% of aerosol particles with diameters <1 µm included soot. Our results suggest that climate models may use the same size distributions and shapes for both internally and externally mixed soot; however, changing the soot mixing ratios in the different aerosol size bins is necessary.

Modeling size effects on the transformation behavior of shape memory alloy micropillars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez, Edwin A Peraza; Lagoudas, Dimitris C

2015-01-01

The size dependence of the thermomechanical response of shape memory alloys (SMAs) at the micro and nano-scales has gained increasing attention in the engineering community due to existing and potential uses of SMAs as solid-state actuators and components for energy dissipation in small scale devices. Particularly, their recent uses in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have made SMAs attractive options as active materials in small scale devices. One factor limiting further application, however, is the inability to effectively and efficiently model the observed size dependence of the SMA behavior for engineering applications. Therefore, in this work, a constitutive model for the size-dependent behavior of SMAs is proposed. Experimental observations are used to motivate the extension of an existing thermomechanical constitutive model for SMAs to account for the scale effects. It is proposed that such effects can be captured via characteristic length dependent material parameters in a power-law manner. The size dependence of the transformation behavior of NiFeGa micropillars is investigated in detail and used as model prediction cases. The constitutive model is implemented in a finite element framework and used to simulate and predict the response of SMA micropillars with different sizes. The results show a good agreement with experimental data. A parametric study performed using the calibrated model shows that the influence of micropillar aspect ratio and taper angle on the compression response is significantly smaller than that of the micropillar average diameter. It is concluded that the model is able to capture the size dependent transformation response of the SMA micropillars. In addition, the simplicity of the calibration and implementation of the proposed model make it practical for the design and numerical analysis of small scale SMA components that exhibit size dependent responses. (paper)

Particle shape accounts for instrumental discrepancy in ice core dust size distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Folden Simonsen, Marius; Cremonesi, Llorenç; Baccolo, Giovanni; Bosch, Samuel; Delmonte, Barbara; Erhardt, Tobias; Kjær, Helle Astrid; Potenza, Marco; Svensson, Anders; Vallelonga, Paul

2018-05-01

The Klotz Abakus laser sensor and the Coulter counter are both used for measuring the size distribution of insoluble mineral dust particles in ice cores. While the Coulter counter measures particle volume accurately, the equivalent Abakus instrument measurement deviates substantially from the Coulter counter. We show that the difference between the Abakus and the Coulter counter measurements is mainly caused by the irregular shape of dust particles in ice core samples. The irregular shape means that a new calibration routine based on standard spheres is necessary for obtaining fully comparable data. This new calibration routine gives an increased accuracy to Abakus measurements, which may improve future ice core record intercomparisons. We derived an analytical model for extracting the aspect ratio of dust particles from the difference between Abakus and Coulter counter data. For verification, we measured the aspect ratio of the same samples directly using a single-particle extinction and scattering instrument. The results demonstrate that the model is accurate enough to discern between samples of aspect ratio 0.3 and 0.4 using only the comparison of Abakus and Coulter counter data.

The limit distribution of the maximum increment of a random walk with regularly varying jump size distribution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikosch, Thomas Valentin; Rackauskas, Alfredas

2010-01-01

In this paper, we deal with the asymptotic distribution of the maximum increment of a random walk with a regularly varying jump size distribution. This problem is motivated by a long-standing problem on change point detection for epidemic alternatives. It turns out that the limit distribution...... of the maximum increment of the random walk is one of the classical extreme value distributions, the Fréchet distribution. We prove the results in the general framework of point processes and for jump sizes taking values in a separable Banach space...

Quantitative trait loci affecting the 3D skull shape and size in mouse and prioritization of candidate genes in-silico

Science.gov (United States)

Maga, A. Murat; Navarro, Nicolas; Cunningham, Michael L.; Cox, Timothy C.

2015-01-01

We describe the first application of high-resolution 3D micro-computed tomography, together with 3D landmarks and geometric morphometrics, to map QTL responsible for variation in skull shape and size using a backcross between C57BL/6J and A/J inbred strains. Using 433 animals, 53 3D landmarks, and 882 SNPs from autosomes, we identified seven QTL responsible for the skull size (SCS.qtl) and 30 QTL responsible for the skull shape (SSH.qtl). Size, sex, and direction-of-cross were all significant factors and included in the analysis as covariates. All autosomes harbored at least one SSH.qtl, sometimes up to three. Effect sizes of SSH.qtl appeared to be small, rarely exceeding 1% of the overall shape variation. However, they account for significant amount of variation in some specific directions of the shape space. Many QTL have stronger effect on the neurocranium than expected from a random vector that will parcellate uniformly across the four cranial regions. On the contrary, most of QTL have an effect on the palate weaker than expected. Combined interval length of 30 SSH.qtl was about 315 MB and contained 2476 known protein coding genes. We used a bioinformatics approach to filter these candidate genes and identified 16 high-priority candidates that are likely to play a role in the craniofacial development and disorders. Thus, coupling the QTL mapping approach in model organisms with candidate gene enrichment approaches appears to be a feasible way to identify high-priority candidates genes related to the structure or tissue of interest. PMID:25859222

Tamanho e forma de parcela em experimentos com morangueiro cultivado em solo ou em hidroponia Plot size and shape in trials using strawberry cultivated with soil or using hydroponics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carine Cocco

2009-07-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a forma e o tamanho de parcela ótimos para ensaios com a cultura do morangueiro (Fragaria x ananassa em cultivo hidropônico e em solo. Foram conduzidos dois, experimentos, um em cultivo convencional no solo, em túneis baixos, e outro em cultivo hidropônico. Em cada experimento, avaliaram-se os efeitos do tamanho e do formato das parcelas sobre a precisão experimental. Cada planta foi considerada uma unidade básica, e o número de unidades básicas por parcela variou de 1 (48 parcelas a 24 (duas parcelas. Foram ajustadas funções para a determinação do coeficiente de variação entre as parcelas e para a determinação da variância por unidade básica entre as parcelas. O cultivo no solo apresentou maior variabilidade experimental que o cultivo hidropônico. O aumento no número de plantas por parcela causou redução acentuada na variabilidade experimental, especialmente quando se usou o formato de parcela retangular. O tamanho ótimo estimado das parcelas é de dez plantas, no cultivo com solo, e de seis plantas, no cultivo hidropônico.The objective of this work was to estimate the optimal size and shape of plots to be used in experiments of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa cultivation in soil or using hydroponics. Two experiments were conducted, one in soil in low tunnels, and another in a hydroponic system. In each experiment, the effects of plot sizes and shapes on experimental accuracy were evaluated. Each plant was considered an experimental basic unit, and the number of plants per plot varied from 1 (48 plots to 24 (two plots. Functions were adjusted to determine the coefficient of variation among plots and the variance per basic unit between plots. Plants grown in soil had higher experimental variability than the plants grown in hydroponics. Increasing the number of plants per plot caused strong reduction in the experimental variability, especially when a rectangular plot shape was used

Modelling of coupled heat and electric field distribution during ohmic heating of solid foods with varying sizes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feyissa, Aberham Hailu; Bøknæs, Niels; Nielsen, P.L.

factors leading to variations and uncertainties in prediction of the right process parameters. The current work is focused on modelling of OH of solid food pieces of varying sizes cooked in one batch. A 3D mathematical model of coupled heat transfer and electric field during OH of shrimps has been...

Hematoma shape, hematoma size, Glasgow coma scale score and ICH score: which predicts the 30-day mortality better for intracerebral hematoma?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Wei Wang

Full Text Available To investigate the performance of hematoma shape, hematoma size, Glasgow coma scale (GCS score, and intracerebral hematoma (ICH score in predicting the 30-day mortality for ICH patients. To examine the influence of the estimation error of hematoma size on the prediction of 30-day mortality.This retrospective study, approved by a local institutional review board with written informed consent waived, recruited 106 patients diagnosed as ICH by non-enhanced computed tomography study. The hemorrhagic shape, hematoma size measured by computer-assisted volumetric analysis (CAVA and estimated by ABC/2 formula, ICH score and GCS score was examined. The predicting performance of 30-day mortality of the aforementioned variables was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, paired t test, nonparametric test, linear regression analysis, and binary logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristics curves were plotted and areas under curve (AUC were calculated for 30-day mortality. A P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.The overall 30-day mortality rate was 15.1% of ICH patients. The hematoma shape, hematoma size, ICH score, and GCS score all significantly predict the 30-day mortality for ICH patients, with an AUC of 0.692 (P = 0.0018, 0.715 (P = 0.0008 (by ABC/2 to 0.738 (P = 0.0002 (by CAVA, 0.877 (P<0.0001 (by ABC/2 to 0.882 (P<0.0001 (by CAVA, and 0.912 (P<0.0001, respectively.Our study shows that hematoma shape, hematoma size, ICH scores and GCS score all significantly predict the 30-day mortality in an increasing order of AUC. The effect of overestimation of hematoma size by ABC/2 formula in predicting the 30-day mortality could be remedied by using ICH score.

Influence of size, shape, and flexibility on bacterial passage through micropore membrane filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yingying; Hammes, Frederik; Düggelin, Marcel; Egli, Thomas

2008-09-01

Sterilization of fluids by means of microfiltration is commonly applied in research laboratories as well as in pharmaceutical and industrial processes. Sterile micropore filters are subject to microbiological validation, where Brevundimonas diminuta is used as a standard test organism. However, several recent reports on the ubiquitous presence of filterable bacteria in aquatic environments have cast doubt on the accuracy and validity of the standard filter-testing method. Six different bacterial species of various sizes and shapes (Hylemonella gracilis, Escherichia coli, Sphingopyxis alaskensis, Vibrio cholerae, Legionella pneumophila, and B. diminuta) were tested for their filterability through sterile micropore filters. In all cases, the slender spirillum-shaped Hylemonella gracilis cells showed a superior ability to pass through sterile membrane filters. Our results provide solid evidence that the overall shape (including flexibility), instead of biovolume, is the determining factor for the filterability of bacteria, whereas cultivation conditions also play a crucial role. Furthermore, the filtration volume has a more important effect on the passage percentage in comparison with other technical variables tested (including flux and filter material). Based on our findings, we recommend a re-evaluation of the grading system for sterile filters, and suggest that the species Hylemonella should be considered as an alternative filter-testing organism for the quality assessment of micropore filters.

Basic properties of full-size st ructural flakeboards fabricated with flakes on a shaping lathe

Science.gov (United States)

Eddie W. Prie

1977-01-01

Structural exterior flakeboards manufactured in 4 by 8 ft (1.22 by 2.44 m ) size with phenolic resin and flakes produced on a shaping-lathe headrig were evaluated for plate shear modulus, internal bond, bending properties, and 24-hour water soak stability. Both mixed and single species flakeboards were produced. Panels with mixed flakes had 20% by weight of hickory,...

Investigating selective transport and abrasion on an alluvial fan using quantitative grain size and shape analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Litwin, K. L.; Jerolmack, D. J.

2011-12-01

Selective sorting and abrasion are the two major fluvial processes that are attributed to the downstream fining of sediments in rivers and alluvial fans. Selective transport is the process by which smaller grains are preferentially transported downstream while larger grains are deposited closer to the source. Abrasion is defined by the production of fine sediments and sand that occurs by saltation of gravel, where particle-to-particle collisions supply the energy required to break apart grains. We hypothesize that abrasion results in the gradual fining of large grains and the production of fine sands and silts, while sorting accounts for the differences in transport of these two grain-size fractions produced from abrasion, thereby creating the abrupt gravel-sand transition observed in many channel systems. In this research, we explore both selective transport and abrasion processes on the Dog Canyon alluvial fan near Alamogordo, New Mexico. We complete an extensive grain size analysis down the main channel of the fan employing an image-based technique that utilizes an autocorrelation process. We also characterize changes in grain shape using standard shape parameters, as well as Fourier analysis, which allows the study of contributions of grain roughness on a variety of length scales. Sorting appears to dominate the upper portion of the fan; the grain-size distribution narrows moving downstream until reaching a point of equal mobility, at which point sorting ceases. Abrasion exerts a subtle but persistent effect on grains during transport down the fan. Shape analysis reveals that particles become more rounded by the removal of small-scale textural features, a process that is expected to only modestly influence grain size of gravel, but should produce significant quantities of sand. This study provides a better understanding of the importance of grain abrasion and sorting on the downstream fining of channel grains in an alluvial fan, as well as an improved knowledge

On the Size Distribution of Sand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Michael

2016-01-01

A model is presented of the development of the size distribution of sand while it is transported from a source to a deposit. The model provides a possible explanation of the log-hyperbolic shape that is frequently found in unimodal grain size distributions in natural sand deposits, as pointed out......-distribution, by taking into account that individual grains do not have the same travel time from the source to the deposit. The travel time is assumed to be random so that the wear on the individual grains vary randomly. The model provides an interpretation of the parameters of the NIG-distribution, and relates the mean...

Direct observation of hierarchical nucleation of martensite and size-dependent superelasticity in shape memory alloys.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lifeng; Ding, Xiangdong; Li, Ju; Lookman, Turab; Sun, Jun

2014-02-21

Martensitic transformation usually creates hierarchical internal structures beyond mere change of the atomic crystal structure. Multi-stage nucleation is thus required, where nucleation (level-1) of the underlying atomic crystal lattice does not have to be immediately followed by the nucleation of higher-order superstructures (level-2 and above), such as polysynthetic laths. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we directly observe the nucleation of the level-2 superstructure in a Cu-Al-Ni single crystal under compression, with critical super-nuclei size L2c around 500 nm. When the sample size D decreases below L2c, the superelasticity behavior changes from a flat stress plateau to a continuously rising stress-strain curve. Such size dependence definitely would impact the application of shape memory alloys in miniaturized MEMS/NEMS devices.

Adaptive Square-Shaped Trajectory-Based Service Location Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hwa-Jung Lim

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper we propose an adaptive square-shaped trajectory (ASST-based service location method to ensure load scalability in wireless sensor networks. This first establishes a square-shaped trajectory over the nodes that surround a target point computed by the hash function and any user can access it, using the hash. Both the width and the size of the trajectory are dynamically adjustable, depending on the number of queries made to the service information on the trajectory. The number of sensor nodes on the trajectory varies in proportion to the changing trajectory shape, allowing high loads to be distributed around the hot spot area.

Positional dependence of scale size and shape in butterfly wings: wing-wide phenotypic coordination of color-pattern elements and background.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusaba, Kiseki; Otaki, Joji M

2009-02-01

Butterfly wing color-patterns are a phenotypically coordinated array of scales whose color is determined as cellular interpretation outputs for morphogenic signals. Here we investigated distribution patterns of scale shape and size in relation to position and coloration on the hindwings of a nymphalid butterfly Junonia orithya. Most scales had a smooth edge but scales at and near the natural and ectopic eyespot foci and in the postbasal area were jagged. Scale size decreased regularly from the postbasal to distal areas, and eyespots occasionally had larger scales than the background. Reasonable correlations were obtained between the eyespot size and focal scale size in females. Histological and real-time individual observations of the color-pattern developmental sequence showed that the background brown and blue colors expanded from the postbasal to distal areas independently from the color-pattern elements such as eyespots. These data suggest that morphogenic signals for coloration directly or indirectly influence the scale shape and size and that the blue "background" is organized by a long-range signal from an unidentified organizing center in J. orithya.

Formative evaluation of a mobile liquid portion size estimation interface for people with varying literacy skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudry, Beenish Moalla; Connelly, Kay; Siek, Katie A; Welch, Janet L

2013-12-01

Chronically ill people, especially those with low literacy skills, often have difficulty estimating portion sizes of liquids to help them stay within their recommended fluid limits. There is a plethora of mobile applications that can help people monitor their nutritional intake but unfortunately these applications require the user to have high literacy and numeracy skills for portion size recording. In this paper, we present two studies in which the low- and the high-fidelity versions of a portion size estimation interface, designed using the cognitive strategies adults employ for portion size estimation during diet recall studies, was evaluated by a chronically ill population with varying literacy skills. The low fidelity interface was evaluated by ten patients who were all able to accurately estimate portion sizes of various liquids with the interface. Eighteen participants did an in situ evaluation of the high-fidelity version incorporated in a diet and fluid monitoring mobile application for 6 weeks. Although the accuracy of the estimation cannot be confirmed in the second study but the participants who actively interacted with the interface showed better health outcomes by the end of the study. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for designing the next iteration of an accurate and low literacy-accessible liquid portion size estimation mobile interface.

Particle shape inhomogeneity and plasmon-band broadening of solar-control LaB{sub 6} nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Machida, Keisuke; Adachi, Kenji, E-mail: kenji-adachi@ni.smm.co.jp [Ichikawa Research Laboratories, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Ichikawa 272-8588 (Japan)

2015-07-07

An ensemble inhomogeneity of non-spherical LaB{sub 6} nanoparticles dispersion has been analyzed with Mie theory to account for the observed broad plasmon band. LaB{sub 6} particle shape has been characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and electron tomography (ET). SAXS scattering intensity is found to vary exponentially with exponent −3.10, indicating the particle shape of disk toward sphere. ET analysis disclosed dually grouped distribution of nanoparticle dispersion; one is large-sized at small aspect ratio and the other is small-sized with scattered high aspect ratio, reflecting the dual fragmentation modes during the milling process. Mie extinction calculations have been integrated for 100 000 particles of varying aspect ratio, which were produced randomly by using the Box-Muller method. The Mie integration method has produced a broad and smooth absorption band expanded towards low energy, in remarkable agreement with experimental profiles by assuming a SAXS- and ET-derived shape distribution, i.e., a majority of disks with a little incorporation of rods and spheres for the ensemble. The analysis envisages a high potential of LaB{sub 6} with further-increased visible transparency and plasmon peak upon controlled particle-shape and its distribution.

Effect of Specimen Shape and Size on the Compressive Strength of Foamed Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudin M.A.S.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Lightweight concrete, in the form of foamed concrete, is a versatile material that primarily consists of a cement based mortar, mixed with at least 20% volume of air. Its dry density is typically below 1600 kg/m3 with a maximum compressive strength of 15MPa. The ASTM standard provision specifies a correction factor for concrete strength of between 14 and 42Mpa, in order to compensate for a reduced strength, when the aspect height-to-diameter ratio of a specimen is less than 2.0. However, the CEB-FIP provision specifically mentions a ratio of 150mm dia. × 300mm cylinder strength to 150 mm cube strength; though, both provision requirements do not specifically clarify the applicability and/or modification of the correction factors for the compressive strength to lightweight concrete (in this case, foamed concrete. The focus of this work is to study the effect of specimen size and shape on the axial compressive strength of concrete. Specimens of various sizes and shapes were cast with square and circular cross-sections i.e., cubes, prisms, and cylinders. Their compression strength behaviours at 7 and 28 days were investigated. The results indicate that, as the CEB-FIP provision specified, even for foamed concrete, 100mm cubes (l/d = 1.0 produce a comparable compressive strength with 100mm dia. × 200mm cylinders (l/d = 2.0.

Shape of vaginal suppositories affects willingness-to-try and preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bangde; Zaveri, Toral; Ziegler, Gregory R; Hayes, John E

2013-03-01

HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a global threat to public health that may be countered, in part, by microbicides. A successful microbicide must be both biologically efficacious and highly acceptable to users. Sensory attributes have a direct influence on product acceptability. We created a series of vaginal suppositories appropriate for use as microbicides to investigate the influence of shape on women's willingness-to-try. The influence of perceived size and firmness on acceptability was also assessed. Sexually-active women (n=99) were invited to participate in an evaluation of vaginal suppositories in 5 different shapes including: Bullet, Long Oval, Round Oval, Teardrop and Tampon. The volume (3mL) and formulation for these five prototypes were identical. After manipulating prototypes ex vivo (in their hands), participants rated their willingness-to-try on a 100-point visual analog scale. The appropriateness of size and firmness were evaluated using 5-point just-about-right (JAR) scales. Each participant evaluated all five prototypes individually. Samples were presented in a counterbalanced monadic sequence using a Williams design. Mean willingness-to-try varied by shape, with Bullet and Long Oval receiving significantly higher scores. This was consistent with JAR data for size, as 70% and 65% of women indicated these shapes were 'just-about-right', respectively. In contrast, a minority of women endorsed the other 3 shapes as having a size that was 'just-about-right'. The proportion of women who felt the firmness was 'just-about-right' was uniformly high, irrespective of shape, suggesting prior attempts to optimize the formula were successful. Perceptions of size and firmness were influenced by the physical length and width of the prototypes, in spite of having constant volume. Women showed high willingness-to-try when asked to assume they were at risk. These results are relevant for behavioral and formulation scientists working on

Quantitative trait loci affecting the 3D skull shape and size in mouse and prioritization of candidate genes in-silico.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Murat eMaga

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We describe the first application of high-resolution 3D micro-computed tomography, together with 3D landmarks and geometric morphometrics, to map QTL responsible for variation in skull shape and size using a backcross between C57BL/6J and A/J inbred strains. Using 433 animals, 53 3D landmarks, and 882 SNPs from autosomes, we identified seven QTL responsible for the skull size (SCS.qtl and 30 QTL responsible for the skull shape (SSH.qtl. Size, sex and direction-of-cross were all significant factors and included in the analysis as covariates. All autosomes harbored at least one SSH.qtl, sometimes up to three. Effect sizes of SSH.qtl appeared to be small, rarely exceeding 1% of the overall shape variation. However, they account for significant amount of variation in some specific directions of the shape space. Many QTL have stronger effect on the neurocranium than expected from a random vector that will parcellate uniformly across the four cranial regions. On the contrary, most of QTL have an effect on the palate weaker than expected. Combined interval length of 30 SSH.qtl was about 315MB and contained 2,476 known protein coding genes. We used a bioinformatics approach to filter these candidate genes and identified 16 high-priority candidates that are likely to play a role in the craniofacial development and disorders. Thus, coupling the QTL mapping approach in model organisms with candidate gene enrichment approaches appears to be a feasible way to identify high-priority candidates genes related to the structure or tissue of interest.

The Influence of Particle Shape and Size on the Activity of Platinum Nanoparticles for Oxygen Reduction Reaction: A Density Functional Theory Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tripkovic, Vladimir; Cerri, Isotta; Bligaard, Thomas

2014-01-01

We present first principle investigation of the influence of platinum nanoparticle shape and size on the oxygen reduction reaction activity. We compare the activities of nanoparticles with specific shapes (tetrahedron, octahedron, cube and truncated octahedron) with that of equilibrium particle s...

Polarization insensitive metamaterial absorber based on E-shaped all-dielectric structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liyang Li

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we designed a metamaterial absorber performed in microwave frequency band. This absorber is composed of E-shaped dielectrics which are arranged along different directions. The E-shaped all-dielectric structure is made of microwave ceramics with high permittivity and low loss. Within about 1 GHz frequency band, more than 86% absorption efficiency was observed for this metamaterial absorber. This absorber is polarization insensitive and is stable for incident angles. It is figured out that the polarization insensitive absorption is caused by the nearly located varied resonant modes which are excited by the E-shaped all-dielectric resonators with the same size but in the different direction. The E-shaped dielectric absorber contains intensive resonant points. Our research work paves a way for designing all-dielectric absorber.

Scalable shape- and size-controlled synthesis of metal nano-alloys

KAUST Repository

Bakr, Osman M.

2016-01-21

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a continuous-flow reactor, methods of making metal nano-alloys, and metal nano-alloys. An embodiment of the continuous-flow reactor includes a first tubular component having a tubular inlet and a tubular outlet, and a heated tube-in-tube gas reactor fluidly connected to the first tubular component, wherein the heated tube-in-tube gas reactor comprises an inner tube having a gas permeable surface and an outer tube. An embodiment of the method of producing metal nano-alloys, includes contacting a reducible metal precursor and a reducing fluid in a continuous-flow reactor to form a mixed solution; and flowing the mixed solution through the continuous-flow reactor for a residence time to form the metal nano-alloys. An embodiment of the composition includes a plurality of metal nano-alloys having a monodisperse size distribution and a uniform shape distribution.

Leaf shape responds to temperature but not CO2 in Acer rubrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Royer, Dana L

2012-01-01

The degree of leaf dissection and the presence of leaf teeth, along with tooth size and abundance, inversely correlate with mean annual temperature (MAT) across many plant communities. These relationships form the core of several methods for reconstructing MAT from fossils, yet the direct selection of temperature on tooth morphology has not been demonstrated experimentally. It is also not known if atmospheric CO(2) concentration affects leaf shape, limiting confidence in ancient climate reconstructions because CO(2) has varied widely on geologic timescales. Here I report the results of growing Acer rubrum (red maple) in growth cabinets at contrasting temperature and CO(2) conditions. The CO(2) treatment imparted no significant differences in leaf size and shape, while plants grown at cooler temperatures tended to have more teeth and more highly dissected leaves. These results provide direct evidence for the selection of temperature on leaf shape in one species, and support a key link in many leaf-climate methods. More broadly, these results increase confidence for using leaf shape in fossils to reconstruct paleoclimate.

Thermal-Hydraulic Effects of Stud Shape and Size on the Safety Margin of Core Catcher System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Kyusang; Son, Hong Hyun; Jeong, Uiju; Kim, Sung Joong [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

With the ERVC strategy, an additional system (core catcher system) to catch molten core penetrating the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was proposed for advanced light water reactor. The newly engineered corium cooling system, that is, an ex-vessel core catcher system has been designed and adapted in some nuclear power plants such as VVER-1000, EPR, ESBWR, EU-APR1400 to mention a few. For example, Russia adopted a crucible-type core catcher for VVER-1000. On the other hand, a way to catch melt spreading is adopted by several countries, such as EPR in France, ESBWR in USA, ABWR in japan, and EU-APR1400 in Korea In Korea, the core catcher system has been designed and implemented for the European Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (EU-APR1400) to acquire a European license certificate. It is to confine molten materials in the reactor cavity while maintaining a coolable geometry in case that RPV failure occurs. The core catcher system consists of a carbon steel body, sacrificial material, protection material and engineered cooling channel. While installation of the studs is unavoidable, the studs tend to interfere in the smooth streamline of the core catcher channel. The distorted streamline could affect the overall thermal-hydraulic performance including two-phase heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux (CHF) of the system. Thus, it is of importance to investigate the thermal-hydraulic effects of studs on the coolability, especially the CHF of the core catcher system. With aforementioned importance, pool boiling experiments were carried out with stud shape of, rectangular, cylinder, and elliptic and for stud sizes of 10, 15, 20, and 25 mm under the condition of atmospheric saturated water. A particular attention was focused on observing local vapor behavior around the studs and finding any hot spots, where the vapors are accumulated. The occurrence of the CHF is anticipated at the back side of the studs. The visual observation and CHF measurements indicate that the

Thermal-Hydraulic Effects of Stud Shape and Size on the Safety Margin of Core Catcher System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Kyusang; Son, Hong Hyun; Jeong, Uiju; Kim, Sung Joong

2015-01-01

With the ERVC strategy, an additional system (core catcher system) to catch molten core penetrating the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was proposed for advanced light water reactor. The newly engineered corium cooling system, that is, an ex-vessel core catcher system has been designed and adapted in some nuclear power plants such as VVER-1000, EPR, ESBWR, EU-APR1400 to mention a few. For example, Russia adopted a crucible-type core catcher for VVER-1000. On the other hand, a way to catch melt spreading is adopted by several countries, such as EPR in France, ESBWR in USA, ABWR in japan, and EU-APR1400 in Korea In Korea, the core catcher system has been designed and implemented for the European Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (EU-APR1400) to acquire a European license certificate. It is to confine molten materials in the reactor cavity while maintaining a coolable geometry in case that RPV failure occurs. The core catcher system consists of a carbon steel body, sacrificial material, protection material and engineered cooling channel. While installation of the studs is unavoidable, the studs tend to interfere in the smooth streamline of the core catcher channel. The distorted streamline could affect the overall thermal-hydraulic performance including two-phase heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux (CHF) of the system. Thus, it is of importance to investigate the thermal-hydraulic effects of studs on the coolability, especially the CHF of the core catcher system. With aforementioned importance, pool boiling experiments were carried out with stud shape of, rectangular, cylinder, and elliptic and for stud sizes of 10, 15, 20, and 25 mm under the condition of atmospheric saturated water. A particular attention was focused on observing local vapor behavior around the studs and finding any hot spots, where the vapors are accumulated. The occurrence of the CHF is anticipated at the back side of the studs. The visual observation and CHF measurements indicate that the

Shape- and Size-Controlled Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Aloe vera Plant Extract and Their Antimicrobial Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Logaranjan, Kaliyaperumal; Raiza, Anasdass Jaculin; Gopinath, Subash C. B.; Chen, Yeng; Pandian, Kannaiyan

2016-11-01

Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) was performed at room temperature using Aloe vera plant extract in the presence of ammoniacal silver nitrate as a metal salt precursor. The formation of AgNP was monitored by UV-visible spectroscopy at different time intervals. The shape and size of the synthesized particle were visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. These results were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses and further supported by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy/Raman scattering (SERS) study. UV-visible spectrum has shown a sharp peak at 420 nm and further evidenced by FTIR peak profile (at 1587.6, 1386.4, and 1076 cm-1 with corresponding compounds). The main band position with SERS was noticed at 1594 cm-1 (C-C stretching vibration). When samples were heated under microwave radiation, AgNP with octahedron shapes with 5-50 nm were found and this method can be one of the easier ways to synthesis anisotropic AgNP, in which the plant extract plays a vital role to regulate the size and shape of the nanoparticles. Enhanced antibacterial effects (two- to fourfold) were observed in the case of Aloe vera plant protected AgNP than the routinely synthesized antibiotic drugs.

Universality of fragment shapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Domokos, Gábor; Kun, Ferenc; Sipos, András Árpád; Szabó, Tímea

2015-03-16

The shape of fragments generated by the breakup of solids is central to a wide variety of problems ranging from the geomorphic evolution of boulders to the accumulation of space debris orbiting Earth. Although the statistics of the mass of fragments has been found to show a universal scaling behavior, the comprehensive characterization of fragment shapes still remained a fundamental challenge. We performed a thorough experimental study of the problem fragmenting various types of materials by slowly proceeding weathering and by rapid breakup due to explosion and hammering. We demonstrate that the shape of fragments obeys an astonishing universality having the same generic evolution with the fragment size irrespective of materials details and loading conditions. There exists a cutoff size below which fragments have an isotropic shape, however, as the size increases an exponential convergence is obtained to a unique elongated form. We show that a discrete stochastic model of fragmentation reproduces both the size and shape of fragments tuning only a single parameter which strengthens the general validity of the scaling laws. The dependence of the probability of the crack plan orientation on the linear extension of fragments proved to be essential for the shape selection mechanism.

The influence of age and sex on genetic associations with adult body size and shape: a large-scale genome-wide interaction study

OpenAIRE

Winkler, Thomas W.; Heid, Iris M.; Gorski, Mathias

2015-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of Eur...

Asteroid 16 Psyche: Radar Observations and Shape Model

Science.gov (United States)

Shepard, Michael K.; Richardson, James E.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Conrad, Al; de Pater, Imke; Adamkovics, Mate; de Kleer, Katherine R.; Males, Jared; Morzinski, Kathleen M.; Miller Close, Laird; Kaasalainen, Mikko; Viikinkoski, Matti; Timerson, Bradley; Reddy, Vishnu; Magri, Christopher; Nolan, Michael C.; Howell, Ellen S.; Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.

2016-10-01

We observed 16 Psyche, the largest M-class asteroid in the main belt, using the S-band radar at Arecibo Observatory. We obtained 18 radar imaging and 6 continuous wave runs in November and December 2015, and combined these with 16 continuous wave runs from 2005 and 6 recent adaptive-optics (AO) images to generate a three-dimensional shape model of Psyche. Our model is consistent with a previously published AO image [Hanus et al. Icarus 226, 1045-1057, 2013] and three multi-chord occultations. Our shape model has dimensions 279 x 232 x 189 km (±10%), Deff = 226 ± 23 km, and is 6% larger than, but within the uncertainties of, the most recently published size and shape model generated from the inversion of lightcurves [Hanus et al., 2013]. Psyche is roughly ellipsoidal but displays a mass-deficit over a region spanning 90° of longitude. There is also evidence for two ~50-70 km wide depressions near its south pole. Our size and published masses lead to an overall bulk density estimate of 4500 ± 1400 kg m-3. Psyche's mean radar albedo of 0.37 ± 0.09 is consistent with a near-surface regolith composed largely of iron-nickel and ~40% porosity. Its radar reflectivity varies by a factor of 1.6 as the asteroid rotates, suggesting global variations in metal abundance or bulk density in the near surface. The variations in radar albedo appear to correlate with large and small-scale shape features. Our size and Psyche's published absolute magnitude lead to an optical albedo of pv = 0.15 ± 0.03, and there is evidence for albedo variegations that correlate with shape features.

Otolith shape and size: The importance of age when determining indices for fish-stock separation

OpenAIRE

Mapp, James; Hunter, Ewan; Van Der Kooij, Jeroen; Songer, Sally; Fisher, Mark

2017-01-01

Stock-separation of highly mobile Clupeids (sprat – Sprattus sprattus and herring – Clupea harengus) using otolith morphometrics was explored. Analysis focused on three stock discrimination problems with the aim of reassigning individual otoliths to source populations using experiments undertaken using a machine learning environment known as \\{WEKA\\} (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis). Six feature sets encoding combinations of size and shape together with nine learning algorithms we...

Spatial variation in egg size of a top predator: Interplay of body size and environmental factors?

Science.gov (United States)

Louzao, Maite; Igual, José M.; Genovart, Meritxell; Forero, Manuela G.; Hobson, Keith A.; Oro, Daniel

2008-09-01

It is expected that nearby populations are constrained by the same ecological features shaping in turn similarity in their ecological traits. Here, we studied the spatio-temporal variability in egg size among local populations of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, a top marine predator endemic to the western Mediterranean region. Specifically we assessed whether this trait was influenced by maternal body size, as an indicator of a genetic component, and feeding ecology (through stable-carbon and nitrogen-isotope measurements), as an indicator of environmental factors. We found that egg size varied among local populations, an unexpected result at such a small spatial scale. Body size differences at the local population level only partially explained such differences. Blood isotope measurements also differed among local populations. Values of δ 15N suggested inter-population differences in trophic level, showing a similar general pattern with egg size, and suggesting a nutritional link between them whereby egg size was affected by differences in feeding resources and/or behaviour. Values of δ 13C suggested that local populations did not differ in foraging habits with respect to benthic- vs. pelagic-based food-webs. Egg size did not vary among years as did breeding performance, suggesting that a differential temporal window could affect both breeding parameters in relation to food availability. The absence of a relationship between breeding performance and egg size suggested that larger eggs might only confer an advantage during harsh conditions. Alternatively parental quality could greatly affect breeding performance. We showed that inter-population differences in egg size could be influenced by both body size and environmental factors.

Plastic superconductor bearings any size-any shape: 77 K and up

Science.gov (United States)

Reick, Franklin G.

1991-01-01

'Friction free' bearings at 77 K or higher are possible using the high T(sub c) copper oxide ceramic superconductors. The conventional method for making such bearings is to use a sintered ceramic monolith. This puts great restraints on size, shape, and postforming machining. The material is hard and abrasive. It is possible to grind up ceramic superconductors and suspend the granules in a suitable matrix. Mechanical properties improve and are largely dependent on the binder. The Meissner effect is confined to individual grains containing electron vortices. Tracks, rails, levitation areas, and bearings can be made this way with conventional plastic molding and extruding machines or by painting. The parts are easily machined. The sacrifice is in bulk electrical conductivity. A percolating wick feed for LN2 is used to cool remote superconductors and large areas quite effectively. A hollow spheroid or cylinder of superconductor material is molded with the internal surfaces shielded by the Meissner effect. It can be thought of as the DC magnetic analog of the Faraday cage and the inside is the 'Meissner space'. It is selective. The AC fields are transmitted with minor attenuation. Particle size and distribution have a profound effect on final magnetic and electrical characteristics.

Plastic superconductor bearings any size-any shape: 77 K and up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reick, F.G.

1991-01-01

'Friction free' bearings at 77 K or higher are possible using the high T(sub c) copper oxide ceramic superconductors. The conventional method for making such bearings is to use a sintered ceramic monolith. This puts great restraints on size, shape, and postforming machining. The material is hard and abrasive. It is possible to grind up ceramic superconductors and suspend the granules in a suitable matrix. Mechanical properties improve and are largely dependent on the binder. The Meissner effect is confined to individual grains containing electron vortices. Tracks, rails, levitation areas, and bearings can be made this way with conventional plastic molding and extruding machines or by painting. The parts are easily machined. The sacrifice is in bulk electrical conductivity. A percolating wick feed for LN2 is used to cool remote superconductors and large areas quite effectively. A hollow spheroid or cylinder of superconductor material is molded with the internal surfaces shielded by the Meissner effect. It can be thought of as the DC magnetic analog of the Faraday cage and the inside is the 'Meissner space'. It is selective. The AC fields are transmitted with minor attenuation. Particle size and distribution have a profound effect on final magnetic and electrical characteristics

An Investigation on Flame Shape and Size for a High-Pressure Turbulent Non-Premixed Swirl Combustion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongya Xi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Flame shape and size for a high-pressure turbulent non-premixed swirl combustion were experimentally investigated over a wide range of varying parameters including fuel mass flow rate, combustor pressure, primary-air mass flow rate, and nozzle exit velocity. A CFD simulation was conducted to predict the flame profile. Meanwhile, a theoretical calculation was also performed to estimate flame length. It was observed that flame length increased linearly with increasing fuel mass flow rate but decreased with the increment of combustor pressure in the power function. The flame diminished at a larger primary-air mass flow rate but remained unaffected by the increasing nozzle exit velocity. Considering the global effect of all parameters at a particular pressure, the flame length generally decreased as the primary-air to fuel ratio increased. This was attributed to the reduced air entrainment required to dilute the fuel to stoichiometric proportions. The CFD simulation offered a good prediction of the variation trends of flame length, although some deviations from experimental values were observed. The theoretical calculation estimated the trends of flame length variation particularly well. Nevertheless the difference between the theoretical and experimental results was found to be due to the swirl influence. Hence, a swirl factor was proposed to be added to the original equation for swirl flames.

Quantitative assessment of similarity between randomly acquired characteristics on high quality exemplars and crime scene impressions via analysis of feature size and shape.

Science.gov (United States)

Richetelli, Nicole; Nobel, Madonna; Bodziak, William J; Speir, Jacqueline A

2017-01-01

Forensic footwear evidence can prove invaluable to the resolution of a criminal investigation. Naturally, the value of a comparison varies with the rarity of the evidence, which is a function of both manufactured as well as randomly acquired characteristics (RACs). When focused specifically on the latter of these two types of features, empirical evidence demonstrates high discriminating power for the differentiation of known match and known non-match samples when presented with exemplars of high quality and exhibiting a sufficient number of clear and complex RACs. However, given the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the media, substrate, and deposition process encountered during the commission of a crime, RACs on crime scene prints are expected to exhibit a large range of variability in terms of reproducibility, clarity, and quality. Although the pattern recognition skill of the expert examiner is adept at recognizing and evaluating this type of natural variation, there is little research to suggest that objective and numerical metrics can globally process this variation when presented with RACs from degraded crime scene quality prints. As such, the goal of this study was to mathematically compare the loss and similarity of RACs in high quality exemplars versus crime-scene-like quality impressions as a function of RAC shape, perimeter, area, and common source. Results indicate that the unpredictable conditions associated with crime scene print production promotes RAC loss that varies between 33% and 100% with an average of 85%, and that when the entire outsole is taken as a constellation of features (or a RAC map), 64% of the crime-scene-like impressions exhibited 10 or fewer RACs, resulting in a 0.72 probability of stochastic dominance. Given this, individual RAC description and correspondence were further explored using five simple, but objective, numerical metrics of similarity. Statistically significant differences in similarity scores for RAC shape and size

Twin study of genetic and environmental influences on adult body size, shape and composition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schousboe, K.; Visscher, P.M.; Erbas, B.

2004-01-01

), we determined zygosity by DNA similarity, and performed anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis of body composition. The contribution to the total phenotypic variance of genetic, common environment, and individual environment was estimated in multivariate analysis using the FISHER program...... effects under the assumptions of no nonadditive effect. The pattern of age trends was inconsistent. However, when significant there was a decrease in heritability with advancing age. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that adult body size, shape, and composition are highly heritable in both women and men...

Size Effect on Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Coal-Rock Damage Evolution

OpenAIRE

Wen, Zhijie; Wang, Xiao; Chen, Lianjun; Lin, Guan; Zhang, Hualei

2017-01-01

Coal-gas outburst, rock burst, and other mine dynamic disasters are closely related to the instability and failure of coal-rock. Coal-rock is the assemblies of mineral particles of varying sizes and shapes bonded together by cementing materials. The damage and rupture process of coal-rock is accompanied by acoustic emission (AE), which can be used as an effective means to monitor and predict the instability of coal-rock body. In this manuscript, considering the size effect of coal-rock, the i...

Relationship between chromosome configurations/associations and nuclear size/shape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostashevsky, J.Y.

2003-01-01

Full text: Chromosome configurations (linear,folded,loop,etc.,which are defined through a pattern of centromere and/or telomere anchoring to the nuclear membrane) and chromosome associations (homologous pairing, number of centromere or telomere clusters per nucleus, number of chromosome arms per cluster, etc.) are critical for the formation of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations and DSB repair. However, the rules of nuclear architecture are poorly understood. A polymer approach for chromosome configurations, associations, and attachments was developed, based on the coil-like behavior of chromosomal fibers and the tight packing of discrete chromatin domains in a nucleus. The model considers chromatin anchoring to nuclear structures and shows that confinement of chromatin diffusion in a nucleus can be related to its anchoring and higher-order chromatin structure. The model was applied to nuclei of budding and fission yeast, Drosophila, worm, newt, mammals (human, Indian and Chinese muntjac, mouse) and plants (Arabidopsis, maize, barley, wheat). Quantitative agreement between results calculated from the model and observed data was obtained in all considered (∼25) cases. This supports the model and means that permitted chromosome configurations and associations can be predicted from the geometrical constraints imposed on chromosomes by nuclear size and shape

Chromosomal inversions effect body size and shape in different breeding resources in Drosophila buzzatii.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Iriarte, P J; Norry, F M; Hasson, E R

2003-07-01

The cactophilic Drosophila buzzatii provides an excellent model for the study of reaction norms across discrete environments because it breeds on rotting tissues (rots) of very different cactus species. Here we test the possible effects of second chromosome inversions on body size and shape (wing loading) across suitable natural breeding substrates. Using homokaryotypic stocks derived from several lines homozygous for four naturally occurring chromosomal inversions, we show that arrangements significantly affect size-related traits and wing loading. In addition, karyotypes show differing effects, across natural breeding resources, for wing loading. The 2st and 2jz(3) arrangements decrease and the 2j arrangement increases wing loading. For thorax length and wing loading, karyotypic correlations across host plants are slightly lower in females than in males. These results support the hypothesis that these traits have a genetic basis associated with the inversion polymorphism.

A microscopic study of the action of uranyl acetate on the erythrocyte at varying molarity and toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wyatt, J.H.

1977-03-01

Phase contrast and dark field microphotographs were made to record variation of the shape and size changes seen when human erythrocytes are exposed in a number of ways to uranyl acetate in vitro. The degree of hemolysis produced by varying the toxicity of the uranyl acetate solutions was measured, and the results are discussed with particular reference to the possible influence of pH. (author)

Biological responses according to the shape and size of carbon nanotubes in BEAS-2B and MESO-1 cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haniu H

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Hisao Haniu,1,2 Naoto Saito,2,3 Yoshikazu Matsuda,4 Tamotsu Tsukahara,5 Yuki Usui,1,6,7 Kayo Maruyama,2,3 Seiji Takanashi,1 Kaoru Aoki,1 Shinsuke Kobayashi,1 Hiroki Nomura,1 Manabu Tanaka,1 Masanori Okamoto,1 Hiroyuki Kato1 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Nagano, Japan; 2Insutitute for Biomedical Sciences, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan; 3Department of Applied Physical Therapy, Shinshu University School of Health Sciences, Nagano, Japan; 4Clinical Pharmacology Educational Center, Nihon Pharmaceutical University, Saitama, Japan; 5Department of Hematology and Immunology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan; 6Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan; 7Aizawa Hospital, Sports Medicine Center, Nagano, Japan Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the influence of the shape and size of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs and cup-stacked carbon nanotubes (CSCNTs on biological responses in vitro. Three types of MWCNTs – VGCF®-X, VGCF®-S, and VGCF® (vapor grown carbon fibers; with diameters of 15, 80, and 150 nm, respectively – and three CSCNTs of different lengths (CS-L, 20–80 µm; CS-S, 0.5–20 µm; and CS-M, of intermediate length were tested. Human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B and malignant pleural mesothelioma cells were exposed to the CNTs (1–50 µg/mL, and cell viability, permeability, uptake, total reactive oxygen species/superoxide production, and intracellular acidity were measured. CSCNTs were less toxic than MWCNTs in both cell types over a 24-hour exposure period. The cytotoxicity of endocytosed MWCNTs varied according to cell type/size, while that of CSCNTs depended on tube length irrespective of cell type. CNT diameter and length influenced cell aggregation and injury extent. Intracellular acidity increased independently of lysosomal activity along with the number of vacuoles in BEAS-2B cells exposed for 24 hours to either CNT

THE INFLUENCE OF BINDING MATERIAL ON POROUS STRUCTURE OF SHAPED HOPCALITE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.K. Kulikov

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The authors have investigated the equilibrated adsorption of water vapors on GFG hopcalite, which was obtained using the extrusion shaping method, with bentonite clay as the binding compound. In the frames of the BET model, the values of the monolayer capacity and the size of medium area occupied by the water molecule in the filled monolayer have been determined. The distribution of pores according to their sizes has been evaluated. It has been established that the modification of the bentonitic clay allows directed construction of the hopcalite porous structure,i.e. the formation of the mesoporous structure with a narrow distribution of the pores capacities by sizes, which was achieved varying the sizes of binding compound particles.

Stark-shift of impurity fundamental state in a lens shaped quantum dot

Science.gov (United States)

Aderras, L.; Bah, A.; Feddi, E.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2017-05-01

We calculate the Stark effect and the polarisability of shallow-donor impurity located in the centre of lens shaped quantum dot by a variational method and in the effective-mass approximation. Our theoretical model assumes an infinite confinement to describe the barriers at the dot boundaries and the electric field is considered to be applied in the z-direction. The systematic theoretical investigation contains results with the quantum dot size and the strength of the external field. Our calculations reveal that the interval wherein the polarisability varies depends strongly on the dot size.

Nonlocal superelastic model of size-dependent hardening and dissipation in single crystal Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Lei; Rimoli, Julian J; Chen, Ying; Schuh, Christopher A; Radovitzky, Raul

2011-02-25

We propose a nonlocal continuum model to describe the size-dependent superelastic effect observed in recent experiments of single crystal Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys. The model introduces two length scales, one in the free energy and one in the dissipation, which account for the size-dependent hardening and dissipation in the loading and unloading response of micro- and nanopillars subject to compression tests. The information provided by the model suggests that the size dependence observed in the dissipation is likely to be associated with a nonuniform evolution of the distribution of the austenitic and martensitic phases during the loading cycle. © 2011 American Physical Society

Direct measurement of aerosol shape factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeller, W.

1983-12-01

The dynamic shape factor whereas the coagulation shape factor is an average over the total examined size range. The experiments have shown that the results of experiments with a certain aerosol system cannot be transferred to other aerosol systems without further consideration. The outer shape of particles of a certain size depends on the specific properties of the material as well as on the experimental conditions during the aerosol generation. For both aerosol systems examined the mean dynamic shape factor, averaged over the total examined size range, agrees roughly with the coagulation shape factor. (Description of aerosol centrifuge and of differential mobility analyzer). (orig./HP) [de

The synthesis and characterization of platinum nanoparticles: a method of controlling the size and morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, Nguyen Viet; Hayakawa, Tomokatsu; Lakshminarayana, Gandham; Nogami, Masayuki; Chien, Nguyen Duc; Hirata, Hirohito

2010-01-01

In this paper, Pt nanoparticles with good shapes of nanocubes and nano-octahedra and well-controlled sizes in the range 5-7 and 8-12 nm, respectively, have been successfully synthesized. The modified polyol method by adding silver nitrate and varying the molar ratio of the solutions of silver nitrate and H 2 PtCl 6 has been used to produce Pt nanoparticles of the size and shape to be controlled. The size and morphology of Pt nanoparticles have been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM (HRTEM). The results have shown that their very sharp and good shapes exist in the main forms of cubic, cuboctahedral, octahedral and tetrahedral shapes directly related to the crystal nucleation along various directions of the {100} cubic, {111} octahedral and {111} tetrahedral facets during synthesis. In particular, various irregular and new shapes of Pt nanoparticles have been found. Here, it is concluded that the role of silver ions has to be considered as an important factor for promoting and controlling the development of Pt nanoparticles of {100} cubic, {111} octahedral and {111} tetrahedral facets, and also directly orienting the growth and formation of Pt nanoparticles.

Radar observations and shape model of asteroid 16 Psyche

Science.gov (United States)

Shepard, Michael K.; Richardson, James; Taylor, Patrick A.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Conrad, Al; de Pater, Imke; Adamkovics, Mate; de Kleer, Katherine; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Close, Laird M.; Kaasalainen, Mikko; Viikinkoski, Matti; Timerson, Bradley; Reddy, Vishnu; Magri, Christopher; Nolan, Michael C.; Howell, Ellen S.; Benner, Lance A. M.; Giorgini, Jon D.; Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.

2017-01-01

Using the S-band radar at Arecibo Observatory, we observed 16 Psyche, the largest M-class asteroid in the main belt. We obtained 18 radar imaging and 6 continuous wave runs in November and December 2015, and combined these with 16 continuous wave runs from 2005 and 6 recent adaptive-optics (AO) images (Drummond et al., 2016) to generate a three-dimensional shape model of Psyche. Our model is consistent with a previously published AO image (Hanus et al., 2013) and three multi-chord occultations. Our shape model has dimensions 279 × 232 × 189 km (± 10%), Deff = 226 ± 23 km, and is 6% larger than, but within the uncertainties of, the most recently published size and shape model generated from the inversion of lightcurves (Hanus et al., 2013). Psyche is roughly ellipsoidal but displays a mass-deficit over a region spanning 90° of longitude. There is also evidence for two ∼50-70 km wide depressions near its south pole. Our size and published masses lead to an overall bulk density estimate of 4500 ± 1400 kgm-3. Psyche's mean radar albedo of 0.37 ± 0.09 is consistent with a near-surface regolith composed largely of iron-nickel and ∼40% porosity. Its radar reflectivity varies by a factor of 1.6 as the asteroid rotates, suggesting global variations in metal abundance or bulk density in the near surface. The variations in radar albedo appear to correlate with large and small-scale shape features. Our size and Psyche's published absolute magnitude lead to an optical albedo of pv = 0.15 ± 0.03, and there is evidence for albedo variegations that correlate with shape features.

Magnetization Reversal of Nanoscale Islands: How Size and Shape Affect the Arrhenius Prefactor

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, S.; Herzog, G.; Stapelfeldt, T.; Berbil-Bautista, L.; Bode, M.; Vedmedenko, E. Y.; Wiesendanger, R.

2009-09-01

The thermal switching behavior of individual in-plane magnetized Fe/W(110) nanoislands is investigated by a combined study of variable-temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. Even for islands consisting of less than 100 atoms the magnetization reversal takes place via nucleation and propagation. The Arrhenius prefactor is found to strongly depend on the individual island size and shape, and based on the experimental results a simple model is developed to describe the magnetization reversal in terms of metastable states. Complementary Monte Carlo simulations confirm the model and provide new insight into the microscopic processes involved in magnetization reversal of smallest nanomagnets.

Edge energies and shapes of nanoprecipitates.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamilton, John C.

2006-01-01

In this report we present a model to explain the size-dependent shapes of lead nano-precipitates in aluminum. Size-dependent shape transitions, frequently observed at nanolength scales, are commonly attributed to edge energy effects. This report resolves an ambiguity in the definition and calculation of edge energies and presents an atomistic calculation of edge energies for free clusters. We also present a theory for size-dependent shapes of Pb nanoprecipitates in Al, introducing the concept of ''magic-shapes'' defined as precipitate shapes having near zero elastic strains when inserted into similarly shaped voids in the Al matrix. An algorithm for constructing a complete set of magic-shapes is presented. The experimental observations are explained by elastic strain energies and interfacial energies; edge energies play a negligible role. We replicate the experimental observations by selecting precipitates having magic-shapes and interfacial energies less than a cutoff value.

Spray forming of Cu–11.85Al–3.2Ni–3Mn (wt%) shape memory alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cava, Régis D., E-mail: regis_cava@hotmail.com [Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos (Brazil); Bolfarini, Claudemiro; Kiminami, Cláudio S. [Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos (Brazil); Mazzer, Eric M. [Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos (Brazil); Botta Filho, Walter J. [Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos (Brazil); Gargarella, Piter; Eckert, Jürger [IFW Dresden, Institute for Complex Materials, Dresden (Germany)

2014-12-05

Highlights: • We characterized a Cu-based shape memory alloy produced by spray forming. • The deposit presented equiaxial grains and monoclinic martensite β′ microstructure. • The deposit’s shape memory properties varied as a function of the cooling rates. • The results opened a new window in the manufacture of Cu shape memory materials. - Abstract: Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in the range of Cu–(11.8–13.5)Al–(3.2–4)Ni–(2–3)Mn (wt%) exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, combine good mechanical properties with a pronounced shape memory effect, and are low cost (Dutkiewicz et al., 1999). Their processing requires high cooling rates to reduce grain size, prevent decomposition of the ß phase into equilibrium phases, and induce martensite transformation. In this investigation, Cu–11.85Al–3.2Ni–3Mn (wt%) shape memory alloy was processed by spray forming, a rapid solidification technique that involves cooling rates of 10{sup 1} to 10{sup 4} K/s, to determine the potential of producing deposits with adequate microstructure, homogeneity and porosity for the manufacture of SMA near net shape parts. To this end, 5.2 kg of alloy with nominal composition was atomized with nitrogen gas under a pressure of 0.5 MPa and a gas–metal ratio (GMR) of 1.93. The atomized material was deposited at 60 rpm on a rotating steel substrate positioned 350 mm below the gas nozzle. The microstructure of the deposit was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The deposit with an effective diameter of 240 mm and 75 mm height presented equiaxial grains with a martensite microstructure. Grain sizes varied from 25 μm in the lower region (contact with the steel substrate) to 160 μm in the upper region of the deposit. Measurements of the reverse martensite transformation temperature of the deposit in different regions revealed its strong influence on the grain size.

Size and shape of soil humic acids estimated by viscosity and molecular weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawahigashi, Masayuki; Sumida, Hiroaki; Yamamoto, Kazuhiko

2005-04-15

Ultrafiltration fractions of three soil humic acids were characterized by viscometry and high performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) in order to estimate shapes and hydrodynamic sizes. Intrinsic viscosities under given solute/solvent/temperature conditions were obtained by extrapolating the concentration dependence of reduced viscosities to zero concentration. Molecular mass (weight average molecular weight (M (w)) and number average molecular weight (M (n))) and hydrodynamic radius (R(H)) were determined by HPSEC using pullulan as calibrant. Values of M (w) and M (n) ranged from 15 to 118 x 10(3) and from 9 to 50 x 10(3) (g mol(-1)), respectively. Polydispersity, as indicated by M (w)/M (n), increased with increasing filter size from 1.5 to 2.4. The hydrodynamic radii (R(H)) ranged between 2.2 and 6.4 nm. For each humic acid, M (w) and [eta] were related. Mark-Houwink coefficients calculated on the basis of the M (w)-[eta] relationships suggested restricted flexible chains for two of the humic acids and a branched structure for the third humic acid. Those structures probably behave as hydrated sphere colloids in a good solvent. Hydrodynamic radii of fractions calculated from [eta] using Einstein's equation, which is applicable to hydrated sphere colloids, ranged from 2.2 to 7.1 nm. These dimensions are fit to the size of nanospaces on and between clay minerals and micropores in soil particle aggregates. On the other hand, the good agreement of R(H) values obtained by applying Einstein's equation with those directly determined by HPSEC suggests that pullulan is a suitable calibrant for estimation of molecular mass and size of humic acids by HPSEC.

Determination of size and shape distributions of metal and ceramic powders; Odredjivanje raspodele velicina, specificne povrsine i oblika metalnih i keramickih prahova

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jovanovic, DI [Institute of Nuclear Sciences Boris Kidric, Laboratorija za termotehniku reaktora, Vinca, Beograd (Serbia and Montenegro)

1961-12-15

For testing the size and shape distributions of metal and ceramic uranium oxide powders the following method for analysing the grain size of powders were developed and implemented: microscopic analysis and sedimentation method. A gravimetry absorption device was constructed for determining the specific surfaces of powders.

Morphological and morphometric analysis of the shape, position, number and size of mental foramen on human mandibles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alma Voljevica

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Objective. To provide anatomical information on the position, morphological variations and incidence of mental foramen (MF and accessorymental foramen (AMF as they are important for dental surgeons, anesthetists in nerve block and surgical procedures, to avoid injury to the neurovascular bundle in the mental foramen area. Methods. Our study was conducted on 150 adult dry human mandibles from the osteological collection of the Department of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo. The location and shape of the MF and the presence of the AMF were studied by visual examination. The size and position of the MF were measured using a digital vernier caliper. SPSS, version 17 software was used for the statistical analysis. Results. Bilateral mental foramina were presented in all 150 mandibles. In the majority of mandibles, the MF was located between the first and second premolar (20.3% or on the level of the root of the second premolar (60.3%, midway between the inferior margin and the alveolar margin of the mandible. Most of the mental foramina were oval in shape (83.3%. An AMF was present in four mandibles (2.7% on the right side. Conclusion. This study may be a very useful new supplement to data on variations in the incidence, position, shape and size of mental and accessory mental foramina, which may help surgeons, anaesthetists, neurosurgeons and dentists in carrying out surgical procedures successfully.

Encoding of complexity, shape and curvature by macaque infero-temporal neurons

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Greet eKayaert

2011-07-01

Full Text Available We recorded responses of macaque infero-temporal (IT neurons to a stimulus set of Fourier Boundary Descriptor shapes wherein complexity, general shape and curvature were systematically varied. We analyzed the response patterns of the neurons to the different stimuli using multi-dimensional scaling. The resulting neural shape space differed in important ways from the physical, image-based shape space. We found a particular sensitivity for the presence of curved versus straight contours that existed only for the simple but not for the medium and highly complex shapes. Also, IT neurons could linearly separate the simple and the complex shapes within a low-dimensional neural shape space, but no distinction was found between the medium and high levels of complexity. None of these effects could be derived from physical image metrics, either directly or by comparing the neural data with similarities yielded by two models of low-level visual processing (one using wavelet-based filters and one that models position and size invariant object selectivity through four hierarchically organized neural layers. This study highlights the relevance of complexity to IT neural encoding, both as a neurally independently represented shape property and through its influence on curvature detection.

Dynamics of soil biogeochemical gas emissions shaped by remolded aggregate sizes and carbon configurations under hydration cycles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Ali; Or, Dani

2018-01-01

Changes in soil hydration status affect microbial community dynamics and shape key biogeochemical processes. Evidence suggests that local anoxic conditions may persist and support anaerobic microbial activity in soil aggregates (or in similar hot spots) long after the bulk soil becomes aerated. To facilitate systematic studies of interactions among environmental factors with biogeochemical emissions of CO 2 , N 2 O and CH 4 from soil aggregates, we remolded silt soil aggregates to different sizes and incorporated carbon at different configurations (core, mixed, no addition). Assemblies of remolded soil aggregates of three sizes (18, 12, and 6 mm) and equal volumetric proportions were embedded in sand columns at four distinct layers. The water table level in each column varied periodically while obtaining measurements of soil GHG emissions for the different aggregate carbon configurations. Experimental results illustrate that methane production required prolonged inundation and highly anoxic conditions for inducing measurable fluxes. The onset of unsaturated conditions (lowering water table) resulted in a decrease in CH 4 emissions while temporarily increasing N 2 O fluxes. Interestingly, N 2 O fluxes were about 80% higher form aggregates with carbon placement in center (anoxic) core compared to mixed carbon within aggregates. The fluxes of CO 2 were comparable for both scenarios of carbon sources. These experimental results highlight the importance of hydration dynamics in activating different GHG production and affecting various transport mechanisms about 80% of total methane emissions during lowering water table level are attributed to physical storage (rather than production), whereas CO 2 emissions (~80%) are attributed to biological activity. A biophysical model for microbial activity within soil aggregates and profiles provides a means for results interpretation and prediction of trends within natural soils under a wide range of conditions. © 2017 John

Neuronal density, size and shape in the human anterior cingulate cortex: a comparison of Nissl and NeuN staining.

Science.gov (United States)

Gittins, Rebecca; Harrison, Paul J

2004-03-15

There are an increasing number of quantitative morphometric studies of the human cerebral cortex, especially as part of comparative investigations of major psychiatric disorders. In this context, the present study had two aims. First, to provide quantitative data regarding key neuronal morphometric parameters in the anterior cingulate cortex. Second, to compare the results of conventional Nissl staining with those observed after immunostaining with NeuN, an antibody becoming widely used as a selective neuronal marker. We stained adjacent sections of area 24b from 16 adult brains with cresyl violet or NeuN. We measured the density of pyramidal and non-pyramidal neurons, and the size and shape of pyramidal neurons, in laminae II, III, Va, Vb and VI, using two-dimensional counting methods. Strong correlations between the two modes of staining were seen for all variables. However, NeuN gave slightly higher estimates of neuronal density and size, and a more circular perikaryal shape. Brain pH was correlated with neuronal size, measured with both methods, and with neuronal shape. Age and post-mortem interval showed no correlations with any parameter. These data confirm the value of NeuN as a tool for quantitative neuronal morphometric studies in routinely processed human brain tissue. Absolute values are highly correlated between NeuN and cresyl violet stains, but cannot be interchanged. NeuN may be particularly useful when it is important to distinguish small neurons from glia, such as in cytoarchitectural studies of the cerebral cortex in depression and schizophrenia.

SEIR Model of Rumor Spreading in Online Social Network with Varying Total Population Size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Suyalatu; Deng Yan-Bin; Huang Yong-Chang

2017-01-01

Based on the infectious disease model with disease latency, this paper proposes a new model for the rumor spreading process in online social network. In this paper what we establish an SEIR rumor spreading model to describe the online social network with varying total number of users and user deactivation rate. We calculate the exact equilibrium points and reproduction number for this model. Furthermore, we perform the rumor spreading process in the online social network with increasing population size based on the original real world Facebook network. The simulation results indicate that the SEIR model of rumor spreading in online social network with changing total number of users can accurately reveal the inherent characteristics of rumor spreading process in online social network . (paper)

Detecting space-time disease clusters with arbitrary shapes and sizes using a co-clustering approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Ullah

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Ability to detect potential space-time clusters in spatio-temporal data on disease occurrences is necessary for conducting surveillance and implementing disease prevention policies. Most existing techniques use geometrically shaped (circular, elliptical or square scanning windows to discover disease clusters. In certain situations, where the disease occurrences tend to cluster in very irregularly shaped areas, these algorithms are not feasible in practise for the detection of space-time clusters. To address this problem, a new algorithm is proposed, which uses a co-clustering strategy to detect prospective and retrospective space-time disease clusters with no restriction on shape and size. The proposed method detects space-time disease clusters by tracking the changes in space–time occurrence structure instead of an in-depth search over space. This method was utilised to detect potential clusters in the annual and monthly malaria data in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan from 2012 to 2016 visualising the results on a heat map. The results of the annual data analysis showed that the most likely hotspot emerged in three sub-regions in the years 2013-2014. The most likely hotspots in monthly data appeared in the month of July to October in each year and showed a strong periodic trend.

Sizes and shapes of short-lived nuclei via laser spectroscopy. Progress report, May 1, 1980-January 31, 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, D.A.

1981-02-01

The first stage of the program to study the sizes and shapes of short-lived nuclei through their atomic hyperfine structure is to develop a movable laser spectroscopy system. This system is now almost complete and is described in this report along with plans for measurements at Argonne National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory

Audiovisual correspondence between musical timbre and visual shapes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad eAdeli

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the cross-modal correspondences between musical timbre and shapes. Previously, such features as pitch, loudness, light intensity, visual size, and color characteristics have mostly been used in studies of audio-visual correspondences. Moreover, in most studies, simple stimuli e.g. simple tones have been utilized. In this experiment, 23 musical sounds varying in fundamental frequency and timbre but fixed in loudness were used. Each sound was presented once against colored shapes and once against grayscale shapes. Subjects had to select the visual equivalent of a given sound i.e. its shape, color (or grayscale and vertical position. This scenario permitted studying the associations between normalized timbre and visual shapes as well as some of the previous findings for more complex stimuli. 119 subjects (31 females and 88 males participated in the online experiment. Subjects included 36 claimed professional musicians, 47 claimed amateur musicians and 36 claimed non-musicians. 31 subjects have also claimed to have synesthesia-like experiences. A strong association between timbre of envelope normalized sounds and visual shapes was observed. Subjects have strongly associated soft timbres with blue, green or light gray rounded shapes, harsh timbres with red, yellow or dark gray sharp angular shapes and timbres having elements of softness and harshness together with a mixture of the two previous shapes. Color or grayscale had no effect on timbre-shape associations. Fundamental frequency was not associated with height, grayscale or color. The significant correspondence between timbre and shape revealed by the present work allows designing substitution systems which might help the blind to perceive shapes through timbre.

Many ways to be small: different environmental regulators of size generate distinct scaling relationships in Drosophila melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Shingleton, Alexander W.; Estep, Chad M.; Driscoll, Michael V.; Dworkin, Ian

2009-01-01

Static allometries, the scaling relationship between body and trait size, describe the shape of animals in a population or species, and are generated in response to variation in genetic or environmental regulators of size. In principle, allometries may vary with the different size regulators that generate them, which can be problematic since allometric differences are also used to infer patterns of selection on morphology. We test this hypothesis by examining the patterns of scaling in Drosop...

An instrument for the simultaneous acquisition of size, shape, and spectral fluorescence data from single aerosol particles

Science.gov (United States)

Hirst, Edwin; Kaye, Paul H.; Foot, Virginia E.; Clark, James M.; Withers, Philip B.

2004-12-01

We describe the construction of a bio-aerosol monitor designed to capture and record intrinsic fluorescence spectra from individual aerosol particles carried in a sample airflow and to simultaneously capture data relating to the spatial distribution of elastically scattered light from each particle. The spectral fluorescence data recorded by this PFAS (Particle Fluorescence and Shape) monitor contains information relating to the particle material content and specifically to possible biological fluorophores. The spatial scattering data from PFAS yields information relating to particle size and shape. The combination of these data can provide a means of aiding the discrimination of bio-aerosols from background or interferent aerosol particles which may have similar fluorescence properties but exhibit shapes and/or sizes not normally associated with biological particles. The radiation used both to excite particle fluorescence and generate the necessary spatially scattered light flux is provided by a novel compact UV fiber laser operating at 266nm wavelength. Particles drawn from the ambient environment traverse the laser beam in single file. Intrinsic particle fluorescence in the range 300-570nm is collected via an ellipsoidal concentrator into a concave grating spectrometer, the spectral data being recorded using a 16-anode linear array photomultiplier detector. Simultaneously, the spatial radiation pattern scattered by the particle over 5°-30° scattering angle and 360° of azimuth is recorded using a custom designed 31-pixel radial hybrid photodiode array. Data from up to ~5,000 particles per second may be acquired for analysis, usually performed by artificial neural network classification.

Dependence of micelle size and shape on detergent alkyl chain length and head group.

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Ryan C Oliver

Full Text Available Micelle-forming detergents provide an amphipathic environment that can mimic lipid bilayers and are important tools for solubilizing membrane proteins for functional and structural investigations in vitro. However, the formation of a soluble protein-detergent complex (PDC currently relies on empirical screening of detergents, and a stable and functional PDC is often not obtained. To provide a foundation for systematic comparisons between the properties of the detergent micelle and the resulting PDC, a comprehensive set of detergents commonly used for membrane protein studies are systematically investigated. Using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS, micelle shapes and sizes are determined for phosphocholines with 10, 12, and 14 alkyl carbons, glucosides with 8, 9, and 10 alkyl carbons, maltosides with 8, 10, and 12 alkyl carbons, and lysophosphatidyl glycerols with 14 and 16 alkyl carbons. The SAXS profiles are well described by two-component ellipsoid models, with an electron rich outer shell corresponding to the detergent head groups and a less electron dense hydrophobic core composed of the alkyl chains. The minor axis of the elliptical micelle core from these models is constrained by the length of the alkyl chain, and increases by 1.2-1.5 Å per carbon addition to the alkyl chain. The major elliptical axis also increases with chain length; however, the ellipticity remains approximately constant for each detergent series. In addition, the aggregation number of these detergents increases by ∼16 monomers per micelle for each alkyl carbon added. The data provide a comprehensive view of the determinants of micelle shape and size and provide a baseline for correlating micelle properties with protein-detergent interactions.

The size effect of searching window for measuring wavefront of laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Seung Kyu; Baik, Sung Hoon; Lim, Chang Hwan; Kim, Jung Cheol; Yi, Seung Jun; Ra, Sung Woong

2003-01-01

We investigated the size effect of the searching window for measuring of a laser beam using a Shack-Hartmann sensor. The shapes of spot images on an acquired wavefront image by using a Shack-Hartmann sensor are usually imbalanced. Also, the distributed intensity pattern of each spot image is varied according to successively acquired wavefront image. We studied on the optimized size of searching window to get wavefront with high measurement resolution. We experimented on the various size effect of searching window on an acquired wavefront image to get fine wavefront information using a Shack-Hartmann sensor. As the experimental results, we proposed the optimum size of searching window to measure improved wavefront.

Pressure Enhancement in Confined Fluids: Effect of Molecular Shape and Fluid-Wall Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Deepti; Santiso, Erik E; Gubbins, Keith E

2017-10-24

Recently, several experimental and simulation studies have found that phenomena that normally occur at extremely high pressures in a bulk phase can occur in nanophases confined within porous materials at much lower bulk phase pressures, thus providing an alternative route to study high-pressure phenomena. In this work, we examine the effect on the tangential pressure of varying the molecular shape, strength of the fluid-wall interactions, and pore width, for carbon slit-shaped pores. We find that, for multisite molecules, the presence of additional rotational degrees of freedom leads to unique changes in the shape of the tangential pressure profile, especially in larger pores. We show that, due to the direct relationship between the molecular density and the fluid-wall interactions, the latter have a large impact on the pressure tensor. The molecular shape and pore size have a notable impact on the layering of molecules in the pore, greatly influencing both the shape and scale of the tangential pressure profile.

Time-varying value of electric energy efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mims, Natalie A.; Eckman, Tom; Goldman, Charles

2017-06-30

Electric energy efficiency resources save energy and may reduce peak demand. Historically, quantification of energy efficiency benefits has largely focused on the economic value of energy savings during the first year and lifetime of the installed measures. Due in part to the lack of publicly available research on end-use load shapes (i.e., the hourly or seasonal timing of electricity savings) and energy savings shapes, consideration of the impact of energy efficiency on peak demand reduction (i.e., capacity savings) has been more limited. End-use load research and the hourly valuation of efficiency savings are used for a variety of electricity planning functions, including load forecasting, demand-side management and evaluation, capacity and demand response planning, long-term resource planning, renewable energy integration, assessing potential grid modernization investments, establishing rates and pricing, and customer service. This study reviews existing literature on the time-varying value of energy efficiency savings, provides examples in four geographically diverse locations of how consideration of the time-varying value of efficiency savings impacts the calculation of power system benefits, and identifies future research needs to enhance the consideration of the time-varying value of energy efficiency in cost-effectiveness screening analysis. Findings from this study include: -The time-varying value of individual energy efficiency measures varies across the locations studied because of the physical and operational characteristics of the individual utility system (e.g., summer or winter peaking, load factor, reserve margin) as well as the time periods during which savings from measures occur. -Across the four locations studied, some of the largest capacity benefits from energy efficiency are derived from the deferral of transmission and distribution system infrastructure upgrades. However, the deferred cost of such upgrades also exhibited the greatest range

Release of carbon nanoparticles of different size and shape from nanocomposite poly(lactic) acid film into food simulants.

Science.gov (United States)

Velichkova, Hristiana; Kotsilkov, Stanislav; Ivanov, Evgeni; Kotsilkova, Rumiana; Gyoshev, Stanislav; Stoimenov, Nikolay; Vitanov, Nikolay K

2017-06-01

Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) film with 2 wt% mixed carbon nanofillers of graphene nanoplates (GNPs) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a weight ratio of 1:1 with impurities of fullerene and carbon black (CB) was produced by layer-to-layer deposition and hot pressing. The release of carbon nanoparticles from the film was studied at varying time-temperature conditions and simulants. Migrants in simulant solvents were examined with laser diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Film integrity and the presence of migrants on the film surfaces were visualised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The partial dissolution of PLA polymer in the solvents was confirmed by swelling tests and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Nanoparticle migrants were not detected in the simulants (at the LOD 0.020 μm of the laser diffraction analysis) after migration testing at 40°C for 10 days. However, high-temperature migration testing at 90°C for 4 h provoked a release of GNPs from the film into ethanol, acetic acid and oil-based food simulants. Short carbon nanotubes were observed rarely to release in the most aggressive acetic acid solvent. Obviously, the enhanced molecular mobility at temperatures above the glass transition and partial dissolution of PLA polymer by the food simulant facilitate the diffusion processes. Moreover, shape, size and concentration of nanoparticles play a significant role. Flexible naked GNPs (lateral size 100-1000 nm) easily migrate when the polymer molecules exhibit enhanced mobility, while fibrous MWCNTs (> 1 μm length) formed entangled networks on the film surfaces as the PLA polymer is partly dissolved, preventing their release into food simulants. The impurities of fullerenes and CB (5-30 nm) were of minor concentration in the polymer, therefore their migration is low or undetectable. The total amount of released migrants is below overall migration limits.

Modeling single-scattering properties of small cirrus particles by use of a size-shape distribution of ice spheroids and cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Li; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Cairns, Brian; Carlson, Barbara E.; Travis, Larry D.

2006-01-01

In this study, we model single-scattering properties of small cirrus crystals using mixtures of polydisperse, randomly oriented spheroids and cylinders with varying aspect ratios and with a refractive index representative of water ice at a wavelength of 1.88 μm. The Stokes scattering matrix elements averaged over wide shape distributions of spheroids and cylinders are compared with those computed for polydisperse surface-equivalent spheres. The shape-averaged phase function for a mixture of oblate and prolate spheroids is smooth, featureless, and nearly flat at side-scattering angles and closely resembles those typically measured for cirrus. Compared with the ensemble-averaged phase function for spheroids, that for a shape distribution of cylinders shows a relatively deeper minimum at side-scattering angles. This may indicate that light scattering from realistic cirrus crystals can be better represented by a shape mixture of ice spheroids. Interestingly, the single-scattering properties of shape-averaged oblate and prolate cylinders are very similar to those of compact cylinders with a diameter-to-length ratio of unity. The differences in the optical cross sections, single-scattering albedo, and asymmetry parameter between the spherical and the nonspherical particles studied appear to be relatively small. This may suggest that for a given optical thickness, the influence of particle shape on the radiative forcing caused by a cloud composed of small ice crystals can be negligible

Phase diagrams of magnetic state transformations in multiferroic composites controlled by size, shape and interfacial coupling strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Sheng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This work aims to give a comprehensive view of magnetic state stability and transformations in PZT-film/FeGa-dot multiferroic composite systems due to the combining effects of size, shape and interfacial coupling strain. It is found that the stable magnetic state of the FeGa nanodots is not only a function of the size and shape of the nanodot but also strongly sensitive to the interfacial coupling strain modified by the polarization state of PZT film. In particular, due to the large magnetostriction of FeGa, the phase boundaries between different magnetic states (i.e., in-plane/out-of-plane polar states, and single-/multi-vortex states of FeGa nanodots can be effectively tuned by the polarization-mediated strain. Fruitful strain-mediated transformation paths of magnetic states including those between states with different orderings (i.e., one is polar and the other is vortex, as well as those between states with the same ordering (i.e., both are polar or both are vortex have been revealed in a comprehensive view. Our result sheds light on the potential of utilizing electric field to induce fruitful magnetic state transformation paths in multiferroic film-dot systems towards a development of novel magnetic random access memories.

The intrinsic shape of galaxies in SDSS/Galaxy Zoo

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Silvio; Padilla, Nelson D.

2013-09-01

By modelling the axis ratio distribution of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 galaxies, we find the intrinsic 3D shapes of spirals and ellipticals. We use morphological information from the Galaxy Zoo project and assume a non-parametric distribution intrinsic of shapes, while taking into account dust extinction. We measure the dust extinction of the full sample of spiral galaxies and find a smaller value than previous estimations, with an edge-on extinction of E_0 = 0.284^{+0.015}_{-0.026} in the SDSS r band. We also find that the distribution of minor to major axis ratio has a mean value of 0.267 ± 0.009, slightly larger than previous estimates mainly due to the lower extinction used; the same affects the circularity of galactic discs, which are found to be less round in shape than in previous studies, with a mean ellipticity of 0.215 ± 0.013. For elliptical galaxies, we find that the minor to major axis ratio, with a mean value of 0.584 ± 0.006, is larger than previous estimations due to the removal of spiral interlopers present in samples with morphological information from photometric profiles. These interlopers are removed when selecting ellipticals using Galaxy Zoo data. We find that the intrinsic shapes of galaxies and their dust extinction vary with absolute magnitude, colour and physical size. We find that bright elliptical galaxies are more spherical than faint ones, a trend that is also present with galaxy size, and that there is no dependence of elliptical galaxy shape with colour. For spiral galaxies, we find that the reddest ones have higher dust extinction as expected, due to the fact that this reddening is mainly due to dust. We also find that the thickness of discs increases with luminosity and size, and that brighter, smaller and redder galaxies have less round discs.

Nanoparticle heterodimers: The role of size and interparticle gap distance on the optical response

Science.gov (United States)

Mokkath, Junais Habeeb

2018-05-01

Composite plasmonic nanostructures with controlled size, shape and relative arrangement is a subject of significant current research interest. Much of this is stimulated by the prospects by generating enormous near-field enhancements of the surface and interparticle gap regions for potential applications in surface-enhanced spectroscopies. In this manuscript, using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations, we investigate how the optical response in size matched homodimers and size mismatched heterodimers composed of Aluminum modify while varying the size and interparticle gap distances in the sub-nanometer range. Both systems show interesting optical response evolution. In particular, the size mismatched heterodimers show even more complex optical response evolution due to a symmetry-breaking in the system.

Fourier-based quantification of renal glomeruli size using Hough transform and shape descriptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafian, Sohrab; Beigzadeh, Borhan; Riahi, Mohammad; Khadir Chamazkoti, Fatemeh; Pouramir, Mahdi

2017-11-01

Analysis of glomeruli geometry is important in histopathological evaluation of renal microscopic images. Due to the shape and size disparity of even glomeruli of same kidney, automatic detection of these renal objects is not an easy task. Although manual measurements are time consuming and at times are not very accurate, it is commonly used in medical centers. In this paper, a new method based on Fourier transform following usage of some shape descriptors is proposed to detect these objects and their geometrical parameters. Reaching the goal, a database of 400 regions are selected randomly. 200 regions of which are part of glomeruli and the other 200 regions are not belong to renal corpuscles. ROC curve is used to decide which descriptor could classify two groups better. f_measure, which is a combination of both tpr (true positive rate) and fpr (false positive rate), is also proposed to select optimal threshold for descriptors. Combination of three parameters (solidity, eccentricity, and also mean squared error of fitted ellipse) provided better result in terms of f_measure to distinguish desired regions. Then, Fourier transform of outer edges is calculated to form a complete curve out of separated region(s). The generality of proposed model is verified by use of cross validation method, which resulted tpr of 94%, and fpr of 5%. Calculation of glomerulus' and Bowman's space with use of the algorithm are also compared with a non-automatic measurement done by a renal pathologist, and errors of 5.9%, 5.4%, and 6.26% are resulted in calculation of Capsule area, Bowman space, and glomeruli area, respectively. Having tested different glomeruli with various shapes, the experimental consequences show robustness and reliability of our method. Therefore, it could be used to illustrate renal diseases and glomerular disorders by measuring the morphological changes accurately and expeditiously. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SEIR Model of Rumor Spreading in Online Social Network with Varying Total Population Size

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Suyalatu; Deng, Yan-Bin; Huang, Yong-Chang

2017-10-01

Based on the infectious disease model with disease latency, this paper proposes a new model for the rumor spreading process in online social network. In this paper what we establish an SEIR rumor spreading model to describe the online social network with varying total number of users and user deactivation rate. We calculate the exact equilibrium points and reproduction number for this model. Furthermore, we perform the rumor spreading process in the online social network with increasing population size based on the original real world Facebook network. The simulation results indicate that the SEIR model of rumor spreading in online social network with changing total number of users can accurately reveal the inherent characteristics of rumor spreading process in online social network. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 11275017 and 11173028

Asymptotic distributions of coalescence times and ancestral lineage numbers for populations with temporally varying size.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hua; Chen, Kun

2013-07-01

The distributions of coalescence times and ancestral lineage numbers play an essential role in coalescent modeling and ancestral inference. Both exact distributions of coalescence times and ancestral lineage numbers are expressed as the sum of alternating series, and the terms in the series become numerically intractable for large samples. More computationally attractive are their asymptotic distributions, which were derived in Griffiths (1984) for populations with constant size. In this article, we derive the asymptotic distributions of coalescence times and ancestral lineage numbers for populations with temporally varying size. For a sample of size n, denote by Tm the mth coalescent time, when m + 1 lineages coalesce into m lineages, and An(t) the number of ancestral lineages at time t back from the current generation. Similar to the results in Griffiths (1984), the number of ancestral lineages, An(t), and the coalescence times, Tm, are asymptotically normal, with the mean and variance of these distributions depending on the population size function, N(t). At the very early stage of the coalescent, when t → 0, the number of coalesced lineages n - An(t) follows a Poisson distribution, and as m → n, $$n\\left(n-1\\right){T}_{m}/2N\\left(0\\right)$$ follows a gamma distribution. We demonstrate the accuracy of the asymptotic approximations by comparing to both exact distributions and coalescent simulations. Several applications of the theoretical results are also shown: deriving statistics related to the properties of gene genealogies, such as the time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) and the total branch length (TBL) of the genealogy, and deriving the allele frequency spectrum for large genealogies. With the advent of genomic-level sequencing data for large samples, the asymptotic distributions are expected to have wide applications in theoretical and methodological development for population genetic inference.

Tuning the wettability of calcite cubes by varying the sizes of the polystyrene nanoparticles attached to their surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Yongjun; Li Tanliang; Yu Xiangyang; Zhao Shiyong; Lu Jianhua; He Jia

2007-01-01

The wettability of calcite cubes was tuned by varying the sizes of the polystyrene nanoparticles attached to their surfaces via a dispersion polymerization. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersion spectrum (EDS) and Fourier transformation infrared spectrum (FTIR). The results showed that the hydrophobicity of the calcite cubes was enhanced with the increase of the size of the polystyrene nanoparticles attached. Using polystyrene nanoparticle-attached calcite cubes (PNACC) as emulsifiers, stable water-in-tricaprylin Pickering emulsions were produced. By gelling the water droplets of the Pickering emulsions, the hierarchical structures of polystyrene nanoparticle-attached calcite cube-armored microspheres were obtained. The polystyrene nanoparticle-attached calcite cubes were expected to have novel surface properties similar neither to traditional Pickering particles, nor to macroscopically asymmetrical Janus particles

Compilation of Instantaneous Source Functions for Varying ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Compilation of Instantaneous Source Functions for Varying Architecture of a Layered Reservoir with Mixed Boundaries and Horizontal Well Completion Part III: B-Shaped Architecture with Vertical Well in the Upper Layer.

Sizing for ethnicity in multi-cultural societies: development of size ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... years, and fell in the size 6/10 to size 14/38 size range. The findings of the study suggest that young South African women of African descent with a triangular body shape may experience loose fit in the upper body of garments sized according to the size specifications currently used in the South African apparel industry.

Beyond body size: muscle biochemistry and body shape explain ontogenetic variation of anti-predatory behaviour in the lizard Salvator merianae.

Science.gov (United States)

de Barros, Fábio Cury; de Carvalho, José Eduardo; Abe, Augusto Shinya; Kohlsdorf, Tiana

2016-06-01

Anti-predatory behaviour evolves under the strong action of natural selection because the success of individuals avoiding predation essentially defines their fitness. Choice of anti-predatory strategies is defined by prey characteristics as well as environmental temperature. An additional dimension often relegated in this multilevel equation is the ontogenetic component. In the tegu Salvator merianae, adults run away from predators at high temperatures but prefer fighting when it is cold, whereas juveniles exhibit the same flight strategy within a wide thermal range. Here, we integrate physiology and morphology to understand ontogenetic variation in the temperature-dependent shift of anti-predatory behaviour in these lizards. We compiled data for body shape and size, and quantified enzyme activity in hindlimb and head muscles, testing the hypothesis that morphophysiological models explain ontogenetic variation in behavioural associations. Our prediction is that juveniles exhibit body shape and muscle biochemistry that enhance flight strategies. We identified biochemical differences between muscles mainly in the LDH:CS ratio, whereby hindlimb muscles were more glycolytic than the jaw musculature. Juveniles, which often use evasive strategies to avoid predation, have more glycolytic hindlimb muscles and are much smaller when compared with adults 1-2 years old. Ontogenetic differences in body shape were identified but marginally contributed to behavioural variation between juvenile and adult tegus, and variation in anti-predatory behaviour in these lizards resides mainly in associations between body size and muscle biochemistry. Our results are discussed in the ecological context of predator avoidance by individuals differing in body size living at temperature-variable environments, where restrictions imposed by the cold could be compensated by specific phenotypes. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Shape and size transformation of gold nanorods (GNRs) via oxidation process: A reverse growth mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandrasekar, Govindasamy; Mougin, Karine; Haidara, Hamidou; Vidal, Loic; Gnecco, Enrico

2011-01-01

The anisotropic shape transformation of gold nanorods (GNRs) with H 2 O 2 was observed in the presence of 'cethyl trimethylammonium bromide' (CTAB). The adequate oxidative dissolution of GNR is provided by the following autocatalytic scheme with H 2 O 2 : Au 0 → Au + , Au 0 + Au n+ → 2Au 3+ , n = 1 and 3. The shape transformation of the GNRs was investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As-synthesised GNRs exhibit transverse plasmon band (TPB) at 523 nm and longitudinal plasmon band (LPB) at 731 nm. Upon H 2 O 2 oxidation, the LPB showed a systematic hypsochromic (blue) shift, while TPB stays at ca. 523 nm. In addition, a new emerging peak observed at ca. 390 nm due to Au(III)-CTAB complex formation during the oxidation. TEM analysis of as-synthesised GNRs with H 2 O 2 confirmed the shape transformation to spherical particles with 10 nm size in 2 h, whereas centrifuged nanorod solution showed no changes in the aspect ratio under the same condition. Au 3+ ions produced from oxidation, complex with excess free CTAB and approach the nanorods preferentially at the end, leading to spatially directed oxidation. This work provides some information to the crystal stability and the growth mechanism of GNRs, as both growth and shortening reactions occur preferentially at the edge of single-crystalline GNRs, all directed by Br - ions.

Isogeometric Shape Optimization of Vibrating Membranes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Dang Manh; Evgrafov, Anton; Gersborg, Allan Roulund

2011-01-01

We consider a model problem of isogeometric shape optimization of vibrating membranes whose shapes are allowed to vary freely. The main obstacle we face is the need for robust and inexpensive extension of a B-spline parametrization from the boundary of a domain onto its interior, a task which has...... perform a number of numerical experiments with our isogeometric shape optimization algorithm and present smooth, optimized membrane shapes. Our conclusion is that isogeometric analysis fits well with shape optimization....

Modified Displacement Transfer Functions for Deformed Shape Predictions of Slender Curved Structures with Varying Curvatives

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, William L.; Fleischer, Van Tran

2014-01-01

To eliminate the need to use finite-element modeling for structure shape predictions, a new method was invented. This method is to use the Displacement Transfer Functions to transform the measured surface strains into deflections for mapping out overall structural deformed shapes. The Displacement Transfer Functions are expressed in terms of rectilinearly distributed surface strains, and contain no material properties. This report is to apply the patented method to the shape predictions of non-symmetrically loaded slender curved structures with different curvatures up to a full circle. Because the measured surface strains are not available, finite-element analysis had to be used to analytically generate the surface strains. Previously formulated straight-beam Displacement Transfer Functions were modified by introducing the curvature-effect correction terms. Through single-point or dual-point collocations with finite-elementgenerated deflection curves, functional forms of the curvature-effect correction terms were empirically established. The resulting modified Displacement Transfer Functions can then provide quite accurate shape predictions. Also, the uniform straight-beam Displacement Transfer Function was applied to the shape predictions of a section-cut of a generic capsule (GC) outer curved sandwich wall. The resulting GC shape predictions are quite accurate in partial regions where the radius of curvature does not change sharply.

Characteristics of Teeth: A Review of Size, Shape, Composition, and Appearance of Maxillary Anterior Teeth.

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, Steve

2016-03-01

Although digital technologies play an increasingly integral role in dentistry, there remains a need for dental professionals to understand the fundamentals of tooth anatomy, form, occlusion, and color science. In this article, the size, shape, composition, and appearance of maxillary anterior teeth will be discussed from esthetic and functional perspectives. A total of 600 extracted maxillary incisors were studied: 200 each of central incisors, lateral incisors, and cuspids. The purpose of the article is to exhibit and discuss factors that make teeth unique and diverse. Understanding these aspects of teeth aids dental professionals in more effectively creating realistic and highly esthetic restorations for patients.

Body size and shape misperception and visual adaptation: An overview of an emerging research paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Challinor, Kirsten L; Mond, Jonathan; Stephen, Ian D; Mitchison, Deborah; Stevenson, Richard J; Hay, Phillipa; Brooks, Kevin R

2017-12-01

Although body size and shape misperception (BSSM) is a common feature of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia, little is known about its underlying neural mechanisms. Recently, a new approach has emerged, based on the long-established non-invasive technique of perceptual adaptation, which allows for inferences about the structure of the neural apparatus responsible for alterations in visual appearance. Here, we describe several recent experimental examples of BSSM, wherein exposure to "extreme" body stimuli causes visual aftereffects of biased perception. The implications of these studies for our understanding of the neural and cognitive representation of human bodies, along with their implications for clinical practice are discussed.

The remarkable convergence of skull shape in crocodilians and toothed whales.

Science.gov (United States)

McCurry, Matthew R; Evans, Alistair R; Fitzgerald, Erich M G; Adams, Justin W; Clausen, Philip D; McHenry, Colin R

2017-03-15

The striking resemblance of long-snouted aquatic mammals and reptiles has long been considered an example of morphological convergence, yet the true cause of this similarity remains untested. We addressed this deficit through three-dimensional morphometric analysis of the full diversity of crocodilian and toothed whale (Odontoceti) skull shapes. Our focus on biomechanically important aspects of shape allowed us to overcome difficulties involved in comparing mammals and reptiles, which have fundamental differences in the number and position of skull bones. We examined whether diet, habitat and prey size correlated with skull shape using phylogenetically informed statistical procedures. Crocodilians and toothed whales have a similar range of skull shapes, varying from extremely short and broad to extremely elongate. This spectrum of shapes represented more of the total variation in our dataset than between phylogenetic groups. The most elongate species (river dolphins and gharials) are extremely convergent in skull shape, clustering outside of the range of the other taxa. Our results suggest the remarkable convergence between long-snouted river dolphins and gharials is driven by diet rather than physical factors intrinsic to riverine environments. Despite diverging approximately 288 million years ago, crocodilians and odontocetes have evolved a remarkably similar morphological solution to feeding on similar prey. © 2017 The Author(s).

The impact of size and shape of particles of undergrowth and herbs mixtures on aerodynamic properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian Panasiewicz

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The impact of the size and shape of a selected group of herbs (dried juniper berries Juniperus communis, dry blueberries Vaccinium myrtillus, petals of cornflower Centaurea cyanus on the value of the volatility coefficient, the coefficient of sphericity and the critical speed was analysed in the presented research. A laboratory anemometer to measure the speed of air was used. The determination of the volatility coefficient of particular size fractions was conducted on the basis of critical speed values, calculated as an average established after five measurements. The established aerodynamic properties of particular mixtures allow the determination and the assessment of differences among fractions of valuable resources and different impurities. The presented data might constitute a basis to determine the scope of differences among them and establish interrelations which allow the application of proper parameters for the pneumatic separation process in practice.

Facile directing agent-free synthesis and magnetism of nanocrystalline Fe–Ni alloy with tunable shape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, Marwa A.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Simple directing agent-free wet chemical method for high-yield synthesis of nc Fe-Ni particles with tunable shape. • The alloy morphology is controlled by varying synthesis conditions; concentration of metal ions and pH of reaction. • Synthesis conditions control the final shape of alloy particles via controlling their growth rate and capping with OH − ions. • The alloy magnetic behavior is driven away from soft magnetic toward hard one, by particles anisotropy and size reduction. • The branched wires morphology can be considered a new morphology of distinctive magnetic behavior, for nc Fe-Ni alloy. - Abstract: This article reports the synthesis of nanocrystalline (nc) Fe 20 Ni 80 particles with tunable shape, using a heterogeneous directing agent-free aqueous wet chemical method of mild synthesis conditions. The particle morphology has been controlled by varying synthesis conditions. The results demonstrate that the morphology of alloy particles changes from quasi-isotropic to anisotropic architecture by decreasing concentration of metal ions or increasing pH of reaction solution. Deep interpretations of such phenomena are reported. Magnetic behavior of the alloy is driven away from soft magnetic and toward hard magnetic behavior, by anisotropy and size reduction of alloy particles. This broadens practical applications of nc Fe 20 Ni 80 alloy. Overall, the study provides an effective economical way for high-yield synthesis of nc Fe–Ni particles with tailored shape and subsequently magnetic properties for a specific technological application. Additionally, it adds a new morphology, highly branched wires, of distinctive magnetic behavior to the known morphologies of nc Fe–Ni particles

Cultural shaping of neural responses: Feedback-related potentials vary with self-construal and face priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Hitokoto, Hidefumi; Glazer, James; Kitayama, Shinobu

2016-01-01

Previous work shows that when an image of a face is presented immediately prior to each trial of a speeded cognitive task (face-priming), the error-related negativity (ERN) is upregulated for Asians, but it is downregulated for Caucasians. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that images of "generalized other" vary cross-culturally such that they evoke anxiety for Asians, whereas they serve as safety cues for Caucasians. Here, we tested whether the cross-cultural variation in the face-priming effect would be observed in a gambling paradigm. Caucasian Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian sojourners were exposed to a brief flash of a schematic face during a gamble. For Asian Americans, face-priming resulted in significant increases of both negative-going deflection of ERP upon negative feedback (feedback-related negativity [FRN]) and positive-going deflection of ERP upon positive feedback (feedback-related positivity [FRP]). For Caucasian Americans, face-priming showed a significant reversal, decreasing both FRN and FRP. The cultural difference in the face-priming effect in FRN and FRP was partially mediated by interdependent self-construal. Curiously, Asian sojourners showed a pattern similar to the one for Caucasian Americans. Our findings suggest that culture shapes neural pathways in both systematic and highly dynamic fashion. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Size and Shape of Chariklo from Multi-epoch Stellar Occultations

Science.gov (United States)

Leiva, R.; Sicardy, B.; Camargo, J. I. B.; Ortiz, J.-L.; Desmars, J.; Bérard, D.; Lellouch, E.; Meza, E.; Kervella, P.; Snodgrass, C.; Duffard, R.; Morales, N.; Gomes-Júnior, A. R.; Benedetti-Rossi, G.; Vieira-Martins, R.; Braga-Ribas, F.; Assafin, M.; Morgado, B. E.; Colas, F.; De Witt, C.; Sickafoose, A. A.; Breytenbach, H.; Dauvergne, J.-L.; Schoenau, P.; Maquet, L.; Bath, K.-L.; Bode, H.-J.; Cool, A.; Lade, B.; Kerr, S.; Herald, D.

2017-10-01

We use data from five stellar occultations observed between 2013 and 2016 to constrain Chariklo’s size and shape, and the ring reflectivity. We consider four possible models for Chariklo (sphere, Maclaurin spheroid, triaxial ellipsoid, and Jacobi ellipsoid), and we use a Bayesian approach to estimate the corresponding parameters. The spherical model has a radius R = 129 ± 3 km. The Maclaurin model has equatorial and polar radii a=b={143}-6+3 {km} and c={96}-4+14 {km}, respectively, with density {970}-180+300 {kg} {{{m}}}-3. The ellipsoidal model has semiaxes a={148}-4+6 {km}, b={132}-5+6 {km}, and c={102}-8+10 {km}. Finally, the Jacobi model has semiaxes a = 157 ± 4 km, b = 139 ± 4 km, and c = 86 ± 1 km, and density {796}-4+2 {kg} {{{m}}}-3. Depending on the model, we obtain topographic features of 6-11 km, typical of Saturn icy satellites with similar size and density. We constrain Chariklo’s geometric albedo between 3.1% (sphere) and 4.9% (ellipsoid), while the ring I/F reflectivity is less constrained between 0.6% (Jacobi) and 8.9% (sphere). The ellipsoid model explains both the optical light curve and the long-term photometry variation of the system, giving a plausible value for the geometric albedo of the ring particles of 10%-15%. The derived mass of Chariklo of 6-8 × 1018 kg places the rings close to 3:1 resonance between the ring mean motion and Chariklo’s rotation period. Based on observations obtained at the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is a joint project of the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, e Inovação (MCTI) da República Federativa do Brasil, the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU).

The Contribution of Io-Raised Tides to Europa's Diurnally-Varying Surface Stresses

Science.gov (United States)

Rhoden, Alyssa Rose; Hurford, Terry A,; Manga, Michael

2011-01-01

Europa's icy surface records a rich history of geologic activity, Several features appear to be tectonic in origin and may have formed in response to Europa's daily-varying tidal stress [I]. Strike-slip faults and arcuate features called cycloids have both been linked to the patterns of stress change caused by eccentricity and obliquity [2J[3]. In fact, as Europa's obliquity has not been directly measured, observed tectonic patterns arc currently the best indicators of a theoretically supported [4] non-negligible obliquity. The diurnal tidal stress due to eccentricity is calculated by subtracting the average (or static) tidal shape of Europa generated by Jupiter's gravitational field from the instantaneous shape, which varies as Europa moves through its eccentric orbit [5]. In other words, it is the change of shape away from average that generates tidal stress. One might expect tidal contributions from the other large moons of Jupiter to be negligible given their size and the height of the tides they raise on Europa versus Jupiter's mass and the height of the tide it raises on Europa, However, what matters for tidally-induced stress is not how large the lo-raised bulge is compared to the Jupiter-raised bulge but rather the differences bet\\Veen the instantaneous and static bulges in each case. For example, when Europa is at apocenter, Jupiter raises a tide 30m lower than its static tide. At the same time, 10 raises a tide about 0.5m higher than its static tide. Hence, the change in Io's tidal distortion is about 2% of the change in the Jovian distortion when Europa is at apocenter

SU-F-I-37: How Fat Distribution and Table Height Affect Estimates of Patient Size in CT Scanning: A Phantom Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silosky, M; Marsh, R [University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Localizer projection radiographs acquired prior to CT scans are used to estimate patient size, affecting the function of Automatic Tube Current Modulation (ATCM) and hence CTDIvol and SSDE. Due to geometric effects, the projected patient size varies with scanner table height and with the orientation of the localizer (AP versus PA). This study sought to determine if patient size estimates made from localizer scans is affected by variations in fat distribution, specifically when the widest part of the patient is not at the geometric center of the patient. Methods: Lipid gel bolus material was wrapped around an anthropomorphic phantom to simulate two different body mass distributions. The first represented a patient with fairly rigid fat and had a generally oval shape. The second was bell-shaped, representing corpulent patients more susceptible to gravity’s lustful tug. Each phantom configuration was imaged using an AP localizer and then a PA localizer. This was repeated at various scanner table heights. The width of the phantom was measured from the localizer and diagnostic images using in-house software. Results: 1) The projected phantom width varied up to 39% as table height changed.2) At some table heights, the width of the phantom, designed to represent larger patients, exceeded the localizer field of view, resulting in an underestimation of the phantom width.3) The oval-shaped phantom approached a normalized phantom width of 1 at a table height several centimeters lower (AP localizer) or higher (PA localizer) than did the bell-shaped phantom. Conclusion: Accurate estimation of patient size from localizer scans is dependent on patient positioning with respect to scanner isocenter and is limited in large patients. Further, patient size is more accurately measured on projection images if the widest part of the patient, rather than the geometric center of the patient, is positioned at scanner isocenter.

On the Peculiar Molecular Shape and Size Dependence of the Dynamics of Fluids confined in a Small-Pore Metal-Organic Framework

KAUST Repository

Skarmoutsos, Ioannis

2018-05-15

Force field based-Molecular dynamics simulations were deployed to systematically explore the dynamics of confined molecules of different shapes and sizes, i.e. linear (CO2 and N2) and spherical (CH4) fluids, in a model small pore system, i.e. the Metal-Organic Framework SIFSIX-2-Cu-i. These computations unveil an unprecedented molecular symmetry dependence of the translational and rotational dynamics of fluids confined in channel-like nanoporous materials. In particular this peculiar behaviour is reflected by the extremely slow decay of the Legendre reorientational correlation functions of even-parity order for the linear fluids which is associated to jump-like orientation flips, while the spherical fluid shows a very fast decay taking place in a sub-picosecond time scale. Such a fundamental understanding is relevant to diverse disciplines such as in chemistry, physics, biology and materials science where diatomic or polyatomic molecules of different shapes/sizes diffuse through nanopores.

Shape-and size-controlled Ag nanoparticles stabilized by in situ generated secondary amines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramírez-Meneses, E., E-mail: esther.ramirez@ibero.mx [Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Iberoamericana, Prolongación Paseo de la Reforma 880, Lomas de Santa Fe, Distrito Federal C.P. 01219 (Mexico); Montiel-Palma, V. [Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001 Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos C.P. 62209 (Mexico); Domínguez-Crespo, M.A.; Izaguirre-López, M.G. [Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada-IPN, Unidad Altamira. Km 14.5 Carretera Tampico-Puerto Industrial, 89600 Altamira, Tamaulipas (Mexico); Palacios-Gonzalez, E. [Laboratorio de Microscopia de Ultra alta Resolución, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas No. 152, C.P. 07730 México D.F. (Mexico); Dorantes-Rosales, H. [Departamento de Metalurgia, E.S.I.Q.I.E.-I.P.N., Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Zacatenco, Delegación. Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07738 México D.F. (Mexico)

2015-09-15

Highlights: • Ag nanoparticles were generated from Ag amido complexes AgN{sup i}Pr{sub 2} and AgN(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2}. • Ag nanoparticles were stabilized by in situ generated HN{sup i}Pr{sub 2} or HN(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2}. • 1 or 5 equiv. of ethylenediamine as additional capping agent decreases the average size of the particles. • Ethylenediamine favor the formation of spherical particles. - Abstract: Silver amides such as AgN{sup i}Pr{sub 2} and AgN(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2} have been employed successfully as precursors for the yield synthesis of silver nanoparticles under mild conditions of dihydrogen gas reduction (2 atm) in organic media. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the formation of silver nanoparticles with FCC structure, variously sized from 26 to 35 nm for AgN{sup i}Pr{sub 2} and from 14 to 86 nm for AgN(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2}, the synthesis could take place in absence of added stabilizers due to the in situ formation of secondary amines from the reaction of dihydrogen gas with the amide ligands of the silver precursor. Indeed, the presence of HNR{sub 2} (R = iPr{sub 2}, N(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2}) on the surface of the nanoparticle was confirmed by spectroscopic means. Finally, the addition of ethylenediamine as additional capping agent allowed not only the control of the structural characteristics of the resulting Ag nanoparticles (well-dispersed with spherical shape), but that regarding the nanoparticle size as it inhibited overgrowth, limiting it to ca. 25 nm.

Effect of crystal shape, size and reflector type on operation characteristics of gamma-radiation detectors based on CsI(Tl) and CsI(Na) scintillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Globus, M.E.; Grinyov, B.V.; Ratner, M.A.

1996-01-01

Operation characteristics of CsI(Tl) and CsI(Na) scintillation detectors, to a large degree connected with light collection in crystals, are calculated for various shapes, sizes and reflecting surface types. Allowance is made for the true light reflection indicatrix which is characterized by the effective mirror constituent of the reflected light, p. Its value , averaged over incidence angle, is used for the classification of reflecting surfaces. Operation characteristics (in particular, spectrometric ones) are found to be essentially dependent on . Tables of operation characteristics, given below, permit one to make inferential conclusions on an optimal combination of the shape, sizes an the reflecting surface version

Generalization of Wilemski-Fixman-Weiss decoupling approximation to the case involving multiple sinks of different sizes, shapes, and reactivities.

Science.gov (United States)

Uhm, Jesik; Lee, Jinuk; Eun, Changsun; Lee, Sangyoub

2006-08-07

We generalize the Wilemski-Fixman-Weiss decoupling approximation to calculate the transient rate of absorption of point particles into multiple sinks of different sizes, shapes, and reactivities. As an application we consider the case involving two spherical sinks. We obtain a Laplace-transform expression for the transient rate that is in excellent agreement with computer simulations. The long-time steady-state rate has a relatively simple expression, which clearly shows the dependence on the diffusion constant of the particles and on the sizes and reactivities of sinks, and its numerical result is in good agreement with the known exact result that is given in terms of recursion relations.

Intraspecific variation in body size and shape in an Andean highland anole species, Anolis ventrimaculatus (Squamata: Dactyloidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha L. Calderón-Espinosa

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Variation in body characteristics related to lizard locomotion has been poorly studied at the intraspecific level in Anolis species. Local adaptation due to habitat heterogeneity has been reported in some island species. However, studies of mainland species are particularly scarce and suggest different patterns: high variability among highland lizards and poorly differentiated populations in one Amazonian species. We characterized inter population variation of body size and shape in the highland Andean Anolis ventrimaculatus, an endemic species from Western Colombia. A total of 15 morphometric variables were measured in specimens from the reptile collection of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional, Colombia. The study included individuals from seven different highland localities. We found size and shape sexual dimorphism, both of which varied among localities. Patterns of variation in body proportions among populations were different in both males and females, suggesting that either sexual or natural selective factors are different in each locality and between sexes. Since this species exhibits a fragmented distribution in highlands, genetic divergence may also be a causal factor of the observed variation. Ecological, behavioral, additional morphological as well as phylogenetic data, may help to understand the evolutionary processes behind the geographic patterns found in this species.La diversificación fenotípica al interior de una especie en características de dimensiones corporales relacionadas con la locomoción de los lagartos, se ha estudiado poco en especies de Anolis. Los datos de algunas especies de isla revelan patrones distintos de variación geográfica y sugieren que la adaptación local, debida a la heterogeneidad del hábitat, ocurre a este nivel. Los estudios de especies de continente son particularmente escasos y sugieren patrones distintos: un lagarto altoandino altamente variable y poblaciones poco

Updated Methods for Seed Shape Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio Cervantes

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Morphological variation in seed characters includes differences in seed size and shape. Seed shape is an important trait in plant identification and classification. In addition it has agronomic importance because it reflects genetic, physiological, and ecological components and affects yield, quality, and market price. The use of digital technologies, together with development of quantification and modeling methods, allows a better description of seed shape. Image processing systems are used in the automatic determination of seed size and shape, becoming a basic tool in the study of diversity. Seed shape is determined by a variety of indexes (circularity, roundness, and J index. The comparison of the seed images to a geometrical figure (circle, cardioid, ellipse, ellipsoid, etc. provides a precise quantification of shape. The methods of shape quantification based on these models are useful for an accurate description allowing to compare between genotypes or along developmental phases as well as to establish the level of variation in different sets of seeds.

In core fuel management optimization by varying the equilibrium cycle average flux shape for batch refuelled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jong, A.J. de.

1992-12-01

We suggest a method to overcome this problem of optimization by varying reloading patterns by characterizing each particular reloading pattern by a set of intermediate parameters that are numbers. Plots of the objective function versus the intermediate parameters can be made. When the intermediate parameters represent the reloading patterns in a unique way, the optimum of the objective function can be found by interpolation within such plots and we can find the optimal reloading pattern in terms of intermediate parameters. These have to be transformed backwards to find an optimal reloading pattern. The intermediate parameters are closely related to the time averaged neutron flux shape in the core during an equilibrium cycle. This flux shape is characterized by a set of ratios of the space averaged fluxes in the fuel zones and the space averaged flux in the zone with the fresh fuel elements. An advantage of this choice of intermediate parameters is that it permits analytical calculation of equilibrium cycle fuel densities in the fuel zones for any applied reloading patten characterized by a set of equilibrium cycle average flux ratios and thus, provides analytical calculations of fuel management objective functions. The method is checked for the burnup of one fissile nuclide in a reactor core with the geometry of the PWR at Borssele. For simplicity, neither the conversion of fuel, nor the buildup of fission products were taken into account in this study. Since these phenomena can also be described by the equilibrium cycle average flux ratios, it is likely that this method can be extended to a more realistic method for global in core fuel management optimization. (orig./GL)

Control of minimum member size in parameter-free structural shape optimization by a medial axis approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Oliver; Steinmann, Paul

2017-09-01

We introduce a manufacturing constraint for controlling the minimum member size in structural shape optimization problems, which is for example of interest for components fabricated in a molding process. In a parameter-free approach, whereby the coordinates of the FE boundary nodes are used as design variables, the challenging task is to find a generally valid definition for the thickness of non-parametric geometries in terms of their boundary nodes. Therefore we use the medial axis, which is the union of all points with at least two closest points on the boundary of the domain. Since the effort for the exact computation of the medial axis of geometries given by their FE discretization highly increases with the number of surface elements we use the distance function instead to approximate the medial axis by a cloud of points. The approximation is demonstrated on three 2D examples. Moreover, the formulation of a minimum thickness constraint is applied to a sensitivity-based shape optimization problem of one 2D and one 3D model.

Preparation and characterization of Ba{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 0.2}La{sub 0.6}MnO{sub 3} nanoparticles and investigation of size & shape effect on microwave absorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peymanfar, Reza; Javanshir, Shahrzad, E-mail: shjavan@iust.ac.ir

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Hydrothermal synthesis of Ba{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 0.2}La{sub 0.6}MnO{sub 3} performed in the presence of PMMA. • Shape and size-controlled synthesis of NPs over the range 15–50 Nm was explored. • Investigation of shape and size effect of NPs on microwave absorption properties. - Abstract: In this paper, the design and characterization of a radar absorbing material (RAM) was investigated at microwave frequency. Ba{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 0.2}La{sub 0.6}MnO{sub 3} magnetic nanoparticles was synthesized thru a facile hydrothermal method in the presence of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and the possibility of shape and size-controlled synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) over the range 15–50 Nm was also explored. Afterward, the effect of shape and size of the synthesized Ba{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 0.2}La{sub 0.6}MnO{sub 3} NPs on microwave absorption properties was investigated in KU-band. The crystal structures and morphology of as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized and confirmed by FESEM, XRD, VSM, FTIR analysis. The RAM samples were prepared by dispersion of magnetic NPs in silicone rubber in an ultrasonic bath. The maximum reflection loss (RL) values NPs were 12.04 dB at 14.82 GHz and a broad absorption band (over 1.22 GHz) with RL values <−10 dB are obtained and the maximum reflection loss (RL) values of decrease and shaped NPs were 22.36 dB at 14.78 GHz and a broad absorption band (over 2.67 GHz) with RL values <−10 dB are obtained. The results indicated that the particle size and shape play a major role on the absorption properties of the composites in the 12.4–18 GHz frequency range. It is observed that microwave absorption properties increased with the decrease in average particle size of NPs.

Water-assisted size and shape control of CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiaoyu; Bai, Xue; Wu, Hua; Zhang, Xiangtong; Sun, Chun; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Weitao; Yu, William W.; Rogach, Andrey L.

2018-01-01

Lead-halide perovskites are well known to decompose rapidly when exposed to polar solvents, such as water. Contrary to this common-place observation, we have found that through introducing a suitable minor amount of water into the reaction mixture, we can synthesize stable CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals. The size and the crystallinity, and as a result the band gap tunability of the strongly emitting CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals correlate with the water content. Suitable amounts of water change the crystallization environment, inducing the formation of differently shaped perovskites, namely spherical NCs, rectangular nanoplatelets, or nanowires. Bright CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals with the photoluminescence quantum yield reaching 90 % were employed for fabrication of inverted hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting devices, with the peak luminance of 4428 cd m -2 and external quantum yield of 1.7 %. (copyright 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Micropore Geometry Manipulation by Macroscopic Deformation Based on Shape Memory Effect in Porous PLLA Membrane and its Enhanced Separation Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jingxin; Yang, Qiucheng; Wang, Tao; Wang, Lian; You, Jichun; Li, Yongjin

2017-12-20

An effective strategy to tailor the microporous structures has been developed based on the shape memory effect in porous poly(l-lactic acid) membranes in which tiny crystals and amorphous matrix play the roles of shape-fixed phase and reversible-phase, respectively. Our results indicate that not only PLLA membranes but micropores exhibit shape memory properties. The proportional deformations on two scales have been achieved by uniaxial or biaxial tension, providing a facile way to manipulate continuously the size and the orientation degree of pores on microscale. The enhanced separation performance has been validated by taking polystyrene colloids with varying diameters as an example.

Influence of gold nanoparticles of varying size in improving the lipase activity within cationic reverse micelles.

Science.gov (United States)

Maiti, Subhabrata; Das, Dibyendu; Shome, Anshupriya; Das, Prasanta Kumar

2010-02-08

Herein, we report the effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in enhancing lipase activity in reverse micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/water/isooctane/n-hexanol. The size and concentration of the nanoparticles were varied and their specific roles were assessed in detail. An overall enhancement of activity was observed in the GNP-doped CTAB reverse micelles. The improvement in activity becomes more prominent with increasing concentration and size of the GNPs (0-52 microM and ca. 3-30 nm, respectively). The observed highest lipase activity (k(2)=1070+/-12 cm(3) g(-1) s(-1)) in GNP-doped CTAB reverse micelles ([GNP]: 52 microm, ca. 20 nm) is 2.5-fold higher than in CTAB reverse micelles without GNPs. Improvement in the lipase activity is only specific to the GNP-doped reverse micellar media, whereas GNP deactivates and structurally deforms the enzyme in aqueous media. The reason for this activation is probably due to the formation of larger-sized reverse micelles in which the GNP acts as a polar core and the surfactants aggregate around the nanoparticle ('GNP pool') instead of only water. Lipase at the augmented interface of the GNP-doped reverse micelle showed improved activity because of enhancement in both the substrate and enzyme concentrations and increased flexibility in the lipase conformation. The extent of the activation is greater in the case of the larger-sized GNPs. A correlation has been established between the activity of lipase and its secondary structure by using circular dichroism and FTIR spectroscopic analysis. The generalized influence of GNP is verified in the reverse micelles of another surfactant, namely, cetyltripropylammonium bromide (CTPAB). TEM, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis were utilized to characterize the GNPs and the organized aggregates. For the first time, CTAB-based reverse micelles have been found to be an excellent host for lipase simply by doping with appropriately sized GNPs.

Size and shape of the associations of glucose, HbA, insulin and HOMA-IR with incident type 2 diabetes : the Hoorn Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijgrok, Carolien; Dekker, Jacqueline M; Beulens, Joline W; Brouwer, Ingeborg A; Coupé, Veerle M H; Heymans, Martijn W; Sijtsma, Femke P C; Mela, David J; Zock, Peter L; Olthof, Margreet R; Alssema, Marjan

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Glycaemic markers and fasting insulin are frequently measured outcomes of intervention studies. To extrapolate accurately the impact of interventions on the risk of diabetes incidence, we investigated the size and shape of the associations of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h

Influence of Compositional Variations on Floc Size and Strength

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, H.; Tan, X.; Reed, A. H.; Furukawa, Y.; Zhang, G.

2010-12-01

Clay-biopolymer micro aggregates or flocs are abundant in waters, including rivers, lakes, and oceans. Owing to their small size and charged surfaces, fine-grained inorganic sediment particles, mainly clays, interact actively with organic substances, such as organic matter and biogenic polymers, to form aggregates or flocs, typically in the size of 10-1000 μm. The flocs in ocean waters are also termed “marine snow”. These flocs are typically porous, tenuous, and soft in nature. During transport in suspension, they may breakdown and decrease in size if the turbulent shear stress exceeds their strength. They may also collide and form larger ones if the shear stress is relatively small. Since flocs of different size and structure settle at different velocities, understanding their strength is also of essential importance for sediment hydrodynamics, transport, and management. Our study focuses on investigating the influence of compositional variations on floc size and strength so that a better understanding of floc dynamics can be achieved. A laser diffraction-based Cilas® particle size and shape analyzer with controllable fluid circulation velocity was employed to conduct floc size measurements and shape imaging, the latter achieved by a high resolution inverted optical microscope, which is also installed with the size analyzer. Totally two clay minerals, kaolinite and illite, were tested as the model inorganic solid skeleton minerals for floc formation, and two biopolymers, anionic xanthan gum and neutral guar gum, were chosen as analogs of naturally occurring organic matter or biopolymers to simulate clay-biopolymer floc formation. Moreover, the concentration of both organic and inorganic phases was varied. The floc breakage or tensile strength was indirectly estimated by the varied fluid flow velocity in the particle size analyzer’s circulation system. For each individual composition, stable flocs were formed by three different fluid circulating velocities

Shape coexistence in selenium isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Ying; Cao Zhongbin; Xu Furong

2010-01-01

Nuclear shape change and shape coexistence in the Selenium isotopes have been investigated by Total-Routhian-Surface (TRS) calculations. It is found that nuclear shapes vary significantly with increasing neutron number. The TRS calculations for the ground states of 66,72,92,94 Se isotopes show that both neutron-deficient and neutron-dripline Selenium isotopes have oblate and prolate shape coexistence. The cranking shell-model calculations for 72,94 Se give that prolate and oblate shape coexistence in low rotational frequency. However, oblate rotational bands disappear and prolate rotational bands become yrast bands with increasing rotational frequency, which is due to the intrusion of the g 9/2 orbitals. (authors)

Decomposition of Atmospheric Aerosol Phase Function by Particle Size and Morphology via Single Particle Scattering Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Aptowicz, K. B.; Pan, Y.; Martin, S.; Fernandez, E.; Chang, R.; Pinnick, R. G.

2013-12-01

We report upon an experimental approach that provides insight into how particle size and shape affect the scattering phase function of atmospheric aerosol particles. Central to our approach is the design of an apparatus that measures the forward and backward scattering hemispheres (scattering patterns) of individual atmospheric aerosol particles in the coarse mode range. The size and shape of each particle is discerned from the corresponding scattering pattern. In particular, autocorrelation analysis is used to differentiate between spherical and non-spherical particles, the calculated asphericity factor is used to characterize the morphology of non-spherical particles, and the integrated irradiance is used for particle sizing. We found the fraction of spherical particles decays exponentially with particle size, decreasing from 11% for particles on the order of 1 micrometer to less than 1% for particles over 5 micrometer. The average phase functions of subpopulations of particles, grouped by size and morphology, are determined by averaging their corresponding scattering patterns. The phase functions of spherical and non-spherical atmospheric particles are shown to diverge with increasing size. In addition, the phase function of non-spherical particles is found to vary little as a function of the asphericity factor.

Monte Carlo simulations in CT for the study of the surface air kerma and energy imparted to phantoms of varying size and position

Science.gov (United States)

Avilés Lucas, P.; Dance, D. R.; Castellano, I. A.; Vañó, E.

2004-04-01

A Monte Carlo computational model of CT has been developed and used to investigate the effect of various physical factors on the surface air kerma length product, the peak surface air kerma, the air kerma length product within a phantom and the energy imparted. The factors investigated were the bow-tie filter and the size, shape and position of a phantom which simulates the patient. The calculations show that the surface air kerma length product and the maximum surface air kerma are mainly dependent on phantom position and decrease along the vertical axis of the CT plane as the phantom surface moves away from the isocentre along this axis. As a result, measurements using standard body dosimetry phantoms may underestimate the skin dose for real patients. This result is specially important for CT fluoroscopic procedures: for an adult patient the peak skin dose can be 37% higher than that estimated with a standard measurement on the body AAPM (American Association of Physicists in Medicine) phantom. The results also show that the energy imparted to a phantom is mainly influenced by phantom size and is nearly independent of phantom position (within 3%) and shape (up to 5% variation). However, variations of up to 30% were found for the air kerma to regions within the AAPM body phantom when it is moved vertically. This highlights the importance of calculating doses to organs taking into account their size and position within the gantry.

Shape- and size-controlled synthesis of nanometre ZnO from a simple solution route at room temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, H L; Qian, X F; Gong, Q; Du, W M; Ma, X D; Zhu, Z K

2006-01-01

Single crystalline ZnO nanorods with a diameter of about 5 nm were synthesized without the presence of any surfactants in ethanol solvent at room temperature. Nanodots and nanorods with different size and shape could be observed by TEM via simply altering NaOH concentration and reaction time. The polar ZnO nanorod growth mechanism was discussed by the 'Ostwald ripening' mechanism. Optical absorption and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanorods have been characterized. The UV absorption spectrum revealed a clear blue-shift with a single absorption peak centred at 350 nm

Photochemical synthesis of shape-selective palladium nanocubes in aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundu, Subrata; Wang Ke; Lau, Sean; Liang Hong

2010-01-01

We have developed a seedless, citrateless one-step synthetic process for the formation of shape controlled monodisperse Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in 4 h of UV-photoirradiation. The synthesis was done in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant media in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size and shape of the particles can be tuned easily by varying the molar ratio of the CTAB with the Pd salt and by controlling the UV-photoirradiation time. The preferential binding of CTAB to the (100) facets of Pd leads to the formation of Pd nanorods and nanocubes. The approach developed here would reduce the use of seed particles and tri-sodium citrate for the fast synthesis of faceted Pd NPs. The synthesized particles were found to be stable for at least 3 months under ambient conditions at room temperature. This newly developed process might find potential applications in the formation of other materials like Au, Ag, and CdS NPs and applicable in surface enhanced Raman scattering, and different catalysis reactions.Graphical AbstractWe have developed a seedless, citrateless one-step synthetic process for the formation of shape controlled monodisperse Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in 4 h of UV-photoirradiation. The synthesis was done in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant media in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size and shape of the particles can be tuned easily by varying the molar ratio of the CTAB with the Pd salt and by controlling the UV-photoirradiation time. The preferential binding of CTAB to the (100) facets of Pd leads to the formation of Pd nanorods and nanocubes. The approach developed here would reduce the use of seed particles and tri-sodium citrate for the fast synthesis of faceted Pd NPs. The synthesized particles were found to be stable for at least 3 months under ambient conditions at room temperature. This newly developed process might find potential applications in the formation of other materials like

Photochemical synthesis of shape-selective palladium nanocubes in aqueous solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kundu, Subrata, E-mail: skundu@tamu.edu; Wang Ke; Lau, Sean; Liang Hong, E-mail: hliang@tamu.ed [Texas A and M University, Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering (United States)

2010-10-15

We have developed a seedless, citrateless one-step synthetic process for the formation of shape controlled monodisperse Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in 4 h of UV-photoirradiation. The synthesis was done in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant media in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size and shape of the particles can be tuned easily by varying the molar ratio of the CTAB with the Pd salt and by controlling the UV-photoirradiation time. The preferential binding of CTAB to the (100) facets of Pd leads to the formation of Pd nanorods and nanocubes. The approach developed here would reduce the use of seed particles and tri-sodium citrate for the fast synthesis of faceted Pd NPs. The synthesized particles were found to be stable for at least 3 months under ambient conditions at room temperature. This newly developed process might find potential applications in the formation of other materials like Au, Ag, and CdS NPs and applicable in surface enhanced Raman scattering, and different catalysis reactions.Graphical AbstractWe have developed a seedless, citrateless one-step synthetic process for the formation of shape controlled monodisperse Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in 4 h of UV-photoirradiation. The synthesis was done in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant media in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size and shape of the particles can be tuned easily by varying the molar ratio of the CTAB with the Pd salt and by controlling the UV-photoirradiation time. The preferential binding of CTAB to the (100) facets of Pd leads to the formation of Pd nanorods and nanocubes. The approach developed here would reduce the use of seed particles and tri-sodium citrate for the fast synthesis of faceted Pd NPs. The synthesized particles were found to be stable for at least 3 months under ambient conditions at room temperature. This newly developed process might find potential applications in the formation of other materials like

Shape memory materials

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

Compared with piezoelectric ceramics and magnetostrictive materials, the shape memory materials possess larger recoverable strain and recovery stress but slower response to external field. It is expected that the magneto-shape memory materials may develop considerable strain as well as rapid and precise shape control. Pseudoelasticity and shape memory effect (SME) resulted from martensitic transformation and its reverse transformation in shape memory materials were generally described. The requirements of appearing the shape memory effect in materials and the criteria for thermoelastic martensitic transformation were given. Some aspects concerning characteristics of martensitic transformation, and factors affecting SME in Ni-Ti, Cu-Zn-Al and Fe-Mn-Si based alloys as well as ZrO2 containing ceramics were briefly reviewed. Thermodynamic calculation of Ms temperature as function of grain size and parent ordering in Cu-Zn-Al was presented. The works on prediction of Ms in Fe-Mn-Si based alloys and in ZrO2-CeO2 were mentioned. Magnetic shape memory materials were briefly introduced.

[Eyeball shape in children with emmetropia and myopia].

Science.gov (United States)

Dolzhich, G I; Shurygina, I P; Shapovalova, V M

1991-01-01

In order to determine the eyeball shape, the authors have carried out ultrasonic biometry of its three major parameters, the anteroposterior axis (APA), horizontal diameter (HD), and vertical diameter (VD), and estimated the ratios of these values (APA/HD and APA/VD) in children with emmetropia (234 eyes) and those with slight and medium-grave myopia (660 eyes), aged 7 to 14. The findings evidence a compressed ellipsoidal shape of the eyeball, presenting as a vertical oval, in all subjects with emmetropic refraction, whatever their age. In myopia the eyeball shape transforms, and all the eyeball sizes are increased, but the APA size is growing more rapidly than the rest sizes, and the eyeball acquires the ball shape with a trend to an elongated ellipsoidal shape. The mean APA length in 7-14-year-old children with emmetropia was up to 23 +/- 0.15 mm, whereas in those with the ball shape of the eyeball it was distended.

Syntheses of carbon porous materials with varied pore sizes and their performances as catalyst supports during methanol oxidation reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lo, An-Ya; Hung, Chin-Te; Yu, Ningya; Kuo, Cheng-Tzu; Liu, Shang-Bin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► CPMs with varied pore sizes (1–400 nm) were replicated from various porous silicas by CVI method. ► MOR activities of Pt/CPM electrocatalysts increase with increasing pore size of CPM support. ► Microporous CPMs are favorable supports for Pt in terms of catalytic performance and CO-tolerance. -- Abstract: Carbon porous materials (CPMs) with extended ranges of pore size and morphology were replicated using various porous silicas, such as zeolites, mesoporous silicas, and photonic crystals, as templates by means of chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method. The micro-, meso-, and macro-porous carbons so fabricated were adopted as supports for the metal (Pt) catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), and the supported Pt/CPM electrocatalysts were characterized by a variety of different spectroscopic/analytical techniques, viz. transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), gas physisorption/chemisorption analyses, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). That these Pt/CPMs were found to exhibit superior electrocatalytic activities compared to the commercial Pt/XC-72 with a comparable Pt loading during methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is attributed to the presence of Pt nanoparticles (NPs; typically 1–3 nm in size) that are highly dispersed in the CPMs, facilitating an improved tolerance for CO poisoning. While the MOR activity observed for various Pt/CPMs tend to increase with increasing pore size of the carbon supports, Pt catalyst supported on carbon substrates possessing microporosities was found to have superior stability in terms of tolerance for CO poisoning than those with greater pore size or having meso- and macroporosities.

CLUSTER DYNAMICS LARGELY SHAPES PROTOPLANETARY DISK SIZES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vincke, Kirsten; Pfalzner, Susanne, E-mail: kvincke@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)

2016-09-01

To what degree the cluster environment influences the sizes of protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars is still an open question. This is particularly true for the short-lived clusters typical for the solar neighborhood, in which the stellar density and therefore the influence of the cluster environment change considerably over the first 10 Myr. In previous studies, the effect of the gas on the cluster dynamics has often been neglected; this is remedied here. Using the code NBody6++, we study the stellar dynamics in different developmental phases—embedded, expulsion, and expansion—including the gas, and quantify the effect of fly-bys on the disk size. We concentrate on massive clusters (M {sub cl} ≥ 10{sup 3}–6 ∗ 10{sup 4} M {sub Sun}), which are representative for clusters like the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) or NGC 6611. We find that not only the stellar density but also the duration of the embedded phase matters. The densest clusters react fastest to the gas expulsion and drop quickly in density, here 98% of relevant encounters happen before gas expulsion. By contrast, disks in sparser clusters are initially less affected, but because these clusters expand more slowly, 13% of disks are truncated after gas expulsion. For ONC-like clusters, we find that disks larger than 500 au are usually affected by the environment, which corresponds to the observation that 200 au-sized disks are common. For NGC 6611-like clusters, disk sizes are cut-down on average to roughly 100 au. A testable hypothesis would be that the disks in the center of NGC 6611 should be on average ≈20 au and therefore considerably smaller than those in the ONC.

Risk-communication capability for public health emergencies varies by community diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viswanath Kasisomayajula

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health emergencies heighten several challenges in risk-communication: providing trustworthy sources of information, reaching marginalized populations, and minimizing fear and public confusion. In emergencies, however, information may not diffuse equally among all social groups, and gaps in knowledge may increase. Such knowledge gaps vary by social structure and the size, socioeconomic status, and diversity of the population. This study explores the relationship between risk-communication capabilities, as perceived by public officials participating in emergency tabletop exercises, and community size and diversity. Findings For each of the three communication functions tested, risk-communication capabilities are perceived to be greater in communities with fewer then 10% of the population speaking a language other than English at home, decreasing as the percentage grows to 20% (ANOVA P ≤ 0.02. With respect to community size, however, we found an N-shaped relationship between perceived risk communication capabilities and population size. Capabilities are perceived highest in the largest communities and lowest in the smallest, but lower in communities with 20,000–49,999 inhabitants compared to those with 2,500–19,999. Conclusion The results of this study suggest the need to factor population diversity into risk communication plans and the need for improved state or regional risk-communication capabilities, especially for communities with limited local capacity.

Leaves as composites of latent developmental and evolutionary shapes

Science.gov (United States)

Across plants, leaves exhibit profound diversity in shape. As a single leaf expands, its shape is in constant flux. Additionally, plants may also produce leaves with different shapes at successive nodes. Because leaf shape can vary in many different ways, theoretically the effects of distinct proces...

Water-Assisted Size and Shape Control of CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoyu; Bai, Xue; Wu, Hua; Zhang, Xiangtong; Sun, Chun; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Weitao; Yu, William W; Rogach, Andrey L

2018-03-19

Lead-halide perovskites are well known to decompose rapidly when exposed to polar solvents, such as water. Contrary to this common-place observation, we have found that through introducing a suitable minor amount of water into the reaction mixture, we can synthesize stable CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals. The size and the crystallinity, and as a result the band gap tunability of the strongly emitting CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals correlate with the water content. Suitable amounts of water change the crystallization environment, inducing the formation of differently shaped perovskites, namely spherical NCs, rectangular nanoplatelets, or nanowires. Bright CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals with the photoluminescence quantum yield reaching 90 % were employed for fabrication of inverted hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting devices, with the peak luminance of 4428 cd m -2 and external quantum yield of 1.7 %. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[Design and application of a cake-shaping apparatus for drug-separated moxibustion].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ai-Jun; Lu, Xiao-Dong

2008-08-01

Acupuncturist makes herbal cakes with traditional manual way, with such disadvantages as slow in making, varying in thickness and size of the cake. When the patients are treated with medical cake-separated moxibustion, they will be unevenly affected by the heat and the patient easily suffers from burning. These hinder clinically wide application of cake-separated moxibustion. With practice of many years, the authors design and make a kind of manual cake-shaping apparatus which can rapidly and conveniently make uniform medical cake, with simple technique, ingenious structure and normal material.

Otolith shape analysis as a tool for stock identification of the southern blue whiting, Micromesistius australis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Leguá

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The southern blue whiting, Micromesistius australis (Norman, 1937, is an important demersal resource associated with the slope and continental shelf of southern Chile, Argentina and the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. Recent studies have reported schools of adult fish from Atlantic waters migrating along the southern Chilean coast in mid-winter, moving northwards to spawn in August (47°-51°S, and then returning to Atlantic waters, presumably to feed. The migratory pattern suggests the presence of one or more stock units associated with the South American coast. In the present study, "otolith morphometry" is used to determine the stock structure of M. australis based on applications of basic size descriptors (SDs (area, perimeter and otolith size, shape indices (SIs (circularity, squareness, shape factor, roundness, ellipticity, and normalised elliptical Fourier descriptors (NEFDs. Samples were collected during the winter and spring of 2010, during the reproductive period, in the economic zone of southern Chile (36°-57°S, in the Pacific Ocean and around the Falkland Islands economic zone (50°-52°S in the Atlantic Ocean. Analyses were conducted to include the effects of size, sex and age. A stepwise canonical discriminant analysis showed that fish were successfully discriminated with SDs, SIs and NEFDs. In this analysis, 86.4% and 70.1% of the fish were correctly classified as belonging to the Atlantic and Pacific stocks, respectively. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that the mean values of the NEFDs, SDs, and SIs did not vary significantly between sexes within areas (P > 0.05, but varied significantly between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans (P < 0.05. These results highlighted that otolith shape analysis can be a useful tool to evaluate the potential level of mixing in feeding areas where both stocks, the Pacific and Atlantic units, are expected to co-occur.

Sizing for ethnicity in multi-cultural societies: development of size

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

biggest complaint concerning apparel products, ... aimed to develop size specifications for young ... study of South African women has never been ... measurement difference between two adjacent .... sizes according to current industry practice. A ..... Comparison of body shape between USA ... Englewood Cliffs, New. Jersey.

Size and shape control in the overgrowth of gold nanorods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratto, Fulvio; Matteini, Paolo; Rossi, Francesca; Pini, Roberto

2010-01-01

We report on a new sustainable approach to manipulate the optical behaviour and geometrical properties of gold nanorods in aqueous solutions by fine control of their overgrowth. In our approach, the overgrowth is realized by modulation of the reduction of the gold ions which are left as Au 1+ after the primary step of the synthesis (typically as much as ∼80% of the gold ions available in the growth solution). The progress of the reduction requires the gradual addition of ascorbic acid, which transforms the Au 1+ into Au 0 and may be performed in the original growth solution with no need for any further manipulation. By control of the total amount and rate of administration of the ascorbic acid, we prove the possibility to realize a systematic modulation of the average lengths, diameters, shapes (rod or dog-bone like), and light extinction of the nanoparticles. A slow overgrowth leads to a gradual enlargement of the lengths and diameters at almost constant shape. In contrast, a faster overgrowth results into a more complex modification of the overall shape of the gold nanorods.

Effect of microstructure on shape memory effect and transformation behavior in an Fe-32Mn-6.5Si alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J. Y.; Choi, C. S.; Jee, K. K.; Shin, M. C.; Jang, W. Y.

1998-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of microstructure and pre-strain on Shape Memory Effect(SME) and transformation behavior in an Fe-32Mn-6.5Si alloy. The alloy was annealed at various temperatures from 600 to 1200 .deg. C for 1 hour to vary microstructure after cold rolling. Shape memory effect and reverse transformation behavior were examined through bending test and TMA after deforming the alloy with various degree of pre-strain. Austenite grain size increases with an increase in heat treatment temperature, except the specimen heat-treated at 600 .deg. C, which remains unrecrystallized. The specimen heat-treated at 600 .deg. C, retaining cold rolling effect, exhibits the best SME due to a high Md temperature. In the recrystallized specimens, the larger grain size, the better SME. As grain size increases, the reverse transformation range becomes shorter, indicating that reverse transformation takes place with less constraint. The better SME in a large grain size can be attributed to the easiness of the reverse transformation

Determining the composition of gold nanoparticles: a compilation of shapes, sizes, and calculations using geometric considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Taizo; Hegmann, Torsten

2016-01-01

Size, shape, overall composition, and surface functionality largely determine the properties and applications of metal nanoparticles. Aside from well-defined metal clusters, their composition is often estimated assuming a quasi-spherical shape of the nanoparticle core. With decreasing diameter of the assumed circumscribed sphere, particularly in the range of only a few nanometers, the estimated nanoparticle composition increasingly deviates from the real composition, leading to significant discrepancies between anticipated and experimentally observed composition, properties, and characteristics. We here assembled a compendium of tables, models, and equations for thiol-protected gold nanoparticles that will allow experimental scientists to more accurately estimate the composition of their gold nanoparticles using TEM image analysis data. The estimates obtained from following the routines described here will then serve as a guide for further analytical characterization of as-synthesized gold nanoparticles by other bulk (thermal, structural, chemical, and compositional) and surface characterization techniques. While the tables, models, and equations are dedicated to gold nanoparticles, the composition of other metal nanoparticle cores with face-centered cubic lattices can easily be estimated simply by substituting the value for the radius of the metal atom of interest.Graphical abstract

Determining the composition of gold nanoparticles: a compilation of shapes, sizes, and calculations using geometric considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Taizo, E-mail: MORI.Taizo@nims.go.jp; Hegmann, Torsten, E-mail: thegmann@kent.edu [Kent State University, Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Liquid Crystal Institute (United States)

2016-10-15

Size, shape, overall composition, and surface functionality largely determine the properties and applications of metal nanoparticles. Aside from well-defined metal clusters, their composition is often estimated assuming a quasi-spherical shape of the nanoparticle core. With decreasing diameter of the assumed circumscribed sphere, particularly in the range of only a few nanometers, the estimated nanoparticle composition increasingly deviates from the real composition, leading to significant discrepancies between anticipated and experimentally observed composition, properties, and characteristics. We here assembled a compendium of tables, models, and equations for thiol-protected gold nanoparticles that will allow experimental scientists to more accurately estimate the composition of their gold nanoparticles using TEM image analysis data. The estimates obtained from following the routines described here will then serve as a guide for further analytical characterization of as-synthesized gold nanoparticles by other bulk (thermal, structural, chemical, and compositional) and surface characterization techniques. While the tables, models, and equations are dedicated to gold nanoparticles, the composition of other metal nanoparticle cores with face-centered cubic lattices can easily be estimated simply by substituting the value for the radius of the metal atom of interest.Graphical abstract.

Egg shape mimicry in parasitic cuckoos.

Science.gov (United States)

Attard, M R G; Medina, I; Langmore, N E; Sherratt, E

2017-11-01

Parasitic cuckoos lay their eggs in nests of host species. Rejection of cuckoo eggs by hosts has led to the evolution of egg mimicry by cuckoos, whereby their eggs mimic the colour and pattern of their host eggs to avoid egg recognition and rejection. There is also evidence of mimicry in egg size in some cuckoo-host systems, but currently it is unknown whether cuckoos can also mimic the egg shape of their hosts. In this study, we test whether there is evidence of mimicry in egg form (shape and size) in three species of Australian cuckoos: the fan-tailed cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis, which exploits dome nesting hosts, the brush cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus, which exploits both dome and cup nesting hosts, and the pallid cuckoo Cuculus pallidus, which exploits cup nesting hosts. We found evidence of size mimicry and, for the first time, evidence of egg shape mimicry in two Australian cuckoo species (pallid cuckoo and brush cuckoo). Moreover, cuckoo-host egg similarity was higher for hosts with open nests than for hosts with closed nests. This finding fits well with theory, as it has been suggested that hosts with closed nests have more difficulty recognizing parasitic eggs than open nests, have lower rejection rates and thus exert lower selection for mimicry in cuckoos. This is the first evidence of mimicry in egg shape in a cuckoo-host system, suggesting that mimicry at different levels (size, shape, colour pattern) is evolving in concert. We also confirm the existence of egg size mimicry in cuckoo-host systems. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Influence of zeolite shape and particle size on their capacity to adsorb uremic toxin as powders and as fillers in membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Limin; Chen, Chen; Samarasekera, Champika; Yeow, John T W

2017-08-01

Membranes with zeolites are promising for performing blood dialysis because zeolites can eliminate uremic toxins through molecular sieving. Although the size and the shape of zeolite particles can potentially influence the performance of the membranes with respect of creatinine uptake level, it is not clear what sizes and shapes lead to better performance. In this paper, we carry out experiments to answer this question. Spherical microparticle 840, spherical nanoparticle P-87 and rod-like nanoparticle P-371 zeolites were chosen to be used in all the experiments. Their creatinine uptake levels were first measured as powders in creatinine solutions with different concentrations, volumes and adsorption times. Then, nanofibrous membranes with zeolites were electrospun and their ability to adsorb creatinine was measured and compared against their respective powders' creatinine uptake level. The experiment shows that the zeolites have similar creatinine uptake ability as powders. However, they have significantly different creatinine uptake ability after being incorporated inside the membranes. Spherical microparticle 840 in the membrane presented the best creatinine uptake ability, at 8957 µg g -1 , which was half of its powders'. On the other hand, P-87 presented largely decreased, while P-371 presented even lower creatinine uptake ability in membranes when compared to respective powders'. The results shows that microparticle and sphere shaped particles perform better inside the membranes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1594-1601, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How does harvest size vary with hunting season length?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sunde, Peter; Asferg, Tommy

2014-01-01

season length (population management/ethical/other). In non-sedentary species, changes in bag size correlated positively with changes in season length (overall response: b = 0.54, 95%CI: 0.14-0.95): reducing the hunting season to 50% of its initial length would on average result in a 31% reduction (95...

Home range sizes for burchell's zebra equus burchelli antiquorum from the Kruger National Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.L. Smuts

1975-07-01

Full Text Available Annual home range sizes were determined for 49 marked zebra family groups in the Kruger National Park. Sizes varied from 49 to 566 sq. km, the mean for the Park being 164 square kilometre. Mean home range sizes for different zebra sub-populations and biotic areas were found to differ considerably. Present herbivore densities have not influenced intra- and inter-specific tolerance levels to the extent that home range sizes have increased. Local habitat conditions, and particularly seasonal vegetational changes, were found to have the most profound influence on the shape and mean size of home ranges. The large home range sizes obtained in the Kruger Park, when compared to an area such as the Ngorongoro Crater, can be ascribed to a lower carrying capacity with respect to zebra, large portions of the habitat being sub-optimal, either seasonally or annually.

Role of Acid–Base Equilibria in the Size, Shape, and Phase Control of Cesium Lead Bromide Nanocrystals

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

A binary ligand system composed of aliphatic carboxylic acids and primary amines of various chain lengths is commonly employed in diverse synthesis methods for CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs). In this work, we have carried out a systematic study examining how the concentration of ligands (oleylamine and oleic acid) and the resulting acidity (or basicity) affects the hot-injection synthesis of CsPbBr3 NCs. We devise a general synthesis scheme for cesium lead bromide NCs which allows control over size, size distribution, shape, and phase (CsPbBr3 or Cs4PbBr6) by combining key insights on the acid–base interactions that rule this ligand system. Furthermore, our findings shed light upon the solubility of PbBr2 in this binary ligand system, and plausible mechanisms are suggested in order to understand the ligand-mediated phase control and structural stability of CsPbBr3 NCs. PMID:29381326

Genome Size Diversity and Its Impact on the Evolution of Land Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaume Pellicer

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Genome size is a biodiversity trait that shows staggering diversity across eukaryotes, varying over 64,000-fold. Of all major taxonomic groups, land plants stand out due to their staggering genome size diversity, ranging ca. 2400-fold. As our understanding of the implications and significance of this remarkable genome size diversity in land plants grows, it is becoming increasingly evident that this trait plays not only an important role in shaping the evolution of plant genomes, but also in influencing plant community assemblages at the ecosystem level. Recent advances and improvements in novel sequencing technologies, as well as analytical tools, make it possible to gain critical insights into the genomic and epigenetic mechanisms underpinning genome size changes. In this review we provide an overview of our current understanding of genome size diversity across the different land plant groups, its implications on the biology of the genome and what future directions need to be addressed to fill key knowledge gaps.

Size, Shape, and Arrangement of Cellulose Microfibril in Higher Plant Cell Walls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, S. Y.

2013-01-01

Plant cell walls from maize (Zea mays L.) are imaged using atomic force microscopy (AFM) at the sub-nanometer resolution. We found that the size and shape of fundamental cellulose elementary fibril (CEF) is essentially identical in different cell wall types, i.e., primary wall (PW), parenchyma secondary wall (pSW), and sclerenchyma secondary wall (sSW), which is consistent with previously proposed 36-chain model (Ding et al., 2006, J. Agric. Food Chem.). The arrangement of individual CEFs in these wall types exhibits two orientations. In PW, CEFs are horizontally associated through their hydrophilic faces, and the planar faces are exposed, forming ribbon-like macrofibrils. In pSW and sSW, CEFs are vertically oriented, forming layers, in which hemicelluloses are interacted with the hydrophobic faces of the CEF and serve as spacers between CEFs. Lignification occurs between CEF-hemicelluloses layers in secondary walls. Furthermore, we demonstrated quantitative analysis of plant cell wall accessibility to and digestibility by different cellulase systems at real-time using chemical imaging (e.g., stimulated Raman scattering) and fluorescence microscopy of labeled cellulases (Ding et al., 2012, Science, in press).

The size, shape, density and ring of the dwarf planet Haumea from a stellar occultation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, J L; Santos-Sanz, P; Sicardy, B; Benedetti-Rossi, G; Bérard, D; Morales, N; Duffard, R; Braga-Ribas, F; Hopp, U; Ries, C; Nascimbeni, V; Marzari, F; Granata, V; Pál, A; Kiss, C; Pribulla, T; Komžík, R; Hornoch, K; Pravec, P; Bacci, P; Maestripieri, M; Nerli, L; Mazzei, L; Bachini, M; Martinelli, F; Succi, G; Ciabattari, F; Mikuz, H; Carbognani, A; Gaehrken, B; Mottola, S; Hellmich, S; Rommel, F L; Fernández-Valenzuela, E; Bagatin, A Campo; Cikota, S; Cikota, A; Lecacheux, J; Vieira-Martins, R; Camargo, J I B; Assafin, M; Colas, F; Behrend, R; Desmars, J; Meza, E; Alvarez-Candal, A; Beisker, W; Gomes-Junior, A R; Morgado, B E; Roques, F; Vachier, F; Berthier, J; Mueller, T G; Madiedo, J M; Unsalan, O; Sonbas, E; Karaman, N; Erece, O; Koseoglu, D T; Ozisik, T; Kalkan, S; Guney, Y; Niaei, M S; Satir, O; Yesilyaprak, C; Puskullu, C; Kabas, A; Demircan, O; Alikakos, J; Charmandaris, V; Leto, G; Ohlert, J; Christille, J M; Szakáts, R; Farkas, A Takácsné; Varga-Verebélyi, E; Marton, G; Marciniak, A; Bartczak, P; Santana-Ros, T; Butkiewicz-Bąk, M; Dudziński, G; Alí-Lagoa, V; Gazeas, K; Tzouganatos, L; Paschalis, N; Tsamis, V; Sánchez-Lavega, A; Pérez-Hoyos, S; Hueso, R; Guirado, J C; Peris, V; Iglesias-Marzoa, R

2017-10-11

Haumea-one of the four known trans-Neptunian dwarf planets-is a very elongated and rapidly rotating body. In contrast to other dwarf planets, its size, shape, albedo and density are not well constrained. The Centaur Chariklo was the first body other than a giant planet known to have a ring system, and the Centaur Chiron was later found to possess something similar to Chariklo's rings. Here we report observations from multiple Earth-based observatories of Haumea passing in front of a distant star (a multi-chord stellar occultation). Secondary events observed around the main body of Haumea are consistent with the presence of a ring with an opacity of 0.5, width of 70 kilometres and radius of about 2,287 kilometres. The ring is coplanar with both Haumea's equator and the orbit of its satellite Hi'iaka. The radius of the ring places it close to the 3:1 mean-motion resonance with Haumea's spin period-that is, Haumea rotates three times on its axis in the time that a ring particle completes one revolution. The occultation by the main body provides an instantaneous elliptical projected shape with axes of about 1,704 kilometres and 1,138 kilometres. Combined with rotational light curves, the occultation constrains the three-dimensional orientation of Haumea and its triaxial shape, which is inconsistent with a homogeneous body in hydrostatic equilibrium. Haumea's largest axis is at least 2,322 kilometres, larger than previously thought, implying an upper limit for its density of 1,885 kilograms per cubic metre and a geometric albedo of 0.51, both smaller than previous estimates. In addition, this estimate of the density of Haumea is closer to that of Pluto than are previous estimates, in line with expectations. No global nitrogen- or methane-dominated atmosphere was detected.

Direct synthesis of nano-sized glass powders with spherical shape by RF (radio frequency) thermal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, J.H.; Kim, J.S.; Lee, M.Y.; Ju, W.T.; Nam, I.T.

2011-01-01

A new route for obtaining very small, spheroid glass powders is demonstrated using an RF (radio frequency) thermal plasma system. During the process, four kinds of chemicals, here SiO 2 , B 2 O 3 , BaCO 3 , and K 2 CO 3 , were mixed at pre-set weight ratios, spray-dried, calcined at 250 deg. C for 3 h, and crushed into fragments. Then, they were successfully reformed into nano-sized amorphous powders (< 200 nm) with spherical shape by injecting them along the centerline of an RF thermal plasma reactor at ∼ 24 kW. The as-synthesized powders show negligible (< 1%) composition changes when compared with the injected precursors of raw material compounds.

Control of the shape and size of iron oxide (α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles synthesized through the chemical precipitation method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdelmajid Lassoued

Full Text Available Hematite (α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple chemical precipitation method. The impact of varying the concentration of precursor on the crystalline phase, size and morphology of α-Fe2O3 products was explored. The characteristic of the synthesized hematite nanoparticles were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA, Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis analysis and Photoluminescence (PL. XRD data revealed a rhombohedral (hexagonal structure with the space group R-3c in all samples. Uniform spherical like morphology was confirmed by TEM and SEM. The result revealed that the particle sizes were varied between 21 and 82 nm and that the increase in precursor concentration (FeCl3, 6H2O is accompanied by an increase in the particle size of 21 nm for pure α-Fe2O3 synthesized with [Fe3+] = 0.05 M at 82 nm for pure α-Fe2O3 synthesized with [Fe3+] = 0.4 M. FT-IR confirms the phase purity of the nanoparticles synthesized. The Raman spectroscopy was used not only to prove that we have synthesized pure hematite but also to identify their phonon modes. The thermal behavior of compound was studied by using TGA/DTA results: The TGA showed three mass losses, whereas DTA resulted in three endothermic peaks. Besides, the optical investigation revealed that samples have an optical gap of about 2.1 eV and that this value varies as a function of the precursor concentration. Keywords: Nanoparticles, Hematite (α-Fe2O3, Precipitation, Precursor, Size, Band gap

Ancestral Variations in the Shape and Size of the Zygoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Oettlé, Anna C; Demeter, Fabrice P; L'abbé, Ericka N

2017-01-01

The variable development of the zygoma, dictating its shape and size variations among ancestral groups, has important clinical implications and valuable anthropological and evolutionary inferences. The purpose of the study was to review the literature regarding the variations in the zygoma with ancestry. Ancestral variation in the zygoma reflects genetic variations because of genetic drift as well as natural selection and epigenetic changes to adapt to diet and climate variations with possible intensification by isolation. Prominence of the zygoma, zygomaxillary tuberosity, and malar tubercle have been associated with Eastern Asian populations in whom these features intensified. Prominence of the zygoma is also associated with groups from Eastern Europe and the rest of Asia. Diffusion of these traits occurred across the Behring Sea to the Arctic areas and to North and South America. The greatest zygomatic projections are exhibited in Arctic groups as an adaptation to extreme cold conditions, while Native South American groups also present with other features of facial robusticity. Groups from Australia, Malaysia, and Oceania show prominence of the zygoma to a certain extent, possibly because of archaic occupations by undifferentiated Southeast Asian populations. More recent interactions with Chinese groups might explain the prominent cheekbones noted in certain South African groups. Many deductions regarding evolutionary processes and diversifications of early groups have been made. Cognisance of these ancestral variations also have implications for forensic anthropological assessments as well as plastic and reconstructive surgery. More studies are needed to improve accuracy of forensic anthropological identification techniques. Anat Rec, 300:196-208, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hippocampal neurons respond uniquely to topographies of various sizes and shapes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fozdar, David Y; Chen Shaochen; Lee, Jae Young; Schmidt, Christine E

2010-01-01

A number of studies have investigated the behavior of neurons on microfabricated topography for the purpose of developing interfaces for use in neural engineering applications. However, there have been few studies simultaneously exploring the effects of topographies having various feature sizes and shapes on axon growth and polarization in the first 24 h. Accordingly, here we investigated the effects of arrays of lines (ridge grooves) and holes of microscale (∼2 μm) and nanoscale (∼300 nm) dimensions, patterned in quartz (SiO 2 ), on the (1) adhesion, (2) axon establishment (polarization), (3) axon length, (4) axon alignment and (5) cell morphology of rat embryonic hippocampal neurons, to study the response of the neurons to feature dimension and geometry. Neurons were analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The topographies were found to have a negligible effect on cell attachment but to cause a marked increase in axon polarization, occurring more frequently on sub-microscale features than on microscale features. Neurons were observed to form longer axons on lines than on holes and smooth surfaces; axons were either aligned parallel or perpendicular to the line features. An analysis of cell morphology indicated that the surface features impacted the morphologies of the soma, axon and growth cone. The results suggest that incorporating microscale and sub-microscale topographies on biomaterial surfaces may enhance the biomaterials' ability to modulate nerve development and regeneration.

How well can body size represent effects of the environment on demographic rates? Disentangling correlated explanatory variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Mollie E; Mugabo, Marianne; Rodgers, Gwendolen M; Benton, Timothy G; Ozgul, Arpat

2016-03-01

Demographic rates are shaped by the interaction of past and current environments that individuals in a population experience. Past environments shape individual states via selection and plasticity, and fitness-related traits (e.g. individual size) are commonly used in demographic analyses to represent the effect of past environments on demographic rates. We quantified how well the size of individuals captures the effects of a population's past and current environments on demographic rates in a well-studied experimental system of soil mites. We decomposed these interrelated sources of variation with a novel method of multiple regression that is useful for understanding nonlinear relationships between responses and multicollinear explanatory variables. We graphically present the results using area-proportional Venn diagrams. Our novel method was developed by combining existing methods and expanding upon them. We showed that the strength of size as a proxy for the past environment varied widely among vital rates. For instance, in this organism with an income breeding life history, the environment had more effect on reproduction than individual size, but with substantial overlap indicating that size encompassed some of the effects of the past environment on fecundity. This demonstrates that the strength of size as a proxy for the past environment can vary widely among life-history processes within a species, and this variation should be taken into consideration in trait-based demographic or individual-based approaches that focus on phenotypic traits as state variables. Furthermore, the strength of a proxy will depend on what state variable(s) and what demographic rate is being examined; that is, different measures of body size (e.g. length, volume, mass, fat stores) will be better or worse proxies for various life-history processes. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

Effect of Cooling Rates on Shape and Crystal Size Distributions of Mefenamic Acid Polymorph in Ethyl Acetate

Science.gov (United States)

Mudalip, S. K. Abdul; Adam, F.; Parveen, J.; Abu Bakar, M. R.; Amran, N.; Sulaiman, S. Z.; Che Man, R.; Arshad, Z. I. Mohd; Shaarani, S. Md.

2017-06-01

This study investigate the effect of cooling rates on mefenamic acid crystallisation in ethyl acetate. The cooling rate was varied from 0.2 to 5 °C/min. The in-line conductivity system and turbidity system were employed to detect the onset of the crystallization process. The crystals produced were analysed using optical microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was found that the crystals produced at different cooling rates were needle-like and exhibit polymorphic form type I. However, the aspect ratio and crystal size distributions were varied with the increased of cooling rate. A high crystals aspect ratio and narrower CSD (100-900 μm) was obtained at cooling rate of 0.5 °C/min. Thus, can be suggested as the most suitable cooling rate for crystallization of mefenamic acid in ethyl acetate.

Near Net Shape Fabrication Technology for Shape Memory Alloy Components, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This STTR Phase I effort proposes to develop an innovative, affordable processing route for larger-sized shape memory alloy (SMA) components. Despite significant...

Size and shape of the associations of glucose, HbA1c, insulin and HOMA-IR with incident type 2 diabetes: the Hoorn Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijgrok, Carolien; Dekker, Jacqueline M.; Beulens, Joline W.; Brouwer, Ingeborg A.; Coupé, Veerle M.H.; Heymans, Martijn W.; Sijtsma, Femke P.C.; Mela, David J.; Zock, Peter L.; Olthof, Margreet R.; Alssema, Marjan

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Glycaemic markers and fasting insulin are frequently measured outcomes of intervention studies. To extrapolate accurately the impact of interventions on the risk of diabetes incidence, we investigated the size and shape of the associations of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h

Competing Grain Boundary and Interior Deformation Mechanisms with Varying Sizes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Wei [University of Tennessee (UT); Gao, Yanfei [ORNL; Nieh, T. G. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)

2018-01-01

In typical coarse-grained alloys, the dominant plastic deformations are dislocation gliding or climbing, and material strengths can be tuned by dislocation interactions with grain boundaries, precipitates, solid solutions, and other defects. With the reduction of grain size, the increase of material strengths follows the classic Hall-Petch relationship up to nano-grained materials. Even at room temperatures, nano-grained materials exhibit strength softening, or called the inverse Hall-Petch effect, as grain boundary processes take over as the dominant deformation mechanisms. On the other hand, at elevated temperatures, grain boundary processes compete with grain interior deformation mechanisms over a wide range of the applied stress and grain sizes. This book chapter reviews and compares the rate equation model and the microstructure-based finite element simulations. The latter explicitly accounts for the grain boundary sliding, grain boundary diffusion and migration, as well as the grain interior dislocation creep. Therefore the explicit finite element method has clear advantages in problems where microstructural heterogeneities play a critical role, such as in the gradient microstructure in shot peening or weldment. Furthermore, combined with the Hall-Petch effect and its breakdown, the above competing processes help construct deformation mechanism maps by extending from the classic Frost-Ashby type to the ones with the dependence of grain size.

Particle shape impacts export and fate in the ocean through interactions with the globally abundant appendicularian Oikopleura dioica.

Science.gov (United States)

Conley, Keats R; Sutherland, Kelly R

2017-01-01

Marine microbes exhibit highly varied, often non-spherical shapes that have functional significance for essential processes, including nutrient acquisition and sinking rates. There is a surprising absence of data, however, on how cell shape affects grazing, which is crucial for predicting the fate of oceanic carbon. We used synthetic spherical and prolate spheroid microbeads to isolate the effect of particle length-to-width ratios on grazing and fate in the ocean. Here we show that the shape of microbe-sized particles affects predation by the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica, a globally abundant marine grazer. Using incubation experiments, we demonstrate that shape affects how particles are retained in the house and that the minimum particle diameter is the key variable determining how particles are ingested. High-speed videography revealed the mechanism behind these results: microbe-sized spheroids oriented with the long axis parallel to fluid streamlines, matching the speed and tortuosity of spheres of equivalent width. Our results suggest that the minimum particle diameter determines how elongated prey interact with the feeding-filters of appendicularians, which may help to explain the prevalence of ellipsoidal cells in the ocean, since a cell's increased surface-to-volume ratio does not always increase predation. We provide the first evidence that grazing by appendicularians can cause non-uniform export of different shaped particles, thereby influencing particle fate.

Size, shape, and diffusivity of a single Debye-Hückel polyelectrolyte chain in solution

Science.gov (United States)

Soysa, W. Chamath; Dünweg, B.; Prakash, J. Ravi

2015-08-01

Brownian dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained bead-spring chain model, with Debye-Hückel electrostatic interactions between the beads, are used to determine the root-mean-square end-to-end vector, the radius of gyration, and various shape functions (defined in terms of eigenvalues of the radius of gyration tensor) of a weakly charged polyelectrolyte chain in solution, in the limit of low polymer concentration. The long-time diffusivity is calculated from the mean square displacement of the centre of mass of the chain, with hydrodynamic interactions taken into account through the incorporation of the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa tensor. Simulation results are interpreted in the light of the Odjik, Skolnick, Fixman, Khokhlov, and Khachaturian blob scaling theory (Everaers et al., Eur. Phys. J. E 8, 3 (2002)) which predicts that all solution properties are determined by just two scaling variables—the number of electrostatic blobs X and the reduced Debye screening length, Y. We identify three broad regimes, the ideal chain regime at small values of Y, the blob-pole regime at large values of Y, and the crossover regime at intermediate values of Y, within which the mean size, shape, and diffusivity exhibit characteristic behaviours. In particular, when simulation results are recast in terms of blob scaling variables, universal behaviour independent of the choice of bead-spring chain parameters, and the number of blobs X, is observed in the ideal chain regime and in much of the crossover regime, while the existence of logarithmic corrections to scaling in the blob-pole regime leads to non-universal behaviour.

Bat distribution size or shape as determinant of viral richness in african bats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaël D Maganga

Full Text Available The rising incidence of emerging infectious diseases (EID is mostly linked to biodiversity loss, changes in habitat use and increasing habitat fragmentation. Bats are linked to a growing number of EID but few studies have explored the factors of viral richness in bats. These may have implications for role of bats as potential reservoirs. We investigated the determinants of viral richness in 15 species of African bats (8 Pteropodidae and 7 microchiroptera in Central and West Africa for which we provide new information on virus infection and bat phylogeny. We performed the first comparative analysis testing the correlation of the fragmented geographical distribution (defined as the perimeter to area ratio with viral richness in bats. Because of their potential effect, sampling effort, host body weight, ecological and behavioural traits such as roosting behaviour, migration and geographical range, were included into the analysis as variables. The results showed that the geographical distribution size, shape and host body weight have significant effects on viral richness in bats. Viral richness was higher in large-bodied bats which had larger and more fragmented distribution areas. Accumulation of viruses may be related to the historical expansion and contraction of bat species distribution range, with potentially strong effects of distribution edges on virus transmission. Two potential explanations may explain these results. A positive distribution edge effect on the abundance or distribution of some bat species could have facilitated host switches. Alternatively, parasitism could play a direct role in shaping the distribution range of hosts through host local extinction by virulent parasites. This study highlights the importance of considering the fragmentation of bat species geographical distribution in order to understand their role in the circulation of viruses in Africa.

Performance of Traffic Noise Barriers with Varying Cross-Section

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanja Grubeša

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The efficiency of noise barriers largely depends on their geometry. In this paper, the performance of noise barriers was simulated using the numerical Boundary Element Method (BEM. Traffic noise was particularly considered with its standardized noise spectrum adapted to human hearing. The cross-section of the barriers was varied with the goal of finding the optimum shape in comparison to classical rectangular barriers. The barrier performance was calculated at different receiver points for a fixed barrier height and source position. The magnitude of the insertion loss parameter was used to evaluate the performance change, both in one-third octave bands and as the broadband mean insertion loss value. The proposed barriers of varying cross-section were also compared with a typical T-shape barrier of the same height.

Evolutionary patterns of range size, abundance and species richness in Amazonian angiosperm trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyle Dexter

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Amazonian tree species vary enormously in their total abundance and range size, while Amazonian tree genera vary greatly in species richness. The drivers of this variation are not well understood. Here, we construct a phylogenetic hypothesis that represents half of Amazonian tree genera in order to contribute to explaining the variation. We find several clear, broad-scale patterns. Firstly, there is significant phylogenetic signal for all three characteristics; closely related genera tend to have similar numbers of species and similar mean range size and abundance. Additionally, the species richness of genera shows a significant, negative relationship with the mean range size and abundance of their constituent species. Our results suggest that phylogenetically correlated intrinsic factors, namely traits of the genera themselves, shape among lineage variation in range size, abundance and species richness. We postulate that tree stature may be one particularly relevant trait. However, other traits may also be relevant, and our study reinforces the need for ambitious compilations of trait data for Amazonian trees. In the meantime, our study shows how large-scale phylogenies can help to elucidate, and contribute to explaining, macroecological and macroevolutionary patterns in hyperdiverse, yet poorly understood regions like the Amazon Basin.

Prey availability affects territory size, but not territorial display behavior, in green anole lizards

Science.gov (United States)

Stehle, Chelsea M.; Battles, Andrew C.; Sparks, Michelle N.; Johnson, Michele A.

2017-10-01

The availability of food resources can affect the size and shape of territories, as well as the behaviors used to defend territories, in a variety of animal taxa. However, individuals within a population may respond differently to variation in food availability if the benefits of territoriality vary among those individuals. For example, benefits to territoriality may differ for animals of differing sizes, because larger individuals may require greater territory size to acquire required resources, or territorial behavior may differ between the sexes if males and females defend different resources in their territories. In this study, we tested whether arthropod abundance and biomass were associated with natural variation in territory size and defense in insectivorous green anole lizards, Anolis carolinensis. Our results showed that both male and female lizards had smaller territories in a habitat with greater prey biomass than lizards in habitats with less available prey, but the rates of aggressive behaviors used to defend territories did not differ among these habitats. Further, we did not find a relationship between body size and territory size, and the sexes did not differ in their relationships between food availability and territory size or behavioral defense. Together, these results suggest that differences in food availability influenced male and female territorial strategies similarly, and that territory size may be more strongly associated with variation in food resources than social display behavior. Thus, anole investment in the behavioral defense of a territory may not vary with territory quality.

Size and shape of the associations of glucose, HbA1c, insulin and HOMA-IR with incident type 2 diabetes : the Hoorn Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijgrok, Carolien; Dekker, Jacqueline M.; Beulens, Joline W.; Brouwer, Ingeborg A.; Coupé, Veerle M.H.; Heymans, Martijn W.; Sijtsma, Femke P.C.; Mela, David J.; Zock, Peter L.; Olthof, Margreet R.; Alssema, Marjan

Aims/hypothesis: Glycaemic markers and fasting insulin are frequently measured outcomes of intervention studies. To extrapolate accurately the impact of interventions on the risk of diabetes incidence, we investigated the size and shape of the associations of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h

Size and Shape of the Pituitary Gland with MR Imaging from Newborn to 30 Years: A Study at Siriraj Hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keanninsiri, C.; Cheiwvit, P.; Tritrakarn, S.; Thepamongkhol, K.; Santiprabhop, J.

2012-01-01

MRI can provide the best visualization of structures in cranio - spinal region, especially the anatomy of the pituitary gland.This study was a retrospective with the purpose to determine the size and shape of the pituitary gland in normal puberty groups of both genders at age 1-30 years at Siriraj Hospital.Two planar views of the MRI, sagittal and coronal views for measurement the height, width and the shape of pituitary gland. The sample size (299 cases, 149 male and 150 female) were included the patients in both in-patient and out-patient groups at Siriraj Hospital, during age 1-30 years old and divided into six groups. All cases have Medical Record and MRI brain scan, without pathology history related to the pituitary gland or hormonal disorders, surgery and treated by hormone therapy. The mean and standard deviation of the height of pituitary gland in group 1 (1-10 years) were 5.4 ± 1.2mm in male, n = 50, 5.1 ± 1.3mm in female, n = 50, group 2 (11-20 years) were 6.8 ± 1.7mm in male, n = 50, 5.8 ± 1.3 mm. in female, n 50 and group 3 (21-30 years) were 5.4 ± 1.3mm in male, n = 50, 5.9 ± 1.5mm in female, n = 50 and significantly different in female (p<0.001) but no significantly different in male (p = 0.181). The mean and standard deviation of the width of pituitary gland of group1 (1-10 years) were10.8 ± 1.9mm in male, n = 50, 10.2 ± 2.2mm.in female, n = 50, group 2 (11-20 years) were12.9 ± 2.0mm in male, n = 50, 13.5 ± 1.5mm in female, n 50 and group 3 (21-30 years) were 13.4 ± 1.7mm in male, n = 49 and 13.8 ± 1.7mm in female, n = 50 and significant different for both sexes (p<0.001). The most frequency grade shape of ''flatwas'' shown in all groups except female groups 2(11-20 years) higher frequency of ''convex'' for both sagittal and coronal views.The study was analyzed by two experienced neuroradiologists. This aim to the demonstrated of database in Thai people with age range newborns to 30 years which an

Water-assisted size and shape control of CsPbBr{sub 3} perovskite nanocrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xiaoyu [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics and College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun (China); Department of Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Mobile Materials MOE, State Key Laboratory of Automotive Simulation and Control, Jilin University, Changchun (China); Bai, Xue; Wu, Hua; Zhang, Xiangtong; Sun, Chun; Zhang, Yu [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics and College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun (China); Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Weitao [Department of Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Mobile Materials MOE, State Key Laboratory of Automotive Simulation and Control, Jilin University, Changchun (China); Yu, William W. [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics and College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun (China); Department of Chemistry and Physics, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA (United States); Rogach, Andrey L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon (China)

2018-03-19

Lead-halide perovskites are well known to decompose rapidly when exposed to polar solvents, such as water. Contrary to this common-place observation, we have found that through introducing a suitable minor amount of water into the reaction mixture, we can synthesize stable CsPbBr{sub 3} nanocrystals. The size and the crystallinity, and as a result the band gap tunability of the strongly emitting CsPbBr{sub 3} nanocrystals correlate with the water content. Suitable amounts of water change the crystallization environment, inducing the formation of differently shaped perovskites, namely spherical NCs, rectangular nanoplatelets, or nanowires. Bright CsPbBr{sub 3} nanocrystals with the photoluminescence quantum yield reaching 90 % were employed for fabrication of inverted hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting devices, with the peak luminance of 4428 cd m{sup -2} and external quantum yield of 1.7 %. (copyright 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

In situ temperature tunable pores of shape memory polyurethane membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Joon-Sung; Yu, Woong-Ryeol; Youk, Ji Ho; Ryu, Hee Youk

2011-01-01

Conventional shape memory polymers, such as shape memory polyurethanes (SMPU), can exhibit net two-way shape memory behavior (2WSM), i.e., upon heating and subsequent cooling, their macroscopic shapes change reversibly under an applied bias load. This paper is aimed at reporting similar 2WSM behavior, especially by focusing on the size of nanopores/micropores in SMPU membranes, i.e., the size of the pores can be reversibly changed by up to about 300 nm upon repeated heating and cooling. The SMPU membranes were prepared by electrospinning and elongated at temperatures higher than the transition temperature of the SMPU. Under the constant stress, the size change of the pores in the membranes was measured by applying cyclic temperature change. It was observed that the pore size changed from 150 to 440 nm according to the temperature change, demonstrating that the SMPU membrane can be utilized as a smart membrane to selectively separate substances according to their sizes by just controlling temperature

Towards easy and reliable AFM tip shape determination using blind tip reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flater, Erin E.; Zacharakis-Jutz, George E.; Dumba, Braulio G.; White, Isaac A.; Clifford, Charles A.

2014-01-01

Quantitative determination of the geometry of an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe tip is critical for robust measurements of the nanoscale properties of surfaces, including accurate measurement of sample features and quantification of tribological characteristics. Blind tip reconstruction, which determines tip shape from an AFM image scan without knowledge of tip or sample shape, was established most notably by Villarrubia [J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Tech. 102 (1997)] and has been further developed since that time. Nevertheless, the implementation of blind tip reconstruction for the general user to produce reliable and consistent estimates of tip shape has been hindered due to ambiguity about how to choose the key input parameters, such as tip matrix size and threshold value, which strongly impact the results of the tip reconstruction. These key parameters are investigated here via Villarrubia's blind tip reconstruction algorithms in which we have added the capability for users to systematically vary the key tip reconstruction parameters, evaluate the set of possible tip reconstructions, and determine the optimal tip reconstruction for a given sample. We demonstrate the capabilities of these algorithms through analysis of a set of simulated AFM images and provide practical guidelines for users of the blind tip reconstruction method. We present a reliable method to choose the threshold parameter corresponding to an optimal reconstructed tip shape for a given image. Specifically, we show that the trend in how the reconstructed tip shape varies with threshold number is so regular that the optimal, or Goldilocks, threshold value corresponds with the peak in the derivative of the RMS difference with respect to the zero threshold curve vs. threshold number. - Highlights: • Blind tip reconstruction algorithms have been implemented and augmented to determine the optimal input parameters. • We demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithms using a simulated AFM

Evaluation of removal of the size effect using data scaling and elliptic Fourier descriptors in otolith shape analysis, exemplified by the discrimination of two yellow croaker stocks along the Chinese coast

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bo; Liu, Jinhu; Song, Junjie; Cao, Liang; Dou, Shuozeng

2017-11-01

Removal of the length effect in otolith shape analysis for stock identification using length scaling is an important issue; however, few studies have attempted to investigate the effectiveness or weakness of this methodology in application. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether commonly used size scaling methods and normalized elliptic Fourier descriptors (NEFDs) could effectively remove the size effect of fish in stock discrimination. To achieve this goal, length groups from two known geographical stocks of yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis, along the Chinese coast (five groups from the Changjiang River estuary of the East China Sea and three groups from the Bohai Sea) were subjected to otolith shape analysis. The results indicated that the variation of otolith shape caused by intra-stock fish length might exceed that due to inter-stock geographical separation, even when otolith shape variables are standardized with length scaling methods. This variation could easily result in misleading stock discrimination through otolith shape analysis. Therefore, conclusions about fish stock structure should be carefully drawn from otolith shape analysis because the observed discrimination may primarily be due to length effects, rather than differences among stocks. The application of multiple methods, such as otoliths shape analysis combined with elemental fingering, tagging or genetic analysis, is recommended for sock identification.

Analysis on the stress corrosion crack inception based on pit shape and size of the FV520B tensile specimen

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Longhao; Pan, Juyi; Chen, Songying

2018-06-01

The influence of pit shape and size on local stress concentration in the tensile specimen and the stress corrosion cracks inception was studied by employing the element remove technique. The maximum stress located in the bottom of pit on FV520B tensile specimen. The location of maximum strain was near the mouth of the pit or the shoulder and plastic strain existed in this region. Stress concentration factor and plastic deformation on four different geometrical shape pits of hemisphere, semi-ellipsoid, bullet and butterfly were numerically investigated, respectively. The simulation results showed that butterfly pit got the biggest stress concentration factor. The plastic strain rate during pit growth was in the sensitivity range of stress corrosion cracks inception, indicating that stress corrosion cracks were more likely to nucleate near the pit tip or the shoulder.

Size-dependent mortality rate profiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Roa-Ureta, Ruben H

2016-08-07

Knowledge of mortality rates is crucial to the understanding of population dynamics in populations of free-living fish and invertebrates in marine and freshwater environments, and consequently to sustainable resource management. There is a well developed theory of population dynamics based on age distributions that allow direct estimation of mortality rates. However, for most cases the aging of individuals is difficult or age distributions are not available for other reasons. The body size distribution is a widely available alternative although the theory underlying the formation of its shape is more complicated than in the case of age distributions. A solid theory of the time evolution of a population structured by any physiological variable has been developed in 1960s and 1970s by adapting the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of classical mechanics, and equations to estimate the body size-distributed mortality profile have been derived for simple cases. Here I extend those results with regards to the size-distributed mortality profile to complex cases of non-stationary populations, individuals growing according to a generalised growth model and seasonally patterned recruitment pulses. I apply resulting methods to two cases in the marine environment, a benthic crustacean population that was growing during the period of observation and whose individuals grow with negative acceleration, and a sea urchin coastal population that is undergoing a stable cycle of two equilibrium points in population size whose individuals grow with varying acceleration that switches sign along the size range. The extension is very general and substantially widens the applicability of the theory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Great Disparity in Photoluminesence Quantum Yields of Colloidal CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals with Varied Shape: The Effect of Crystal Lattice Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jiangtao; Liu, Mei; Fang, Li; Jiang, Shenlong; Zhou, Jingtian; Ding, Huaiyi; Huang, Hongwen; Wen, Wen; Luo, Zhenlin; Zhang, Qun; Wang, Xiaoping; Gao, Chen

2017-07-06

Understanding the big discrepancy in the photoluminesence quantum yields (PLQYs) of nanoscale colloidal materials with varied morphologies is of great significance to its property optimization and functional application. Using different shaped CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals with the same fabrication processes as model, quantitative synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the increasing trend in lattice strain values of the nanocrystals: nanocube, nanoplate, nanowire. Furthermore, transient spectroscopic measurements reveal the same trend in the defect quantities of these nanocrystals. These experimental results unambiguously point out that large lattice strain existing in CsPbBr 3 nanoparticles induces more crystal defects and thus decreases the PLQY, implying that lattice strain is a key factor other than the surface defect to dominate the PLQY of colloidal photoluminesence materials.

Measuring the X-shaped structures in edge-on galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Savchenko, S. S.; Sotnikova, N. Ya.; Mosenkov, A. V.; Reshetnikov, V. P.; Bizyaev, D. V.

2017-11-01

We present a detailed photometric study of a sample of 22 edge-on galaxies with clearly visible X-shaped structures. We propose a novel method to derive geometrical parameters of these features, along with the parameters of their host galaxies based on the multi-component photometric decomposition of galactic images. To include the X-shaped structure into our photometric model, we use the imfit package, in which we implement a new component describing the X-shaped structure. This method is applied for a sample of galaxies with available Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Spitzer IRAC 3.6 μm observations. In order to explain our results, we perform realistic N-body simulations of a Milky Way-type galaxy and compare the observed and the model X-shaped structures. Our main conclusions are as follows: (1) galaxies with strong X-shaped structures reside in approximately the same local environments as field galaxies; (2) the characteristic size of the X-shaped structures is about 2/3 of the bar size; (3) there is a correlation between the X-shaped structure size and its observed flatness: the larger structures are more flattened; (4) our N-body simulations qualitatively confirm the observational results and support the bar-driven scenario for the X-shaped structure formation.

PATERNAL GENOTYPE INFLUENCES INCUBATION PERIOD, OFFSPRING SIZE, AND OFFSPRING SHAPE IN AN OVIPAROUS REPTILE.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsson, Mats; Gullberg, Annica; Shine, Richard; Madsen, Thomas; Tegelström, Håkan

1996-06-01

Theoretical models for the evolution of life-history traits assume a genetic basis for a significant proportion of the phenotypic variance observed in characteristics such as hatching date and offspring size. However, recent experimental work has shown that much of the phenotypic variance in hatchling reptiles is induced by nongenetic factors, such as maternal nutrition and thermoregulation, and the physical conditions experienced during embryogenesis. Thus, there is no unambiguous evidence for strictly genetic (intraspecific) influences on the phenotypes of hatchling reptiles. We report results from a technique that uses a genetic marker trait and DNA fingerprinting to determine paternity of offspring from multiply sired clutches of European sand lizards, Lacerta agilis. By focusing on paternal rather than maternal effects, we show that hatchling genotypes exert a direct influence on the duration of incubation, the size (mass, snout-vent length) and shape (relative tail length) of the hatchling, and subsequent growth rates of the lizard during the first 3 mo of life. Embryos with genes that code for a few days' delay in hatching are thereby larger when they hatch, having undergone further differentiation (and hence, have changed in bodily proportions), and are able to grow faster after hatching. Our data thus provide empirical support for a crucial but rarely tested assumption of life-history theory, and illuminate some of the proximate mechanisms that produce intraspecific variation in offspring phenotypes. © 1996 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

γ-Ray radiolysis and theoretical study on radical ions of star-shaped oligofluorenes having a truxene or isotruxene as a core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujitsuka, Mamoru; Tojo, Sachiko; Yang, Jye-Shane; Majima, Tetsuro

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Radiolysis provides absorption spectra of radical ions of star-shaped oligofluorenes. ► Absorption spectroscopic properties depend on oligomer size extensively. ► TDDFT provides reasonable assignments to the visible and near-IR absorption bands. ► Extensive charge delocalization was indicated by planarization of oligomers. - Abstract: Poly- and oligofluorenes have been intensively studied for years, because of their excellent properties as photo- and electro-functional materials. Especially, star-shaped oligofluorenes as two-dimensional oligomers are interesting materials for wide researchers. To understand their electronic properties in charged states, absorption spectra of radical cation and radical anion of star-shaped oligomers with varied size were investigated by means of γ-ray radiolysis. The absorption spectra of their radical ions ranged from the visible to near-IR regions were successfully obtained. By using the theoretical calculation, the observed peaks were assigned. It is indicated that the transition between HOMO and LUMO of the original neutral state plays a significant role in the visible region. Furthermore, it is indicated that the star-shaped oligofluorenes tend to take a planar structure upon oxidation and reduction

Dynamical stability of the one-dimensional rigid Brownian rotator: the role of the rotator’s spatial size and shape

Science.gov (United States)

Jeknić-Dugić, Jasmina; Petrović, Igor; Arsenijević, Momir; Dugić, Miroljub

2018-05-01

We investigate dynamical stability of a single propeller-like shaped molecular cogwheel modelled as the fixed-axis rigid rotator. In the realistic situations, rotation of the finite-size cogwheel is subject to the environmentally-induced Brownian-motion effect that we describe by utilizing the quantum Caldeira-Leggett master equation. Assuming the initially narrow (classical-like) standard deviations for the angle and the angular momentum of the rotator, we investigate the dynamics of the first and second moments depending on the size, i.e. on the number of blades of both the free rotator as well as of the rotator in the external harmonic field. The larger the standard deviations, the less stable (i.e. less predictable) rotation. We detect the absence of the simple and straightforward rules for utilizing the rotator’s stability. Instead, a number of the size-related criteria appear whose combinations may provide the optimal rules for the rotator dynamical stability and possibly control. In the realistic situations, the quantum-mechanical corrections, albeit individually small, may effectively prove non-negligible, and also revealing subtlety of the transition from the quantum to the classical dynamics of the rotator. As to the latter, we detect a strong size-dependence of the transition to the classical dynamics beyond the quantum decoherence process.

Storage capacity for fissile material as a function of facility shape (room length-to-width ratio)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altschuler, S.J.

1975-01-01

The results of a previous study for applying surface density methods to square room of varying size are shown to be conservative for rectangular rooms as well. The surface density required to produce criticality has been calculated as a function of the facility length-to-width ratio for a variety of room widths and unit sizes, shapes, and fissile material compositions. For a length to width ratio greater than or equal to 6, the critical surface density is essentially constant. This allows further economies since more fissile material can be stored at a given subcritical value of k/ sub eff/(0.90) in a rectangular vault of given usable area than in a square one. (U.S.)

Anistropically varying conductivity in irreversible electroporation simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Labarbera, Nicholas; Drapaca, Corina

2017-11-01

One recent area of cancer research is irreversible electroporation (IRE). Irreversible electroporation is a minimally invasive procedure where needle electrodes are inserted into the body to ablate tumor cells with electricity. The aim of this paper is to propose a mathematical model that incorporates a tissue's conductivity increasing more in the direction of the electrical field as this has been shown to occur in experiments. It was necessary to mathematically derive a valid form of the conductivity tensor such that it is dependent on the electrical field direction and can be easily implemented into numerical software. The derivation of a conductivity tensor that can take arbitrary functions for the conductivity in the directions tangent and normal to the electrical field is the main contribution of this paper. Numerical simulations were performed for isotropic-varying and anisotropic-varying conductivities to evaluate the importance of including the electrical field's direction in the formulation for conductivity. By starting from previously published experimental results, this paper derived a general formulation for an anistropic-varying tensor for implementation into irreversible electroporation modeling software. The anistropic-varying tensor formulation allows the conductivity to take into consideration both electrical field direction and magnitude, as opposed to previous published works that only took into account electrical field magnitude. The anisotropic formulation predicts roughly a five percent decrease in ablation size for the monopolar simulation and approximately a ten percent decrease in ablation size for the bipolar simulations. This is a positive result as previously reported results found the isotropic formulation to overpredict ablation size for both monopolar and bipolar simulations. Furthermore, it was also reported that the isotropic formulation overpredicts the ablation size more for the bipolar case than the monopolar case. Thus, our

The effect of the shape and size of gold seeds irradiated with ultrasound on the bio-heat transfer in tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Gkigkitzis, Ioannis; Austerlitz, Carlos; Haranas, Ioannis; Campos, Diana

2015-01-01

The aim of this report is to propose a new methodology to treat prostate cancer with macro-rod-shaped gold seeds irradiated with ultrasound and develop a new computational method for temperature and thermal dose control of hyperthermia therapy induced by the proposed procedure. A computer code representation, based on the bio-heat diffusion equation, was developed to calculate the heat deposition and temperature elevation patterns in a gold rod and in the tissue surrounding it as a result of different therapy durations and ultrasound power simulations. The numerical results computed provide quantitative information on the interaction between high-energy ultrasound, gold seeds and biological tissues and can replicate the pattern observed in experimental studies. The effect of differences in shapes and sizes of gold rod targets irradiated with ultrasound is calculated and the heat enhancement and the bio-heat transfer in tissue are analyzed.

Shape-memory polymer foam device for treating aneurysms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega, Jason M.; Benett, William J.; Small, Ward; Wilson, Thomas S.; Maitland, Duncan J; Hartman, Jonathan

2017-05-30

A system for treating an aneurysm in a blood vessel or vein, wherein the aneurysm has a dome, an interior, and a neck. The system includes a shape memory polymer foam in the interior of the aneurysm between the dome and the neck. The shape memory polymer foam has pores that include a first multiplicity of pores having a first pore size and a second multiplicity of pores having a second pore size. The second pore size is larger than said first pore size. The first multiplicity of pores are located in the neck of the aneurysm. The second multiplicity of pores are located in the dome of the aneurysm.

Tropical biomass burning smoke plume size, shape, reflectance, and age based on 2001–2009 MISR imagery of Borneo

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C. S. Zender

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Land clearing for crops, plantations and grazing results in anthropogenic burning of tropical forests and peatlands in Indonesia, where images of fire-generated aerosol plumes have been captured by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR since 2001. Here we analyze the size, shape, optical properties, and age of distinct fire-generated plumes in Borneo from 2001–2009. The local MISR overpass at 10:30 a.m. misses the afternoon peak of Borneo fire emissions, and may preferentially sample longer plumes from persistent fires burning overnight. Typically the smoke flows with the prevailing southeasterly surface winds at 3–4 m s⁻¹, and forms ovoid plumes whose mean length, height, and cross-plume width are 41 km, 708 m, and 27% of the plume length, respectively. 50% of these plumes have length between 24 and 50 km, height between 523 and 993 m and width between 18% and 30% of plume length. Length and cross-plume width are lognormally distributed, while height follows a normal distribution. Borneo smoke plume heights are similar to previously reported plume heights, yet Borneo plumes are on average nearly three times longer than previously studied plumes. This could be due to sampling or to more persistent fires and greater fuel loads in peatlands than in other tropical forests. Plume area (median 169 km², with 25th and 75th percentiles at 99 km² and 304 km², respectively varies exponentially with length, though for most plumes a linear relation provides a good approximation. The MISR-estimated plume optical properties involve greater uncertainties than the geometric properties, and show patterns consistent with smoke aging. Optical depth increases by 15–25% in the down-plume direction, consistent with hygroscopic growth and nucleation overwhelming the effects of particle dispersion. Both particle single-scattering albedo and top-of-atmosphere reflectance peak about halfway down-plume, at

Direct observation of enhanced magnetism in individual size- and shape-selected 3 d transition metal nanoparticles

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Kleibert, Armin; Balan, Ana; Yanes, Rocio; Derlet, Peter M.; Vaz, C. A. F.; Timm, Martin; Fraile Rodríguez, Arantxa; Béché, Armand; Verbeeck, Jo; Dhaka, R. S.; Radovic, Milan; Nowak, Ulrich; Nolting, Frithjof

2017-05-01

Magnetic nanoparticles are critical building blocks for future technologies ranging from nanomedicine to spintronics. Many related applications require nanoparticles with tailored magnetic properties. However, despite significant efforts undertaken towards this goal, a broad and poorly understood dispersion of magnetic properties is reported, even within monodisperse samples of the canonical ferromagnetic 3 d transition metals. We address this issue by investigating the magnetism of a large number of size- and shape-selected, individual nanoparticles of Fe, Co, and Ni using a unique set of complementary characterization techniques. At room temperature, only superparamagnetic behavior is observed in our experiments for all Ni nanoparticles within the investigated sizes, which range from 8 to 20 nm. However, Fe and Co nanoparticles can exist in two distinct magnetic states at any size in this range: (i) a superparamagnetic state, as expected from the bulk and surface anisotropies known for the respective materials and as observed for Ni, and (ii) a state with unexpected stable magnetization at room temperature. This striking state is assigned to significant modifications of the magnetic properties arising from metastable lattice defects in the core of the nanoparticles, as concluded by calculations and atomic structural characterization. Also related with the structural defects, we find that the magnetic state of Fe and Co nanoparticles can be tuned by thermal treatment enabling one to tailor their magnetic properties for applications. This paper demonstrates the importance of complementary single particle investigations for a better understanding of nanoparticle magnetism and for full exploration of their potential for applications.

Photochemical synthesis of shape-selective palladium nanocubes in aqueous solution

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Kundu, Subrata; Wang, Ke; Lau, Sean; Liang, Hong

2010-10-01

We have developed a seedless, citrateless one-step synthetic process for the formation of shape controlled monodisperse Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in 4 h of UV-photoirradiation. The synthesis was done in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant media in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size and shape of the particles can be tuned easily by varying the molar ratio of the CTAB with the Pd salt and by controlling the UV-photoirradiation time. The preferential binding of CTAB to the (100) facets of Pd leads to the formation of Pd nanorods and nanocubes. The approach developed here would reduce the use of seed particles and tri-sodium citrate for the fast synthesis of faceted Pd NPs. The synthesized particles were found to be stable for at least 3 months under ambient conditions at room temperature. This newly developed process might find potential applications in the formation of other materials like Au, Ag, and CdS NPs and applicable in surface enhanced Raman scattering, and different catalysis reactions.

Femoral hip prosthesis design for Thais using multi-objective shape optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virulsri, Chanyaphan; Tangpornprasert, Pairat; Romtrairat, Parineak

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A multi-objective shape optimization was proposed to design hip prosthesis for Thais. • The prosthesis design was optimized in terms of safety of both cement and prosthesis. • The objective functions used the Soderberg fatigue strength formulations. • Safety factors of the cement and prosthesis are 1.200 and 1.109 respectively. • The newly designed prosthesis also fits well with chosen small-sized Thai femurs. - Abstract: The long-term success of Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) depends largely on how well the prosthetic components fit the bones. The majority of cemented femoral hip prosthesis failures are due to aseptic loosening, which is possibly caused by cracking of the cement mantle. The strength of cement components is a function of cement mantles having adequate thickness. Since the size and shape of cemented femoral hip prostheses used in Thailand are based on designs for a Caucasian population, they do not properly conform to most Thai patients’ physical requirements. For these reasons, prostheses designed specifically for Thai patients must consider the longevity and functionality of both cement and prosthesis. The objective of this study was to discover a new design for femoral hip prostheses which is not only optimal and safe in terms of both cement and prosthesis, but also fits the selected Thai femur. This study used a small-sized Thai femoral model as a reference model for a new design. Biocompatible stainless steel 316L (SS316L) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were selected as raw materials for the prosthesis and bone cement respectively. A multi-objective shape optimization program, which is an interface between optimization C program named NSGA-II and a finite element program named ANSYS, was used to optimize longevity of femoral hip prostheses by varying shape parameters at assigned cross-sections of the selected geometry. Maximum walking loads of sixty-kilograms were applied to a finite element model for stress and

Urban tree species show the same hydraulic response to vapor pressure deficit across varying tree size and environmental conditions.

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Lixin Chen

Full Text Available The functional convergence of tree transpiration has rarely been tested for tree species growing under urban conditions even though it is of significance to elucidate the relationship between functional convergence and species differences of urban trees for establishing sustainable urban forests in the context of forest water relations.We measured sap flux of four urban tree species including Cedrus deodara, Zelkova schneideriana, Euonymus bungeanus and Metasequoia glyptostroboides in an urban park by using thermal dissipation probes (TDP. The concurrent microclimate conditions and soil moisture content were also measured. Our objectives were to examine 1 the influence of tree species and size on transpiration, and 2 the hydraulic control of urban trees under different environmental conditions over the transpiration in response to VPD as represented by canopy conductance. The results showed that the functional convergence between tree diameter at breast height (DBH and tree canopy transpiration amount (E(c was not reliable to predict stand transpiration and there were species differences within same DBH class. Species differed in transpiration patterns to seasonal weather progression and soil water stress as a result of varied sensitivity to water availability. Species differences were also found in their potential maximum transpiration rate and reaction to light. However, a same theoretical hydraulic relationship between G(c at VPD = 1 kPa (G(cref and the G(c sensitivity to VPD (-dG(c/dlnVPD across studied species as well as under contrasting soil water and R(s conditions in the urban area.We concluded that urban trees show the same hydraulic regulation over response to VPD across varying tree size and environmental conditions and thus tree transpiration could be predicted with appropriate assessment of G(cref.

Urban tree species show the same hydraulic response to vapor pressure deficit across varying tree size and environmental conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lixin; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Ewers, Brent E

2012-01-01

The functional convergence of tree transpiration has rarely been tested for tree species growing under urban conditions even though it is of significance to elucidate the relationship between functional convergence and species differences of urban trees for establishing sustainable urban forests in the context of forest water relations. We measured sap flux of four urban tree species including Cedrus deodara, Zelkova schneideriana, Euonymus bungeanus and Metasequoia glyptostroboides in an urban park by using thermal dissipation probes (TDP). The concurrent microclimate conditions and soil moisture content were also measured. Our objectives were to examine 1) the influence of tree species and size on transpiration, and 2) the hydraulic control of urban trees under different environmental conditions over the transpiration in response to VPD as represented by canopy conductance. The results showed that the functional convergence between tree diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree canopy transpiration amount (E(c)) was not reliable to predict stand transpiration and there were species differences within same DBH class. Species differed in transpiration patterns to seasonal weather progression and soil water stress as a result of varied sensitivity to water availability. Species differences were also found in their potential maximum transpiration rate and reaction to light. However, a same theoretical hydraulic relationship between G(c) at VPD = 1 kPa (G(cref)) and the G(c) sensitivity to VPD (-dG(c)/dlnVPD) across studied species as well as under contrasting soil water and R(s) conditions in the urban area. We concluded that urban trees show the same hydraulic regulation over response to VPD across varying tree size and environmental conditions and thus tree transpiration could be predicted with appropriate assessment of G(cref).

Immobilization thresholds of electrofishing relative to fish size

Science.gov (United States)

Dolan, C.R.; Miranda, L.E.

2003-01-01

Fish size and electrical waveforms have frequently been associated with variation in electrofishing effectiveness. Under controlled laboratory conditions, we measured the electrical power required by five electrical waveforms to immobilize eight fish species of diverse sizes and shapes. Fish size was indexed by total body length, surface area, volume, and weight; shape was indexed by the ratio of body length to body depth. Our objectives were to identify immobilization thresholds, elucidate the descriptors of fish size that were best associated with those immobilization thresholds, and determine whether the vulnerability of a species relative to other species remained constant across electrical treatments. The results confirmed that fish size is a key variable controlling the immobilization threshold and further suggested that the size descriptor best related to immobilization is fish volume. The peak power needed to immobilize fish decreased rapidly with increasing fish volume in small fish but decreased slowly for fish larger than 75-100 cm 3. Furthermore, when we controlled for size and shape, different waveforms did not favor particular species, possibly because of the overwhelming effect of body size. Many of the immobilization inconsistencies previously attributed to species might simply represent the effect of disparities in body size.

SHAPE CHARACTERIZATION OF CONCRETE AGGREGATE

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Jing Hu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available As a composite material, the performance of concrete materials can be expected to depend on the properties of the interfaces between its two major components, aggregate and cement paste. The microstructure at the interfacial transition zone (ITZ is assumed to be different from the bulk material. In general, properties of conventional concrete have been found favoured by optimum packing density of the aggregate. Particle size is a common denominator in such studies. Size segregation in the ITZ among the binder particles in the fresh state, observed in simulation studies by concurrent algorithm-based SPACE system, additionally governs density as well as physical bonding capacity inside these shell-like zones around aggregate particles. These characteristics have been demonstrated qualitatively pertaining also after maturation of the concrete. Such properties of the ITZs have direct impact on composite properties. Despite experimental approaches revealed effects of aggregate grain shape on different features of material structure (among which density, and as a consequence on mechanical properties, it is still an underrated factor in laboratory studies, probably due to the general feeling that a suitable methodology for shape characterization is not available. A scientific argument hindering progress is the interconnected nature of size and shape. Presently, a practical problem preventing shape effects to be emphasized is the limitation of most computer simulation systems in concrete technology to spherical particles. New developments at Delft University of Technology will make it possible in the near future to generate jammed states, or other high-density fresh particle mixtures of non-spherical particles, which thereupon can be subjected to hydration algorithms. This paper will sketch the outlines of a methodological approach for shape assessment of loose (non-embedded aggregate grains, and demonstrate its use for two types of aggregate, allowing

Oscillatory shear response of moisture barrier coatings containing clay of different shape factor.

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Kugge, C; Vanderhoek, N; Bousfield, D W

2011-06-01

Oscillatory shear rheology of barrier coatings based on dispersed styrene-butadiene latex and clay of various shape factors or aspect ratio has been explored. Barrier performance of these coatings when applied to paperboard has been assessed in terms of water vapour transmission rates and the results related to shape factor, dewatering and critical strain. It has been shown that a system based on clay with high shape factor gives a lower critical strain, dewatering and water vapour transmission rate compared with clays of lower shape factor. The dissipated energy, as calculated from an amplitude sweep, indicated no attractive interaction between clay and latex implying a critical strain that appears to be solely dependent on the shape factor at a constant volume fraction. Particle size distribution was shown to have no effect on the critical strain while coatings of high elasticity exhibited high yield strains as expected. The loss modulus demonstrated strain hardening before the elastic to viscous transition. The loss modulus peak was identified by a maximum strain which was significantly lower for a coating based on clay with a high shape factor. The characteristic elastic time was found to vary between 0.6 and 1.3s. The zero shear viscosity of barrier dispersion coatings were estimated from the characteristic elastic time and the characteristic modulus to be of the order of 25-100 Pa s. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mandible shape and dwarfism in squirrels (Mammalia, Rodentia): interaction of allometry and adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Hautier, Lionel; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Michaux, Jacques

2009-06-01

Squirrels include several independent lineages of dwarf forms distributed into two ecological groups: the dwarf tree and flying squirrels. The mandible of dwarf tree squirrels share a highly reduced coronoid process and a condylar process drawn backwards. Dwarf flying squirrels on the other hand, have an elongated coronoid process and a well-differentiated condylar process. To interpret such a difference, Elliptic Fourier Transform was used to evaluate how mandible shape varies with dwarfism in sciurids. The results obtained show that this clear-cut difference cannot be explained by a simple allometric relationship in relation with size decrease. We concluded that the retention of anteriorly positioned eye sockets, in relation with distance estimation, allowed the conservation of a well-differentiated coronoid process in all flying species, despite the trend towards its reduction observed among sciurids as their size decreases.

Calculation of rectal dose surface histograms in the presence of time varying deformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roeske, John C.; Spelbring, Danny R.; Vijayakumar, S.; Forman, Jeffrey D.; Chen, George T.Y.

1996-01-01

Purpose: Dose volume (DVH) and dose surface histograms (DSH) of the bladder and rectum are usually calculated from a single treatment planning scan. These DVHs and DSHs will eventually be correlated with complications to determine parameters for normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP). However, from day to day, the size and shape of the rectum and bladder may vary. The purpose of this study is to compare a more accurate estimate of the time integrated DVHs and DSHs of the rectum (in the presence of daily variations in rectal shape) to initial DVHs/DSHs. Methods: 10 patients were scanned once per week during the course of fractionated radiotherapy, typically accumulating a total of six scans. The rectum and bladder were contoured on each of the studies. The model used to assess effects of rectal contour deformation is as follows: the contour on a given axial slice (see figure) is boxed within a rectangle. A line drawn parallel to the AP axis through the rectangle equally partitions the box. Starting at the intersection of the vertical line and the rectal contour, points on the contour are marked off representing the same rectal dose point, even in the presence of distortion. Corresponding numbered points are used to sample the dose matrix and create a composite DSH. The model assumes uniform stretching of the rectal contour for any given axial cut, and no twist of the structure or vertical displacement. A similar model is developed for the bladder with spherical symmetry. Results: Normalized DSHs (nDSH) for each CT scan were calculated as well as the time averaged nDSH over all scans. These were compared with the nDSH from the initial planning scan. Individual nDSHs differed by 8% surface area irradiated at the 80% dose level, to as much as 20% surface area in the 70-100% dose range. DSH variations are due to position and shape changes in the rectum during different CT scans. The spatial distribution of dose is highly variable, and depends on the field

Observation of WC grain shapes determined by carbon content during liquid phase sintering of WC-Co alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sona Kim; Hyoun-Ee Kim; Seok-Hee Han; Jong-Ku Park

2001-01-01

In the composite materials of WC-Co alloys, the faceted WC grains as a hard phase are dispersed in the ductile matrix of cobalt. Properties of WC-Co alloys are affected by microstructural factors such as volume fraction of WC phase, size of WC grains, and carbon content (kinds of constituent phases). Although the properties of WC-Co alloys are inevitably affected by the shape of WC grains, the shape of WC grains has not been thrown light on the properties of WC-Co alloys yet, because it has been regarded to have a uniform shape regardless of alloy compositions. It is proved that the WC grains have various shapes varying reversibly with carbon content in the sintered WC-Co compacts. This dependency of grain shape on the carbon content is attributed to asymmetric atomic structure of WC crystal. The {10 1 - 0} prismatic planes are distinguished into two groups with different surface energy according to their atomic structures. The prismatic planes of high surface energy tend to disappear in the compacts with high carbon content. In addition, these high energy prismatic planes tend to split into low energy surfaces in the large WC grains. (author)

Discrete simulations of spatio-temporal dynamics of small water bodies under varied stream flow discharges

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Daya Sagar, B. S.

2005-01-01

Spatio-temporal patterns of small water bodies (SWBs) under the influence of temporally varied stream flow discharge are simulated in discrete space by employing geomorphologically realistic expansion and contraction transformations. Cascades of expansion-contraction are systematically performed by synchronizing them with stream flow discharge simulated via the logistic map. Templates with definite characteristic information are defined from stream flow discharge pattern as the basis to model the spatio-temporal organization of randomly situated surface water bodies of various sizes and shapes. These spatio-temporal patterns under varied parameters (λs) controlling stream flow discharge patterns are characterized by estimating their fractal dimensions. At various λs, nonlinear control parameters, we show the union of boundaries of water bodies that traverse the water body and non-water body spaces as geomorphic attractors. The computed fractal dimensions of these attractors are 1.58, 1.53, 1.78, 1.76, 1.84, and 1.90, respectively, at λs of 1, 2, 3, 3.46, 3.57, and 3.99. These values are in line with general visual observations.

Discrete simulations of spatio-temporal dynamics of small water bodies under varied stream flow discharges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. S. Daya Sagar

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Spatio-temporal patterns of small water bodies (SWBs under the influence of temporally varied stream flow discharge are simulated in discrete space by employing geomorphologically realistic expansion and contraction transformations. Cascades of expansion-contraction are systematically performed by synchronizing them with stream flow discharge simulated via the logistic map. Templates with definite characteristic information are defined from stream flow discharge pattern as the basis to model the spatio-temporal organization of randomly situated surface water bodies of various sizes and shapes. These spatio-temporal patterns under varied parameters (λs controlling stream flow discharge patterns are characterized by estimating their fractal dimensions. At various λs, nonlinear control parameters, we show the union of boundaries of water bodies that traverse the water body and non-water body spaces as geomorphic attractors. The computed fractal dimensions of these attractors are 1.58, 1.53, 1.78, 1.76, 1.84, and 1.90, respectively, at λs of 1, 2, 3, 3.46, 3.57, and 3.99. These values are in line with general visual observations.

Onto the stability analysis of hyperbolic secant-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate

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Sabari, S.; Murali, R.

2018-05-01

We analyze the stability of the hyperbolic secant-shaped attractive Bose-Einstein condensate in the absence of external trapping potential. The appropriate theoretical model for the system is described by the nonlinear mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii equation with time varying two-body interaction effects. Using the variational method, the stability of the system is analyzed under the influence of time varying two-body interactions. Further we confirm that the stability of the attractive condensate increases by considering the hyperbolic secant-shape profile instead of Gaussian shape. The analytical results are compared with the numerical simulation by employing the split-step Crank-Nicholson method.

The decomposition of deformation: New metrics to enhance shape analysis in medical imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Varano, Valerio; Piras, Paolo; Gabriele, Stefano; Teresi, Luciano; Nardinocchi, Paola; Dryden, Ian L; Torromeo, Concetta; Puddu, Paolo E

2018-05-01

In landmarks-based Shape Analysis size is measured, in most cases, with Centroid Size. Changes in shape are decomposed in affine and non affine components. Furthermore the non affine component can be in turn decomposed in a series of local deformations (partial warps). If the extent of deformation between two shapes is small, the difference between Centroid Size and m-Volume increment is barely appreciable. In medical imaging applied to soft tissues bodies can undergo very large deformations, involving large changes in size. The cardiac example, analyzed in the present paper, shows changes in m-Volume that can reach the 60%. We show here that standard Geometric Morphometrics tools (landmarks, Thin Plate Spline, and related decomposition of the deformation) can be generalized to better describe the very large deformations of biological tissues, without losing a synthetic description. In particular, the classical decomposition of the space tangent to the shape space in affine and non affine components is enriched to include also the change in size, in order to give a complete description of the tangent space to the size-and-shape space. The proposed generalization is formulated by means of a new Riemannian metric describing the change in size as change in m-Volume rather than change in Centroid Size. This leads to a redefinition of some aspects of the Kendall's size-and-shape space without losing Kendall's original formulation. This new formulation is discussed by means of simulated examples using 2D and 3D platonic shapes as well as a real example from clinical 3D echocardiographic data. We demonstrate that our decomposition based approaches discriminate very effectively healthy subjects from patients affected by Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of the shapes and sizes of the regions in which in hadron-nucleus collisions reactions leading to the nucleon emission, particle production, and fragment evaporation occur

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugalski, Z.

1985-01-01

Shapes and sizes of the regions in target-nuclei in which reactions leading to the nucleon emission, particle production and fragment evaporation occur are determined. The region of nucleon emission is of cylindrical shape, with the diameter as large as two nucleon diameters, centered on the incident hadron course. The reactions leading to the particle production happen predominantly along the incident hadron course in nuclear matter. The fragment evaporation goes from the surface layer of the part of the target-nucleus damaged in nucleon emission process

Shape, size, velocity and field-aligned currents of dayside plasma injections: a multi-altitude study

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A. Marchaudon

2009-03-01

Full Text Available On 20 February 2005, Cluster in the outer magnetosphere and Double Star-2 (TC-2 at mid-altitude are situated in the vicinity of the northern cusp/mantle, with Cluster moving sunward and TC-2 anti-sunward. Their magnetic footprints come very close together at about 15:28 UT, over the common field-of-view of SuperDARN radars. Thanks to this conjunction, we determine the velocity, the transverse sizes, perpendicular and parallel to this velocity, and the shape of three magnetic flux tubes of magnetosheath plasma injection. The velocity of the structures determined from the Cluster four-spacecraft timing analysis is almost purely antisunward, in contrast with the antisunward and duskward convection velocity inside the flux tubes. The transverse sizes are defined from the Cluster-TC-2 separation perpendicular to the magnetic field, and from the time spent by a Cluster spacecraft in one structure; they are comprised between 0.6 and 2 RE in agreement with previous studies. Finally, using a comparison between the eigenvectors deduced from a variance analysis of the magnetic perturbation at the four Cluster and at TC-2, we show that the upstream side of the injection flux tubes is magnetically well defined, with even a concave front for the third one giving a bean-like shape, whereas the downstream side is far more turbulent. We also realise the first quantitative comparison between field-aligned currents at Cluster calculated with the curlometer technique and with the single-spacecraft method, assuming infinite parallel current sheets and taking into account the velocity of the injection flux tubes. The results agree nicely, confirming the validity of both methods. Finally, we compare the field-aligned current distribution of the three injection flux tubes at the altitudes of Cluster and TC-2. Both profiles are fairly similar, with mainly a pair of opposite field-aligned currents, upward at low-latitude and downward at high-latitude. In terms of

Remote Sensing of Crystal Shapes in Ice Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

van Diedenhoven, Bastiaan

2017-01-01

Ice crystals in clouds exist in a virtually limitless variation of geometries. The most basic shapes of ice crystals are columnar or plate-like hexagonal prisms with aspect ratios determined by relative humidity and temperature. However, crystals in ice clouds generally display more complex structures owing to aggregation, riming and growth histories through varying temperature and humidity regimes. Crystal shape is relevant for cloud evolution as it affects microphysical properties such as fall speeds and aggregation efficiency. Furthermore, the scattering properties of ice crystals are affected by their general shape, as well as by microscopic features such as surface roughness, impurities and internal structure. To improve the representation of ice clouds in climate models, increased understanding of the global variation of crystal shape and how it relates to, e.g., location, cloud temperature and atmospheric state is crucial. Here, the remote sensing of ice crystal macroscale and microscale structure from airborne and space-based lidar depolarization observations and multi-directional measurements of total and polarized reflectances is reviewed. In addition, a brief overview is given of in situ and laboratory observations of ice crystal shape as well as the optical properties of ice crystals that serve as foundations for the remote sensing approaches. Lidar depolarization is generally found to increase with increasing cloud height and to vary with latitude. Although this variation is generally linked to the variation of ice crystal shape, the interpretation of the depolarization remains largely qualitative and more research is needed before quantitative conclusions about ice shape can be deduced. The angular variation of total and polarized reflectances of ice clouds has been analyzed by numerous studies in order to infer information about ice crystal shapes from them. From these studies it is apparent that pristine crystals with smooth surfaces are generally

Influence of Nanopore Shapes on Thermal Conductivity of Two-Dimensional Nanoporous Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Cong-Liang; Huang, Zun; Lin, Zi-Zhen; Feng, Yan-Hui; Zhang, Xin-Xin; Wang, Ge

2016-12-01

The influence of nanopore shapes on the electronic thermal conductivity (ETC) was studied in this paper. It turns out that with same porosity, the ETC will be quite different for different nanopore shapes, caused by the different channel width for different nanopore shapes. With same channel width, the influence of different nanopore shapes can be approximately omitted if the nanopore is small enough (smaller than 0.5 times EMFP in this paper). The ETC anisotropy was discovered for triangle nanopores at a large porosity with a large nanopore size, while there is a similar ETC for small pore size. It confirmed that the structure difference for small pore size may not be seen by electrons in their moving.

Does modifying the particle size distribution of a granular material (i.e., material scalping alters its shear strength?

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Azéma Emilien

2017-01-01

Full Text Available By means of two dimensional contact dynamics simulations, we analyzed the effect of the particle size distribution (PSD on the shear strength of granular materials composed of un-breakable disks. We modelled PSDs with a normalized beta function, which allows for building S-shaped gradation curves, such as those that typically occur in soils. We systematically controlled and varied the size span and the shape of the PSD, and found that the shear strength is independent both characteristics. This implies that PSD modification procedures such as material scalping (i.e., removing the smallest and/or largest particles in the sample should not affect significantly the shear strength of the material composed of unbreakable discs. In order to explore the origins of the invariance of the shear strength with PSD, we analyzed the connectivity, force transmission, and friction mobilization in terms of anisotropies, finding that the constant shear strength is due to a subtle compensation of anisotropies.

Cell culture arrays using micron-sized ferromagnetic ring-shaped thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Chen-Yu; Wei, Zung-Hang, E-mail: wei@pme.nthu.edu.tw [Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan (China); Lai, Mei-Feng; Ger, Tzong-Rong [Institute of NanoEngineering and MicroSystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan (China)

2015-05-07

Cell patterning has become an important technology for tissue engineering. In this research, domain walls are formed at the two ends of a ferromagnetic ring thin film after applying a strong external magnetic field, which can effectively attract magnetically labeled cells and control the position for biological cell. Magnetophoresis experiment was conducted to quantify the magnetic nanoparticle inside the cells. A ring-shaped magnetic thin films array was fabricated through photolithography. It is observed that magnetically labeled cells can be successfully attracted to the two ends of the ring-shaped magnetic thin film structure and more cells were attracted and further attached to the structures. The cells are co-cultured with the structure and kept proliferating; therefore, such ring thin film can be an important candidate for in-vitro biomedical chips or tissue engineering.

Cell culture arrays using micron-sized ferromagnetic ring-shaped thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Chen-Yu; Wei, Zung-Hang; Lai, Mei-Feng; Ger, Tzong-Rong

2015-01-01

Cell patterning has become an important technology for tissue engineering. In this research, domain walls are formed at the two ends of a ferromagnetic ring thin film after applying a strong external magnetic field, which can effectively attract magnetically labeled cells and control the position for biological cell. Magnetophoresis experiment was conducted to quantify the magnetic nanoparticle inside the cells. A ring-shaped magnetic thin films array was fabricated through photolithography. It is observed that magnetically labeled cells can be successfully attracted to the two ends of the ring-shaped magnetic thin film structure and more cells were attracted and further attached to the structures. The cells are co-cultured with the structure and kept proliferating; therefore, such ring thin film can be an important candidate for in-vitro biomedical chips or tissue engineering

Pulse shape analysis using CsI(Tl) Crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, J.; Fiori, E.; Loher, B.; Savran, D.; Wirth, R.; Vencelj, M.

2013-06-01

The decay time of CsI(Tl) scintillating material consists of more than a single exponential component. The ratio between the intensity of these components varies as a function of the ionizing power of the absorbed particles, such as γ -rays or protons, and the temperature. This property can therefore be used for particle discrimination and for temperature monitoring, using pulse shape analysis. An unsupervised method that uses fuzzy clustering algorithms for particle identification based on pulse shape analysis is presented. The method is applied to discriminate between photon and proton-induced signals in CsI(Tl) scintillator detectors. The first results of a method that uses pulse shape analysis for correcting the temperature-dependent gain effect of the detector are also presented. The method aims at conserving a good energy resolution in a temperature varying environment without the need to measure the temperature of the detector externally (authors)

Stress-optimised shape memory devices for the use in microvalves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skrobanek, K.D.; Kohl, M.; Miyazaki, S.

1997-01-01

A gas valve of 6 x 6 x 2 mm 3 size has been developed for high pressure applications. Stress-optimised shape memory microbeams of 100 μm thickness are used to control the deflection of a membrane above a valve chamber. The shape memory thin sheets have been fabricated by melting and rolling, which creates specific textures. Investigations by X-ray diffraction revealed major orientations of [111] and [011] in rolling direction. The corresponding maximum anisotropy of transformation strain was 20%. The microbeams have been fabricated by laser cutting. For stress-optimisation, the lateral widths of the beams are designed for homogeneous stress distributions along the beam surfaces allowing an optimised use of the shape memory effect and a minimisation of fatigue effects. For actuation, a rhombohedral phase transformation is used. This allows operation below pressure differences of 1200 hPa in designs with one valve chamber and below 4500 hPa in pressure-compensated designs with a second valve chamber above the membrane. Maximum gas flows of 1600 seem (seem cm 2 at standart conditions/minute) and work outputs of 35 μNm are achieved for a driving power of 210 mW. The response times for closing the valves vary between 0.5 and 1.2 s and for opening between 1 and 2 s depending on the applied pressure difference. (orig.)

Shape and size of jatropha beans (Jatropha curcas L. during drying at different temperatures

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Valdiney Cambuy Siqueira

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to study the physical properties of the jatropha beans over the drying under six air conditions, based on measurements of roundness, sphericity, volume, superficial area, projected area and surface/volume ratio. Jatropha beans with moisture content around 0.61 (decimal d.b. were subjected to thin-layer drying in oven with forced-air circulation under six temperature conditions (36, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 °C and relative humidity of 31.7; 19.6; 9.4; 4.8; 2.6 and 1.5% respectively, until reaching the moisture content of 0.11 ± 0.006 (decimal d. b.. The results showed that the necessary time for jatropha beans to reach the moisture content of 0.11 ± 0.006 (decimal d.b. were 1.5; 2.25; 3.0; 4.75; 6.75 and 12.0 h for the drying temperatures of 105, 90, 75, 60, 45 and 36 °C, respectively; and the reduction in the moisture content as well as the drying conditions promoted changes in the shape and reduced the size of the jatropha beans.

On realistic size equivalence and shape of spheroidal Saharan mineral dust particles applied in solar and thermal radiative transfer calculations

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S. Otto

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Realistic size equivalence and shape of Saharan mineral dust particles are derived from in-situ particle, lidar and sun photometer measurements during SAMUM-1 in Morocco (19 May 2006, dealing with measured size- and altitude-resolved axis ratio distributions of assumed spheroidal model particles. The data were applied in optical property, radiative effect, forcing and heating effect simulations to quantify the realistic impact of particle non-sphericity. It turned out that volume-to-surface equivalent spheroids with prolate shape are most realistic: particle non-sphericity only slightly affects single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter but may enhance extinction coefficient by up to 10 %. At the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA the Saharan mineral dust always leads to a loss of solar radiation, while the sign of the forcing at the top of the atmosphere (TOA depends on surface albedo: solar cooling/warming over a mean ocean/land surface. In the thermal spectral range the dust inhibits the emission of radiation to space and warms the BOA. The most realistic case of particle non-sphericity causes changes of total (solar plus thermal forcing by 55/5 % at the TOA over ocean/land and 15 % at the BOA over both land and ocean and enhances total radiative heating within the dust plume by up to 20 %. Large dust particles significantly contribute to all the radiative effects reported. They strongly enhance the absorbing properties and forward scattering in the solar and increase predominantly, e.g., the total TOA forcing of the dust over land.

Pb nanoprecipitates in Al: Magic-shape effects due to elastic strain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hamilton, J.C.; Leoard, F.; Johnson, Erik

2007-01-01

We present a theory for size-dependent shapes of Pb nanoprecipitates in Al, introducing the concept of "magic shapes," i.e., shapes having near-zero homogeneous elastic strains. Our quantitative atomistic calculations of edge energies show their effect on precipitate shape to be negligible, thus...

Correlation of Shape and Size of Sella Turcica With the Type of Facial Skeletal Class in an Iranian Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valizadeh, Solmaz; Shahbeig, Shahrzad; Mohseni, Sudeh; Azimi, Fateme; Bakhshandeh, Hooman

2015-01-01

In orthodontic science, diagnosis of facial skeletal type (class I, II, and III) is essential to make the correct treatment plan that is usually expensive and complicated. Sometimes results from analysis of lateral cephalometry radiographies are not enough to discriminate facial skeletal types. In this situation, knowledge about the relationship between the shape and size of the sella turcica and the type of facial skeletal class can help to make a more definitive decision for treatment plan. The present study was designed to investigate this relationship in patients referred to a dental school in Iran. In this descriptive-analytical study, cephalometric radiographies of 90 candidates for orthodontic treatment (44 females and 46 males) with an age range of 14 - 26 years and equal distribution in terms of class I, class II, and class III facial skeletal classification were selected. The shape, length, diameter, and depth of the sella turcica were determined on the radiographs. Linear dimensions were assessed by one-way analysis of variance while the correlation between the dimensions and age was investigated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Sella turcica had normal morphology in 24.4% of the patients while irregularity (notching) in the posterior part of the dorsum sella was observed in 15.6%, double contour of sellar floor in 5.6%, sella turcica bridge in 23.3%, oblique anterior wall in 20% and pyramidal shape of the dorsum sella in 11.1% of the subjects. In total, 46.7% of class I patients had a normal shape of sella turcica, 23.3% of class II patients had an oblique anterior wall and a pyramidal shape of the dorsum sella, and 43.3% of class III individuals had sella turcica bridge (the greatest values). Sella turcica length was significantly greater in class III patients compared to class II and class I (P < 0.0001). However, depth and diameter of sella turcica were similar in class I, class II, and class III patients. Furthermore, age was significantly

Effects of Subscale Size and Shape on Global Energy Dissipation in a Multiscale Model of a Fiber-Reinforced Composite Exhibiting Post-Peak Strain Softening Using Abaqus and FEAMAC

Science.gov (United States)

Pineda, Evan, J.; Bednarcyk, Brett, A.; Arnold, Steven, M.

2012-01-01

A mesh objective crack band model is implemented in the generalized method of cells (GMC) micromechanics model to predict failure of a composite repeating unit cell (RUC). The micromechanics calculations are achieved using the MAC/GMC core engine within the ImMAC suite of micromechanics codes, developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The microscale RUC is linked to a macroscale Abaqus/Standard finite element model using the FEAMAC multiscale framework (included in the ImMAC suite). The effects of the relationship between the characteristic length of the finite element and the size of the microscale RUC on the total energy dissipation of the multiscale model are investigated. A simple 2-D composite square subjected to uniaxial tension is used to demonstrate the effects of scaling the dimensions of the RUC such that the length of the sides of the RUC are equal to the characteristic length of the finite element. These results are compared to simulations where the size of the RUC is fixed, independent of the element size. Simulations are carried out for a variety of mesh densities and element shapes, including square and triangular. Results indicate that a consistent size and shape must be used to yield preserve energy dissipation across the scales.

A study of the anti-reflection efficiency of natural nano-arrays of varying sizes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Mingxia; Liang Aiping; Zheng Yongmei; Watson, Gregory S; Watson, Jolanta A

2011-01-01

The dependence of optical reflectivity and wettability on the surface topography of 32 species of cicada wing membranes has been investigated using UV-visible spectrophotometry, contact angle measurements and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The nanoscale hexagonally close packed protrusions have been shown to exhibit an anti-reflection and in some cases an anti-wetting function. The parameters of the structures were measured to be 77-148 nm in diameter, 44-117 nm in spacing and 159-481 nm in height. The transmittance spectrum and static contact angles were measured. At a wavelength range of 500-2500 nm, only minor differences in the anti-reflection performance were observed for each cicada species ascribed to the mechanism of impedance matching between cuticle and air. The transmittance properties of cicada wings were altered successfully through the scanning probe microscope-based manipulation by reducing the protrusion height via the contact mode. A near linear dependence was found between a decrease in protuberance height and a resulting increase in reflectance intensity. A diversity of wettability was observed with contact angles varying from 56.5 0 to 146.0 0 . Both effects of anti-reflection and wettability are dependent on the height of protrusions. The anti-reflection is insensitive when the wavelength is larger than the lateral feature size of the nanostructure. The stronger hydrophobic properties are generally associated with a larger diameter, closer spacing and greater height of protrusions when the wing membrane is intact.

Who Buys Oddly Shaped Food and Why? Impacts of Food Shape Abnormality and Organic Labeling on Purchase Intentions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loebnitz, Natascha; Schuitema, Geertje; Grunert, Klaus G

2015-01-01

influence consumers’ purchase intentions, but only if the food deviates extremely from the norm; no differences in purchase intentions emerge for moderately abnormal food. Awareness of food waste issues and proenvironmental self-identities also drive purchase intentions, such that participants with high...... experimentally. A representative sample of 964 Danish consumers indicated their purchase intentions for two fruits and two vegetables with varying levels of food shape abnormality (normal, moderately abnormal, and extremely abnormal) and organic labels (organic label, no label). Food shape abnormalities...... levels of these traits express significantly higher purchase intentions for abnormally shaped food. Thus, increasing awareness of food waste issues, particularly among those with strong proenvironmental self-identities, might encourage more consumers to purchase abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables....

Robust functional statistics applied to Probability Density Function shape screening of sEMG data.

Science.gov (United States)

Boudaoud, S; Rix, H; Al Harrach, M; Marin, F

2014-01-01

Recent studies pointed out possible shape modifications of the Probability Density Function (PDF) of surface electromyographical (sEMG) data according to several contexts like fatigue and muscle force increase. Following this idea, criteria have been proposed to monitor these shape modifications mainly using High Order Statistics (HOS) parameters like skewness and kurtosis. In experimental conditions, these parameters are confronted with small sample size in the estimation process. This small sample size induces errors in the estimated HOS parameters restraining real-time and precise sEMG PDF shape monitoring. Recently, a functional formalism, the Core Shape Model (CSM), has been used to analyse shape modifications of PDF curves. In this work, taking inspiration from CSM method, robust functional statistics are proposed to emulate both skewness and kurtosis behaviors. These functional statistics combine both kernel density estimation and PDF shape distances to evaluate shape modifications even in presence of small sample size. Then, the proposed statistics are tested, using Monte Carlo simulations, on both normal and Log-normal PDFs that mimic observed sEMG PDF shape behavior during muscle contraction. According to the obtained results, the functional statistics seem to be more robust than HOS parameters to small sample size effect and more accurate in sEMG PDF shape screening applications.

A Review on Anatomical Variations of Mental Foramen (Number, Location, Shape, Symmetry, Direction and Size

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Ezoddini-Ardakani

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Mental foramen is located on the anterior aspect of the mandible that permits the terminal branch of the inferior alveolar nerve and blood vessels to exit. The anatomical variations of mental foramen are of considerable importance in local anesthesia, treatment of the fractures in the parasymphysis area, orthognatic surgeries, implant placement, etc. Regarding the importance of mental foramen in dentistry (from local anesthesia to invasive surgical procedures, this study intends to review the anatomical variations of mental foramen in this study. Absence of mental foramen is rare. On the other hand, prevalence of accessory mental foramen has been estimated lower than 15% in the most studies. The position of mental foramen is normally between first and second premolar teeth or under second premolar tooth in different ethnic groups and bilateral symmetry exists in regard with location in most cases. In most studies, the ratio of distance from mental foramen to symphysis to distance from symphysis to posterior border of ramus has been reported about 1/3.5 to 1/3. Mental foramen is oval or circular in shape and its most common direction is usually posterosuperior. Its size in different studies has been estimated about 2 to 5 millimeters and asymmetry in size is possible on both sides of mandible. Due to variations of mental foramen between various ethnic groups and even different individuals in the same ethnic group, using advanced imaging techniques such as CBCT is recommended in order to gain detailed knowledge of anatomy and morphology of mental foramen before applying invasive surgeries.

Using Micromanipulation to Analyze Control of Vertebrate Meiotic Spindle Size

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Jun Takagi

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The polymerization/depolymerization dynamics of microtubules (MTs have been reported to contribute to control of the size and shape of spindles, but quantitative analysis of how the size and shape correlate with the amount and density of MTs in the spindle remains incomplete. Here, we measured these parameters using 3D microscopy of meiotic spindles that self-organized in Xenopus egg extracts and presented a simple equation describing the relationship among these parameters. To examine the validity of the equation, we cut the spindle into two fragments along the pole-to-pole axis by micromanipulation techniques that rapidly decrease the amount of MTs. The spheroidal shape spontaneously recovered within 5 min, but the size of each fragment remained small. The equation we obtained quantitatively describes how the spindle size correlates with the amount of MTs while maintaining the shape and the MT density.

Ligand induced shape transformation of thorium dioxide nanocrystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gaoxue; Batista, Enrique R; Yang, Ping

2018-04-27

Nanocrystals (NCs) with size and shape dependent properties are a thriving research field. Remarkable progress has been made in the controlled synthesis of NCs of stable elements in the past two decades; however, the knowledge of the NCs of actinide compounds has been considerably limited due the difficulties in handling them both experimentally and theoretically. Actinide compounds, especially actinide oxides, play a critical role in many stages of the nuclear fuel cycle. Recently, a non-aqueous surfactant assisted approach has been developed for the synthesis of actinide oxide NCs with different morphologies, but an understanding of its control factors is still missing to date. Herein we present a comprehensive study on the low index surfaces of thorium dioxide (ThO2) and their interactions with relevant surfactant ligands using density functional calculations. A systematic picture on the thermodynamic stability of ThO2 NCs of different sizes and shapes is obtained employing empirical models based on the calculated surface energies. It is found that bare ThO2 NCs prefer the octahedral shape terminated by (111) surfaces. Oleic acid displays selective adsorption on the (110) surface, leading to the shape transformation from octahedrons to nanorods. Other ligands such as acetylacetone, oleylamine, and trioctylphosphine oxide do not modify the equilibrium shape of ThO2 NCs. This work provides atomic level insights into the anisotropic growth of ThO2 NCs that was recently observed in experiments, and thus may contribute to the controlled synthesis of actinide oxide NCs with well-defined size and shape for future applications.

Microwave assisted synthesis of nano sized sulphate doped hydroxyapatite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alshemary, Ammar Z.; Goh, Yi-Fan; Akram, Muhammad; Razali, Ili Rabihah; Abdul Kadir, Mohammed Rafiq; Hussain, Rafaqat

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Phase pure nano-sized sulphur doped hydroxyapatite has been synthesized. ► TEM analysis confirmed formation of needle shaped structure. ► Lattice parameters and cell volume increased with increase in sulphate doping. ► Crystallite size decreased as sulphate content inside the structure increased. ► Degree of crystallinity decreased with increase in sulphate substitution. - Abstract: Inorganic sulphate is required by all mammalian cells to function properly, it is the fourth most abundant anion in the human plasma. Sulphate ions are the major source of sulphur which is considered an important element for sustenance of life as it is present in the essential amino and is required by cells to function properly. In this study we have successfully substituted sulphate ions (SO 4 2− ) into hydroxyapatite (Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6−x (SO 4 ) x (OH) 2−x ) lattice via ion exchange process with phosphate group. Concentration of SO 4 2− ions was varied between X = 0.05–0.5, using (Ca (NO 3 ) 2 ·4H 2 O), ((NH 4 ) 2 HPO 4 ) and (Na 2 SO 4 ) as starting materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR), showed that the substitution of SO 4 2− ions into the lattice resulted in peak broadening and reduced peak height due to the amorphous nature and reduced crystallinity of the resulting HA powder. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis confirmed the formation of needle shaped particles of 41 nm size with homogenous and uniform distribution of element within the HA structure

Size, shape, and topology optimization of planar and space trusses using mutation-based improved metaheuristics

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Ghanshyam G. Tejani

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, simultaneous size, shape, and topology optimization of planar and space trusses are investigated. Moreover, the trusses are subjected to constraints for element stresses, nodal displacements, and kinematic stability conditions. Truss Topology Optimization (TTO removes the superfluous elements and nodes from the ground structure. In this method, the difficulties arise due to unacceptable and singular topologies; therefore, the Grubler’s criterion and the positive definiteness are used to handle such issue. Moreover, the TTO is challenging due to its search space, which is implicit, non-convex, non-linear, and often leading to divergence. Therefore, mutation-based metaheuristics are proposed to investigate them. This study compares the performance of four improved metaheuristics (viz. Improved Teaching–Learning-Based Optimization (ITLBO, Improved Heat Transfer Search (IHTS, Improved Water Wave Optimization (IWWO, and Improved Passing Vehicle Search (IPVS and four basic metaheuristics (viz. TLBO, HTS, WWO, and PVS in order to solve structural optimization problems. Keywords: Structural optimization, Mutation operator, Improved metaheuristics, Modified algorithms, Truss topology optimization