Effects of long-term simulated martian conditions on a freeze-dried and homogenized bacterial permafrost community.

PubMed

Hansen, Aviaja A; Jensen, Lars L; Kristoffersen, Tommy; Mikkelsen, Karina; Merrison, Jonathan; Finster, Kai W; Lomstein, Bente Aa

2009-03-01

Indigenous bacteria and biomolecules (DNA and proteins) in a freeze-dried and homogenized Arctic permafrost were exposed to simulated martian conditions that correspond to about 80 days on the surface of Mars with respect to the accumulated UV dose. The simulation conditions included UV radiation, freeze-thaw cycles, the atmospheric gas composition, and pressure. The homogenized permafrost cores were subjected to repeated cycles of UV radiation for 3 h followed by 27 h without irradiation. The effects of the simulation conditions on the concentrations of biomolecules; numbers of viable, dead, and cultured bacteria; as well as the community structure were determined. Simulated martian conditions resulted in a significant reduction of the concentrations of DNA and amino acids in the uppermost 1.5 mm of the soil core. The total number of bacterial cells was reduced in the upper 9 mm of the soil core, while the number of viable cells was reduced in the upper 15 mm. The number of cultured aerobic bacteria was reduced in the upper 6 mm of the soil core, whereas the community structure of cultured anaerobic bacteria was relatively unaffected by the exposure conditions. As explanations for the observed changes, we propose three causes that might have been working on the biological material either individually or synergistically: (i) UV radiation, (ii) UV-generated reactive oxygen species, and (iii) freeze-thaw cycles. Currently, the production and action of reactive gases is only hypothetical and will be a central subject in future investigations. Overall, we conclude that in a stable environment (no wind-/pressure-induced mixing) biological material is efficiently shielded by a 2 cm thick layer of dust, while it is relatively rapidly destroyed in the surface layer, and that biomolecules like proteins and polynucleotides are more resistant to destruction than living biota.

Effects of Long-Term Simulated Martian Conditions on a Freeze-Dried and Homogenized Bacterial Permafrost Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Aviaja A.; Jenson, Lars L.; Kristoffersen, Tommy; Mikkelsen, Karina; Merrison, Jonathan; Finster, Kai W.; Lomstein, Bente Aa.

2009-03-01

Indigenous bacteria and biomolecules (DNA and proteins) in a freeze-dried and homogenized Arctic permafrost were exposed to simulated martian conditions that correspond to about 80 days on the surface of Mars with respect to the accumulated UV dose. The simulation conditions included UV radiation, freeze-thaw cycles, the atmospheric gas composition, and pressure. The homogenized permafrost cores were subjected to repeated cycles of UV radiation for 3 h followed by 27 h without irradiation. The effects of the simulation conditions on the concentrations of biomolecules; numbers of viable, dead, and cultured bacteria; as well as the community structure were determined. Simulated martian conditions resulted in a significant reduction of the concentrations of DNA and amino acids in the uppermost 1.5 mm of the soil core. The total number of bacterial cells was reduced in the upper 9 mm of the soil core, while the number of viable cells was reduced in the upper 15 mm. The number of cultured aerobic bacteria was reduced in the upper 6 mm of the soil core, whereas the community structure of cultured anaerobic bacteria was relatively unaffected by the exposure conditions. As explanations for the observed changes, we propose three causes that might have been working on the biological material either individually or synergistically: (i) UV radiation, (ii) UV-generated reactive oxygen species, and (iii) freeze-thaw cycles. Currently, the production and action of reactive gases is only hypothetical and will be a central subject in future investigations. Overall, we conclude that in a stable environment (no wind-/pressure-induced mixing) biological material is efficiently shielded by a 2 cm thick layer of dust, while it is relatively rapidly destroyed in the surface layer, and that biomolecules like proteins and polynucleotides are more resistant to destruction than living biota.

A non-asymptotic homogenization theory for periodic electromagnetic structures

PubMed Central

Tsukerman, Igor; Markel, Vadim A.

2014-01-01

Homogenization of electromagnetic periodic composites is treated as a two-scale problem and solved by approximating the fields on both scales with eigenmodes that satisfy Maxwell's equations and boundary conditions as accurately as possible. Built into this homogenization methodology is an error indicator whose value characterizes the accuracy of homogenization. The proposed theory allows one to define not only bulk, but also position-dependent material parameters (e.g. in proximity to a physical boundary) and to quantify the trade-off between the accuracy of homogenization and its range of applicability to various illumination conditions. PMID:25104912

Nonlinear vibration of a traveling belt with non-homogeneous boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hu; Lim, C. W.; Chen, Li-Qun

2018-06-01

Free and forced nonlinear vibrations of a traveling belt with non-homogeneous boundary conditions are studied. The axially moving materials in operation are always externally excited and produce strong vibrations. The moving materials with the homogeneous boundary condition are usually considered. In this paper, the non-homogeneous boundaries are introduced by the support wheels. Equilibrium deformation of the belt is produced by the non-homogeneous boundaries. In order to solve the equilibrium deformation, the differential and integral quadrature methods (DIQMs) are utilized to develop an iterative scheme. The influence of the equilibrium deformation on free and forced nonlinear vibrations of the belt is explored. The DIQMs are applied to solve the natural frequencies and forced resonance responses of transverse vibration around the equilibrium deformation. The Galerkin truncation method (GTM) is utilized to confirm the DIQMs' results. The numerical results demonstrate that the non-homogeneous boundary conditions cause the transverse vibration to deviate from the straight equilibrium, increase the natural frequencies, and lead to coexistence of square nonlinear terms and cubic nonlinear terms. Moreover, the influence of non-homogeneous boundaries can be exacerbated by the axial speed. Therefore, non-homogeneous boundary conditions of axially moving materials especially should be taken into account.

Water oxidation catalysis with nonheme iron complexes under acidic and basic conditions: homogeneous or heterogeneous?

PubMed

Hong, Dachao; Mandal, Sukanta; Yamada, Yusuke; Lee, Yong-Min; Nam, Wonwoo; Llobet, Antoni; Fukuzumi, Shunichi

2013-08-19

Thermal water oxidation by cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) was catalyzed by nonheme iron complexes, such as Fe(BQEN)(OTf)2 (1) and Fe(BQCN)(OTf)2 (2) (BQEN = N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(8-quinolyl)ethane-1,2-diamine, BQCN = N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(8-quinolyl)cyclohexanediamine, OTf = CF3SO3(-)) in a nonbuffered aqueous solution; turnover numbers of 80 ± 10 and 20 ± 5 were obtained in the O2 evolution reaction by 1 and 2, respectively. The ligand dissociation of the iron complexes was observed under acidic conditions, and the dissociated ligands were oxidized by CAN to yield CO2. We also observed that 1 was converted to an iron(IV)-oxo complex during the water oxidation in competition with the ligand oxidation. In addition, oxygen exchange between the iron(IV)-oxo complex and H2(18)O was found to occur at a much faster rate than the oxygen evolution. These results indicate that the iron complexes act as the true homogeneous catalyst for water oxidation by CAN at low pHs. In contrast, light-driven water oxidation using [Ru(bpy)3](2+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) as a photosensitizer and S2O8(2-) as a sacrificial electron acceptor was catalyzed by iron hydroxide nanoparticles derived from the iron complexes under basic conditions as the result of the ligand dissociation. In a buffer solution (initial pH 9.0) formation of the iron hydroxide nanoparticles with a size of around 100 nm at the end of the reaction was monitored by dynamic light scattering (DLS) in situ and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements. We thus conclude that the water oxidation by CAN was catalyzed by short-lived homogeneous iron complexes under acidic conditions, whereas iron hydroxide nanoparticles derived from iron complexes act as a heterogeneous catalyst in the light-driven water oxidation reaction under basic conditions.

Convergence and stress analysis of the homogeneous structure of human femur bone during standing up condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izzawati, B.; Daud, R.; Afendi, M.; Majid, M. S. Abdul; Zain, N. A. M.

2017-09-01

Finite element models have been widely used to quantify the stress analysis and to predict the bone fractures of the human body. The present study highlights on the stress analysis of the homogeneous structure of human femur bone during standing up condition. The main objective of this study is to evaluate and understand the biomechanics for human femur bone and to prepare orthotropic homogeneous material models used for FE analysis of the global proximal femur. Thus, it is necessary to investigate critical stress on the human femur bone for future study on implantation of internal fixator and external fixator. The implication possibility to create a valid FE model by simply comparing the FE results with the actual biomechanics structures. Thus, a convergence test was performed by FE model of the femur and the stress analysis based on the actual biomechanics of the human femur bone. An increment of critical stress shows in the femur shaft as the increasing of load on the femoral head and decreasing the pulling force at greater trochanter.

Benchmarking monthly homogenization algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venema, V. K. C.; Mestre, O.; Aguilar, E.; Auer, I.; Guijarro, J. A.; Domonkos, P.; Vertacnik, G.; Szentimrey, T.; Stepanek, P.; Zahradnicek, P.; Viarre, J.; Müller-Westermeier, G.; Lakatos, M.; Williams, C. N.; Menne, M.; Lindau, R.; Rasol, D.; Rustemeier, E.; Kolokythas, K.; Marinova, T.; Andresen, L.; Acquaotta, F.; Fratianni, S.; Cheval, S.; Klancar, M.; Brunetti, M.; Gruber, C.; Prohom Duran, M.; Likso, T.; Esteban, P.; Brandsma, T.

2011-08-01

The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action ES0601: Advances in homogenization methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME) has executed a blind intercomparison and validation study for monthly homogenization algorithms. Time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were evaluated because of their importance for climate studies and because they represent two important types of statistics (additive and multiplicative). The algorithms were validated against a realistic benchmark dataset. The benchmark contains real inhomogeneous data as well as simulated data with inserted inhomogeneities. Random break-type inhomogeneities were added to the simulated datasets modeled as a Poisson process with normally distributed breakpoint sizes. To approximate real world conditions, breaks were introduced that occur simultaneously in multiple station series within a simulated network of station data. The simulated time series also contained outliers, missing data periods and local station trends. Further, a stochastic nonlinear global (network-wide) trend was added. Participants provided 25 separate homogenized contributions as part of the blind study as well as 22 additional solutions submitted after the details of the imposed inhomogeneities were revealed. These homogenized datasets were assessed by a number of performance metrics including (i) the centered root mean square error relative to the true homogeneous value at various averaging scales, (ii) the error in linear trend estimates and (iii) traditional contingency skill scores. The metrics were computed both using the individual station series as well as the network average regional series. The performance of the contributions depends significantly on the error metric considered. Contingency scores by themselves are not very informative. Although relative homogenization algorithms typically improve the homogeneity of temperature data, only the best ones improve precipitation data

Enhancement of anaerobic sludge digestion by high-pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Zhang, Sheng; Zhang, Panyue; Zhang, Guangming; Fan, Jie; Zhang, Yuxuan

2012-08-01

To improve anaerobic sludge digestion efficiency, the effects of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) conditions on the anaerobic sludge digestion were investigated. The VS and TCOD were significantly removed with the anaerobic digestion, and the VS removal and TCOD removal increased with increasing the homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle number; correspondingly, the accumulative biogas production also increased with increasing the homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle number. The optimal homogenization pressure was 50 MPa for one homogenization cycle and 40 MPa for two homogenization cycles. The SCOD of the sludge supernatant significantly increased with increasing the homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle number due to the sludge disintegration. The relationship between the biogas production and the sludge disintegration showed that the accumulative biogas and methane production were mainly enhanced by the sludge disintegration, which accelerated the anaerobic digestion process and improved the methane content in the biogas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial homogenization methods for pin-by-pin neutron transport calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlowski, Tomasz

For practical reactor core applications low-order transport approximations such as SP3 have been shown to provide sufficient accuracy for both static and transient calculations with considerably less computational expense than the discrete ordinate or the full spherical harmonics methods. These methods have been applied in several core simulators where homogenization was performed at the level of the pin cell. One of the principal problems has been to recover the error introduced by pin-cell homogenization. Two basic approaches to treat pin-cell homogenization error have been proposed: Superhomogenization (SPH) factors and Pin-Cell Discontinuity Factors (PDF). These methods are based on well established Equivalence Theory and Generalized Equivalence Theory to generate appropriate group constants. These methods are able to treat all sources of error together, allowing even few-group diffusion with one mesh per cell to reproduce the reference solution. A detailed investigation and consistent comparison of both homogenization techniques showed potential of PDF approach to improve accuracy of core calculation, but also reveal its limitation. In principle, the method is applicable only for the boundary conditions at which it was created, i.e. for boundary conditions considered during the homogenization process---normally zero current. Therefore, there exists a need to improve this method, making it more general and environment independent. The goal of proposed general homogenization technique is to create a function that is able to correctly predict the appropriate correction factor with only homogeneous information available, i.e. a function based on heterogeneous solution that could approximate PDFs using homogeneous solution. It has been shown that the PDF can be well approximated by least-square polynomial fit of non-dimensional heterogeneous solution and later used for PDF prediction using homogeneous solution. This shows a promise for PDF prediction for off

Homogeneous buoyancy-generated turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batchelor, G. K.; Canuto, V. M.; Chasnov, J. R.

1992-01-01

Using a theoretical analysis of fundamental equations and a numerical simulation of the flow field, the statistically homogeneous motion that is generated by buoyancy forces after the creation of homogeneous random fluctuations in the density of infinite fluid at an initial instant is examined. It is shown that analytical results together with numerical results provide a comprehensive description of the 'birth, life, and death' of buoyancy-generated turbulence. Results of numerical simulations yielded the mean-square density mean-square velocity fluctuations and the associated spectra as functions of time for various initial conditions, and the time required for the mean-square density fluctuation to fall to a specified small value was estimated.

Noncommutative complex structures on quantum homogeneous spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ó Buachalla, Réamonn

2016-01-01

A new framework for noncommutative complex geometry on quantum homogeneous spaces is introduced. The main ingredients used are covariant differential calculi and Takeuchi's categorical equivalence for quantum homogeneous spaces. A number of basic results are established, producing a simple set of necessary and sufficient conditions for noncommutative complex structures to exist. Throughout, the framework is applied to the quantum projective spaces endowed with the Heckenberger-Kolb calculus.

Mise au point du rheometre a cisaillement annulaire pour l'etude de rheologie d'un mastic bitumineux avec verre incorpore =

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Mansouri, Souleimane

Dans le domaine viscoelastique lineaire (VEL, domaine des petites deformations), le comportement thermomecanique du bitume et du mastic bitumineux (melange uniforme de bitume et de fillers) a ete caracterise au Laboratoire des Chaussees et Materiaux Bitumineux (LCMB) de l'Ecole de technologie superieure (ETS) avec l'appui de nos partenaires externes : la Societe des Alcools du Quebec (SAQ) et Eco Entreprises Quebec (EEQ). Les proprietes rheologiques des bitumes et des mastics ont ete mesurees grâce a un nouvel outil d'investigation appele, Rheometre a Cisaillement Annulaire (RCA), sous differentes conditions de chargement. Cet appareil permet non seulement de solliciter des eprouvettes de tailles importantes par rapport a celles utilisees lors des essais classiques, mais aussi d'effectuer des essais en conditions quasi-homogenes, ce qui permet de donner acces a la loi de comportement des materiaux. Les essais sont realises sur une large gamme de temperatures et de frequences (de -15 °C a 45°C et de 0,03Hz a 10 Hz). Cette etude a ete menee principalement pour comparer le comportement d'un bitume avec celui d'un mastic bitumineux dans le domaine des petites deformations. neanmoins, dans une seconde perspective, on s'interesse a l'influence des fillers de verre de post-consommation sur le comportement d'un mastic a faibles niveaux de deformations en comparant l'evolution des modules complexes de cisaillements (G*) d'un mastic avec fillers de verre et un mastic avec fillers conventionnels (calcaire). Enfin, le modele analogique 2S2P1D est utilise pour simuler le comportement viscoelastique lineaire des bitumes et des mastics bitumineux testes lors de la campagne experimentale.

Multiple-pass high-pressure homogenization of milk for the development of pasteurization-like processing conditions.

PubMed

Ruiz-Espinosa, H; Amador-Espejo, G G; Barcenas-Pozos, M E; Angulo-Guerrero, J O; Garcia, H S; Welti-Chanes, J

2013-02-01

Multiple-pass ultrahigh pressure homogenization (UHPH) was used for reducing microbial population of both indigenous spoilage microflora in whole raw milk and a baroresistant pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus) inoculated in whole sterile milk to define pasteurization-like processing conditions. Response surface methodology was followed and multiple response optimization of UHPH operating pressure (OP) (100, 175, 250 MPa) and number of passes (N) (1-5) was conducted through overlaid contour plot analysis. Increasing OP and N had a significant effect (P < 0·05) on microbial reduction of both spoilage microflora and Staph. aureus in milk. Optimized UHPH processes (five 202-MPa passes; four 232-MPa passes) defined a region where a 5-log(10) reduction of total bacterial count of milk and a baroresistant pathogen are attainable, as a requisite parameter for establishing an alternative method of pasteurization. Multiple-pass UHPH optimized conditions might help in producing safe milk without the detrimental effects associated with thermal pasteurization. © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Etude de l'influence de la temperature et de l'humidite sur les proprietes mecaniques en traction des fibres de chanvre et de coco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho Thi, Thu Nga

L'objectif de cette etude fut d'etablir l'effet de l'humidite et de la temperature sur la resistance en traction et le module elastique des fibres de chanvre et de coco. Deux etudes ont ete realisees afin d'atteindre cet objectif. La premiere vise l'absorption de l'humidite dans ces fibres en exposition dans l'air (de 0%RH a 80%RH) ainsi que l'absorption de l'eau dans ces fibres immergees dans l'eau aux differentes temperatures. La deuxieme consiste a mesurer la resistance en traction et le module elastique de ces fibres sous differentes conditions d'humidite et de temperature. En basant sur les resultats experimentaux obtenus, les methodes semi empiriques et de reseaux de neurones ont ete utilisees pour but de predire les proprietes en traction (resistance et module d'elasticite) des fibres de chanvre et de coco sous l'influence de l'humidite et de la temperature.

Sewage sludge solubilization by high-pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuxuan; Zhang, Panyue; Guo, Jianbin; Ma, Weifang; Fang, Wei; Ma, Boqiang; Xu, Xiangzhe

2013-01-01

The behavior of sludge solubilization using high-pressure homogenization (HPH) treatment was examined by investigating the sludge solid reduction and organics solubilization. The sludge volatile suspended solids (VSS) decreased from 10.58 to 6.67 g/L for the sludge sample with a total solids content (TS) of 1.49% after HPH treatment at a homogenization pressure of 80 MPa with four homogenization cycles; total suspended solids (TSS) correspondingly decreased from 14.26 to 9.91 g/L. About 86.15% of the TSS reduction was attributed to the VSS reduction. The increase of homogenization pressure from 20 to 80 MPa or homogenization cycle number from 1 to 4 was favorable to the sludge organics solubilization, and the protein and polysaccharide solubilization linearly increased with the soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) solubilization. More proteins were solubilized than polysaccharides. The linear relationship between SCOD solubilization and VSS reduction had no significant change under different homogenization pressures, homogenization cycles and sludge solid contents. The SCOD of 1.65 g/L was solubilized for the VSS reduction of 1.00 g/L for the three experimental sludge samples with a TS of 1.00, 1.49 and 2.48% under all HPH operating conditions. The energy efficiency results showed that the HPH treatment at a homogenization pressure of 30 MPa with a single homogenization cycle for the sludge sample with a TS of 2.48% was the most energy efficient.

Homogeneity Pursuit

PubMed Central

Ke, Tracy; Fan, Jianqing; Wu, Yichao

2014-01-01

This paper explores the homogeneity of coefficients in high-dimensional regression, which extends the sparsity concept and is more general and suitable for many applications. Homogeneity arises when regression coefficients corresponding to neighboring geographical regions or a similar cluster of covariates are expected to be approximately the same. Sparsity corresponds to a special case of homogeneity with a large cluster of known atom zero. In this article, we propose a new method called clustering algorithm in regression via data-driven segmentation (CARDS) to explore homogeneity. New mathematics are provided on the gain that can be achieved by exploring homogeneity. Statistical properties of two versions of CARDS are analyzed. In particular, the asymptotic normality of our proposed CARDS estimator is established, which reveals better estimation accuracy for homogeneous parameters than that without homogeneity exploration. When our methods are combined with sparsity exploration, further efficiency can be achieved beyond the exploration of sparsity alone. This provides additional insights into the power of exploring low-dimensional structures in high-dimensional regression: homogeneity and sparsity. Our results also shed lights on the properties of the fussed Lasso. The newly developed method is further illustrated by simulation studies and applications to real data. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. PMID:26085701

Improving homogeneity by dynamic speed limit systems.

PubMed

van Nes, Nicole; Brandenburg, Stefan; Twisk, Divera

2010-05-01

Homogeneity of driving speeds is an important variable in determining road safety; more homogeneous driving speeds increase road safety. This study investigates the effect of introducing dynamic speed limit systems on homogeneity of driving speeds. A total of 46 subjects twice drove a route along 12 road sections in a driving simulator. The speed limit system (static-dynamic), the sophistication of the dynamic speed limit system (basic roadside, advanced roadside, and advanced in-car) and the situational condition (dangerous-non-dangerous) were varied. The homogeneity of driving speed, the rated credibility of the posted speed limit and the acceptance of the different dynamic speed limit systems were assessed. The results show that the homogeneity of individual speeds, defined as the variation in driving speed for an individual subject along a particular road section, was higher with the dynamic speed limit system than with the static speed limit system. The more sophisticated dynamic speed limit system tested within this study led to higher homogeneity than the less sophisticated systems. The acceptance of the dynamic speed limit systems used in this study was positive, they were perceived as quite useful and rather satisfactory. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Benchmarking homogenization algorithms for monthly data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venema, V. K. C.; Mestre, O.; Aguilar, E.; Auer, I.; Guijarro, J. A.; Domonkos, P.; Vertacnik, G.; Szentimrey, T.; Stepanek, P.; Zahradnicek, P.; Viarre, J.; Müller-Westermeier, G.; Lakatos, M.; Williams, C. N.; Menne, M. J.; Lindau, R.; Rasol, D.; Rustemeier, E.; Kolokythas, K.; Marinova, T.; Andresen, L.; Acquaotta, F.; Fratianni, S.; Cheval, S.; Klancar, M.; Brunetti, M.; Gruber, C.; Prohom Duran, M.; Likso, T.; Esteban, P.; Brandsma, T.

2012-01-01

The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action ES0601: advances in homogenization methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME) has executed a blind intercomparison and validation study for monthly homogenization algorithms. Time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were evaluated because of their importance for climate studies and because they represent two important types of statistics (additive and multiplicative). The algorithms were validated against a realistic benchmark dataset. The benchmark contains real inhomogeneous data as well as simulated data with inserted inhomogeneities. Random independent break-type inhomogeneities with normally distributed breakpoint sizes were added to the simulated datasets. To approximate real world conditions, breaks were introduced that occur simultaneously in multiple station series within a simulated network of station data. The simulated time series also contained outliers, missing data periods and local station trends. Further, a stochastic nonlinear global (network-wide) trend was added. Participants provided 25 separate homogenized contributions as part of the blind study. After the deadline at which details of the imposed inhomogeneities were revealed, 22 additional solutions were submitted. These homogenized datasets were assessed by a number of performance metrics including (i) the centered root mean square error relative to the true homogeneous value at various averaging scales, (ii) the error in linear trend estimates and (iii) traditional contingency skill scores. The metrics were computed both using the individual station series as well as the network average regional series. The performance of the contributions depends significantly on the error metric considered. Contingency scores by themselves are not very informative. Although relative homogenization algorithms typically improve the homogeneity of temperature data, only the best ones improve precipitation data

Mechanical Homogenization Increases Bacterial Homogeneity in Sputum

PubMed Central

Stokell, Joshua R.; Khan, Ammad

2014-01-01

Sputum obtained from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is highly viscous and often heterogeneous in bacterial distribution. Adding dithiothreitol (DTT) is the standard method for liquefaction prior to processing sputum for molecular detection assays. To determine if DTT treatment homogenizes the bacterial distribution within sputum, we measured the difference in mean total bacterial abundance and abundance of Burkholderia multivorans between aliquots of DTT-treated sputum samples with and without a mechanical homogenization (MH) step using a high-speed dispersing element. Additionally, we measured the effect of MH on bacterial abundance. We found a significant difference between the mean bacterial abundances in aliquots that were subjected to only DTT treatment and those of the aliquots which included an MH step (all bacteria, P = 0.04; B. multivorans, P = 0.05). There was no significant effect of MH on bacterial abundance in sputum. Although our results are from a single CF patient, they indicate that mechanical homogenization increases the homogeneity of bacteria in sputum. PMID:24759710

Gravity-driven, dry granular flows over a loose bed in stationary and homogeneous conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meninno, Sabrina; Armanini, Aronne; Larcher, Michele

2018-02-01

Flows involving solid particulates have been widely studied in recent years, but their dynamics are still a complex issue to model because they strongly depend on the interaction with the boundary conditions. We report on laboratory investigations regarding homogeneous and steady flows of identical particles over a loose bed in a rectangular channel. Accurate measurements were carried out through imaging techniques to estimate profiles of the mean velocity, solid concentration, and granular temperature for a large set of flow rates and widths. Vertical and transversal structures observed in the flow change as interparticle interactions become more collisional, and they depend on the bottom over which the flow develops. The lateral confinement has a remarkable effect on the flow, especially for narrow channels compared with the grain size, and a hydraulic analogy is able to show how the walls influence the mechanisms of friction and energy dissipation.

Soy Protein Isolate-Phosphatidylcholine Nanoemulsions Prepared Using High-Pressure Homogenization

PubMed Central

Li, Yang; Liu, Jun; Zhu, Ying; Zhang, Xiao-Yuan; Jiang, Lian-Zhou; Qi, Bao-Kun; Zhang, Xiao-Nan; Wang, Zhong-Jiang; Teng, Fei

2018-01-01

The nanoemulsions of soy protein isolate-phosphatidylcholine (SPI-PC) with different emulsion conditions were studied. Homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle times were varied, along with SPI and PC concentration. Evaluations included turbidity, particle size, ζ-potential, particle distribution index, and turbiscan stability index (TSI). The nanoemulsions had the best stability when SPI was at 1.5%, PC was at 0.22%, the homogenization pressure was 100 MPa and homogenization was performed 4 times. The average particle size of the SPI-PC nanoemulsions was 217 nm, the TSI was 3.02 and the emulsification yield was 93.4% of nanoemulsions. PMID:29735918

Soy Protein Isolate-Phosphatidylcholine Nanoemulsions Prepared Using High-Pressure Homogenization.

PubMed

Li, Yang; Wu, Chang-Ling; Liu, Jun; Zhu, Ying; Zhang, Xiao-Yuan; Jiang, Lian-Zhou; Qi, Bao-Kun; Zhang, Xiao-Nan; Wang, Zhong-Jiang; Teng, Fei

2018-05-07

The nanoemulsions of soy protein isolate-phosphatidylcholine (SPI-PC) with different emulsion conditions were studied. Homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle times were varied, along with SPI and PC concentration. Evaluations included turbidity, particle size, ζ-potential, particle distribution index, and turbiscan stability index (TSI). The nanoemulsions had the best stability when SPI was at 1.5%, PC was at 0.22%, the homogenization pressure was 100 MPa and homogenization was performed 4 times. The average particle size of the SPI-PC nanoemulsions was 217 nm, the TSI was 3.02 and the emulsification yield was 93.4% of nanoemulsions.

Regional Homogeneity

PubMed Central

Jiang, Lili; Zuo, Xi-Nian

2015-01-01

Much effort has been made to understand the organizational principles of human brain function using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods, among which resting-state fMRI (rfMRI) is an increasingly recognized technique for measuring the intrinsic dynamics of the human brain. Functional connectivity (FC) with rfMRI is the most widely used method to describe remote or long-distance relationships in studies of cerebral cortex parcellation, interindividual variability, and brain disorders. In contrast, local or short-distance functional interactions, especially at a scale of millimeters, have rarely been investigated or systematically reviewed like remote FC, although some local FC algorithms have been developed and applied to the discovery of brain-based changes under neuropsychiatric conditions. To fill this gap between remote and local FC studies, this review will (1) briefly survey the history of studies on organizational principles of human brain function; (2) propose local functional homogeneity as a network centrality to characterize multimodal local features of the brain connectome; (3) render a neurobiological perspective on local functional homogeneity by linking its temporal, spatial, and individual variability to information processing, anatomical morphology, and brain development; and (4) discuss its role in performing connectome-wide association studies and identify relevant challenges, and recommend its use in future brain connectomics studies. PMID:26170004

Numerical modeling of the acoustic wave propagation across a homogenized rigid microstructure in the time domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lombard, Bruno; Maurel, Agnès; Marigo, Jean-Jacques

2017-04-01

Homogenization of a thin micro-structure yields effective jump conditions that incorporate the geometrical features of the scatterers. These jump conditions apply across a thin but nonzero thickness interface whose interior is disregarded. This paper aims (i) to propose a numerical method able to handle the jump conditions in order to simulate the homogenized problem in the time domain, (ii) to inspect the validity of the homogenized problem when compared to the real one. For this purpose, we adapt the Explicit Simplified Interface Method originally developed for standard jump conditions across a zero-thickness interface. Doing so allows us to handle arbitrary-shaped interfaces on a Cartesian grid with the same efficiency and accuracy of the numerical scheme than those obtained in a homogeneous medium. Numerical experiments are performed to test the properties of the numerical method and to inspect the validity of the homogenization problem.

On domain symmetry and its use in homogenization

DOE PAGES

Barbarosie, Cristian A.; Tortorelli, Daniel A.; Watts, Seth E.

2017-03-08

The present study focuses on solving partial differential equations in domains exhibiting symmetries and periodic boundary conditions for the purpose of homogenization. We show in a systematic manner how the symmetry can be exploited to significantly reduce the complexity of the problem and the computational burden. This is especially relevant in inverse problems, when one needs to solve the partial differential equation (the primal problem) many times in an optimization algorithm. The main motivation of our study is inverse homogenization used to design architected composite materials with novel properties which are being fabricated at ever increasing rates thanks to recentmore » advances in additive manufacturing. For example, one may optimize the morphology of a two-phase composite unit cell to achieve isotropic homogenized properties with maximal bulk modulus and minimal Poisson ratio. Typically, the isotropy is enforced by applying constraints to the optimization problem. However, in two dimensions, one can alternatively optimize the morphology of an equilateral triangle and then rotate and reflect the triangle to form a space filling D 3 symmetric hexagonal unit cell that necessarily exhibits isotropic homogenized properties. One can further use this D 3 symmetry to reduce the computational expense by performing the “unit strain” periodic boundary condition simulations on the single triangle symmetry sector rather than the six fold larger hexagon. In this paper we use group representation theory to derive the necessary periodic boundary conditions on the symmetry sectors of unit cells. The developments are done in a general setting, and specialized to the two-dimensional dihedral symmetries of the abelian D 2, i.e. orthotropic, square unit cell and nonabelian D 3, i.e. trigonal, hexagon unit cell. We then demonstrate how this theory can be applied by evaluating the homogenized properties of a two-phase planar composite over the triangle symmetry sector

Homogenization versus homogenization-free method to measure muscle glycogen fractions.

PubMed

Mojibi, N; Rasouli, M

2016-12-01

The glycogen is extracted from animal tissues with or without homogenization using cold perchloric acid. Three methods were compared for determination of glycogen in rat muscle at different physiological states. Two groups of five rats were kept at rest or 45 minutes muscular activity. The glycogen fractions were extracted and measured by using three methods. The data of homogenization method shows that total glycogen decreased following 45 min physical activity and the change occurred entirely in acid soluble glycogen (ASG), while AIG did not change significantly. Similar results were obtained by using "total-glycogen-fractionation methods". The findings of "homogenization-free method" indicate that the acid insoluble fraction (AIG) was the main portion of muscle glycogen and the majority of changes occurred in AIG fraction. The results of "homogenization method" are identical with "total glycogen fractionation", but differ with "homogenization-free" protocol. The ASG fraction is the major portion of muscle glycogen and is more metabolically active form.

Two-scale homogenization to determine effective parameters of thin metallic-structured films

PubMed Central

Marigo, Jean-Jacques

2016-01-01

We present a homogenization method based on matched asymptotic expansion technique to derive effective transmission conditions of thin structured films. The method leads unambiguously to effective parameters of the interface which define jump conditions or boundary conditions at an equivalent zero thickness interface. The homogenized interface model is presented in the context of electromagnetic waves for metallic inclusions associated with Neumann or Dirichlet boundary conditions for transverse electric or transverse magnetic wave polarization. By comparison with full-wave simulations, the model is shown to be valid for thin interfaces up to thicknesses close to the wavelength. We also compare our effective conditions with the two-sided impedance conditions obtained in transmission line theory and to the so-called generalized sheet transition conditions. PMID:27616916

Refined Zigzag Theory for Homogeneous, Laminated Composite, and Sandwich Plates: A Homogeneous Limit Methodology for Zigzag Function Selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tessler, Alexander; DiSciuva, Marco; Gherlone, marco

2010-01-01

The Refined Zigzag Theory (RZT) for homogeneous, laminated composite, and sandwich plates is presented from a multi-scale formalism starting with the inplane displacement field expressed as a superposition of coarse and fine contributions. The coarse kinematic field is that of first-order shear-deformation theory, whereas the fine kinematic field has a piecewise-linear zigzag distribution through the thickness. The condition of limiting homogeneity of transverse-shear properties is proposed and yields four distinct sets of zigzag functions. By examining elastostatic solutions for highly heterogeneous sandwich plates, the best-performing zigzag functions are identified. The RZT predictive capabilities to model homogeneous and highly heterogeneous sandwich plates are critically assessed, demonstrating its superior efficiency, accuracy ; and a wide range of applicability. The present theory, which is derived from the virtual work principle, is well-suited for developing computationally efficient CO-continuous finite elements, and is thus appropriate for the analysis and design of high-performance load-bearing aerospace structures.

Peripheral nerve magnetic stimulation: influence of tissue non-homogeneity

PubMed Central

Krasteva, Vessela TZ; Papazov, Sava P; Daskalov, Ivan K

2003-01-01

Background Peripheral nerves are situated in a highly non-homogeneous environment, including muscles, bones, blood vessels, etc. Time-varying magnetic field stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves in the carpal region is studied, with special consideration of the influence of non-homogeneities. Methods A detailed three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) of the anatomy of the wrist region was built to assess the induced currents distribution by external magnetic stimulation. The electromagnetic field distribution in the non-homogeneous domain was defined as an internal Dirichlet problem using the finite element method. The boundary conditions were obtained by analysis of the vector potential field excited by external current-driven coils. Results The results include evaluation and graphical representation of the induced current field distribution at various stimulation coil positions. Comparative study for the real non-homogeneous structure with anisotropic conductivities of the tissues and a mock homogeneous media is also presented. The possibility of achieving selective stimulation of either of the two nerves is assessed. Conclusion The model developed could be useful in theoretical prediction of the current distribution in the nerves during diagnostic stimulation and therapeutic procedures involving electromagnetic excitation. The errors in applying homogeneous domain modeling rather than real non-homogeneous biological structures are demonstrated. The practical implications of the applied approach are valid for any arbitrary weakly conductive medium. PMID:14693034

HOMOGENEOUS NUCLEAR POWER REACTOR

DOEpatents

King, L.D.P.

1959-09-01

A homogeneous nuclear power reactor utilizing forced circulation of the liquid fuel is described. The reactor does not require fuel handling outside of the reactor vessel during any normal operation including complete shutdown to room temperature, the reactor being selfregulating under extreme operating conditions and controlled by the thermal expansion of the liquid fuel. The liquid fuel utilized is a uranium, phosphoric acid, and water solution which requires no gus exhaust system or independent gas recombining system, thereby eliminating the handling of radioiytic gas.

Sewage sludge disintegration by combined treatment of alkaline+high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuxuan; Zhang, Panyue; Zhang, Guangming; Ma, Weifang; Wu, Hao; Ma, Boqiang

2012-11-01

Alkaline pretreatment combined with high pressure homogenization (HPH) was applied to promote sewage sludge disintegration. For sewage sludge with a total solid content of 1.82%, sludge disintegration degree (DD(COD)) with combined treatment was higher than the sum of DD(COD) with single alkaline and single HPH treatment. NaOH dosage ⩽0.04mol/L, homogenization pressure ⩽60MPa and a single homogenization cycle were the suitable conditions for combined sludge treatment. The combined sludge treatment showed a maximum DD(COD) of 59.26%. By regression analysis, the combined sludge disintegration model was established as 11-DD(COD)=0.713C(0.334)P(0.234)N(0.119), showing that the effect of operating parameters on sludge disintegration followed the order: NaOH dosage>homogenization pressure>number of homogenization cycle. The energy efficiency with combined sludge treatment significantly increased compared with that with single HPH treatment, and the high energy efficiency was achieved at low homogenization pressure with a single homogenization cycle. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Partial stabilisation of non-homogeneous bilinear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamidi, Z.; Ouzahra, M.

2018-06-01

In this work, we study in a Hilbert state space, the partial stabilisation of non-homogeneous bilinear systems using a bounded control. Necessary and sufficient conditions for weak and strong stabilisation are formulated in term of approximate observability like assumptions. Applications to parabolic and hyperbolic equations are presented.

Broken Ergodicity in Two-Dimensional Homogeneous Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shebalin, John V.

2010-01-01

Two-dimensional (2-D) homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence has many of the same qualitative features as three-dimensional (3-D) homogeneous MHD turbulence.The se features include several ideal invariants, along with the phenomenon of broken ergodicity. Broken ergodicity appears when certain modes act like random variables with mean values that are large compared to their standard deviations, indicating a coherent structure or dynamo.Recently, the origin of broken ergodicity in 3-D MHD turbulence that is manifest in the lowest wavenumbers was explained. Here, a detailed description of the origins of broken ergodicity in 2-D MHD turbulence is presented. It will be seen that broken ergodicity in ideal 2-D MHD turbulence can be manifest in the lowest wavenumbers of a finite numerical model for certain initial conditions or in the highest wavenumbers for another set of initial conditions.T he origins of broken ergodicity in ideal 2-D homogeneous MHD turbulence are found through an eigen analysis of the covariance matrices of the modal probability density functions.It will also be shown that when the lowest wavenumber magnetic field becomes quasi-stationary, the higher wavenumber modes can propagate as Alfven waves on these almost static large-scale magnetic structures

Using Floquet periodicity to easily calculate dispersion curves and wave structures of homogeneous waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakoda, Christopher; Rose, Joseph; Shokouhi, Parisa; Lissenden, Clifford

2018-04-01

Dispersion curves are essential to any guided-wave-related project. The Semi-Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) method has become the conventional way to compute dispersion curves for homogeneous waveguides. However, only recently has a general SAFE formulation for commercial and open-source software become available, meaning that until now SAFE analyses have been variable and more time consuming than desirable. Likewise, the Floquet boundary conditions enable analysis of waveguides with periodicity and have been an integral part of the development of metamaterials. In fact, we have found the use of Floquet boundary conditions to be an extremely powerful tool for homogeneous waveguides, too. The nuances of using periodic boundary conditions for homogeneous waveguides that do not exhibit periodicity are discussed. Comparisons between this method and SAFE are made for selected homogeneous waveguide applications. The COMSOL Multiphysics software is used for the results shown, but any standard finite element software that can implement Floquet periodicity (user-defined or built-in) should suffice. Finally, we identify a number of complex waveguides for which dispersion curves can be found with relative ease by using the periodicity inherent to the Floquet boundary conditions.

Homogeneity and heterogeneity in amylase production by Bacillus subtilis under different growth conditions.

PubMed

Ploss, Tina N; Reilman, Ewoud; Monteferrante, Carmine G; Denham, Emma L; Piersma, Sjouke; Lingner, Anja; Vehmaanperä, Jari; Lorenz, Patrick; van Dijl, Jan Maarten

2016-03-29

Bacillus subtilis is an important cell factory for the biotechnological industry due to its ability to secrete commercially relevant proteins in large amounts directly into the growth medium. However, hyper-secretion of proteins, such as α-amylases, leads to induction of the secretion stress-responsive CssR-CssS regulatory system, resulting in up-regulation of the HtrA and HtrB proteases. These proteases degrade misfolded proteins secreted via the Sec pathway, resulting in a loss of product. The aim of this study was to investigate the secretion stress response in B. subtilis 168 cells overproducing the industrially relevant α-amylase AmyM from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, which was expressed from the strong promoter P(amyQ)-M. Here we show that activity of the htrB promoter as induced by overproduction of AmyM was "noisy", which is indicative for heterogeneous activation of the secretion stress pathway. Plasmids were constructed to allow real-time analysis of P(amyQ)-M promoter activity and AmyM production by, respectively, transcriptional and out-of-frame translationally coupled fusions with gfpmut3. Our results show the emergence of distinct sub-populations of high- and low-level AmyM-producing cells, reflecting heterogeneity in the activity of P(amyQ)-M. This most likely explains the heterogeneous secretion stress response. Importantly, more homogenous cell populations with regard to P(amyQ)-M activity were observed for the B. subtilis mutant strain 168degUhy32, and the wild-type strain 168 under optimized growth conditions. Expression heterogeneity of secretory proteins in B. subtilis can be suppressed by degU mutation and optimized growth conditions. Further, the out-of-frame translational fusion of a gene for a secreted target protein and gfp represents a versatile tool for real-time monitoring of protein production and opens novel avenues for Bacillus production strain improvement.

Homogenization of Mammalian Cells.

PubMed

de Araújo, Mariana E G; Lamberti, Giorgia; Huber, Lukas A

2015-11-02

Homogenization is the name given to the methodological steps necessary for releasing organelles and other cellular constituents as a free suspension of intact individual components. Most homogenization procedures used for mammalian cells (e.g., cavitation pump and Dounce homogenizer) rely on mechanical force to break the plasma membrane and may be supplemented with osmotic or temperature alterations to facilitate membrane disruption. In this protocol, we describe a syringe-based homogenization method that does not require specialized equipment, is easy to handle, and gives reproducible results. The method may be adapted for cells that require hypotonic shock before homogenization. We routinely use it as part of our workflow to isolate endocytic organelles from mammalian cells. © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Homogenization in micro-magneto-mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sridhar, A.; Keip, M.-A.; Miehe, C.

2016-07-01

Ferromagnetic materials are characterized by a heterogeneous micro-structure that can be altered by external magnetic and mechanical stimuli. The understanding and the description of the micro-structure evolution is of particular importance for the design and the analysis of smart materials with magneto-mechanical coupling. The macroscopic response of the material results from complex magneto-mechanical interactions occurring on smaller length scales, which are driven by magnetization reorientation and associated magnetic domain wall motions. The aim of this work is to directly base the description of the macroscopic magneto-mechanical material behavior on the micro-magnetic domain evolution. This will be realized by the incorporation of a ferromagnetic phase-field formulation into a macroscopic Boltzmann continuum by the use of computational homogenization. The transition conditions between the two scales are obtained via rigorous exploitation of rate-type and incremental variational principles, which incorporate an extended version of the classical Hill-Mandel macro-homogeneity condition covering the phase field on the micro-scale. An efficient two-scale computational scenario is developed based on an operator splitting scheme that includes a predictor for the magnetization on the micro-scale. Two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations demonstrate the performance of the method. They investigate micro-magnetic domain evolution driven by macroscopic fields as well as the associated overall hysteretic response of ferromagnetic solids.

Pyroxene Homogenization and the Isotopic Systematics of Eucrites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nyquist, L. E.; Bogard, D. D.

1996-01-01

The original Mg-Fe zoning of eucritic pyroxenes has in nearly all cases been partly homogenized, an observation that has been combined with other petrographic and compositional criteria to establish a scale of thermal "metamorphism" for eucrites. To evaluate hypotheses explaining development of conditions on the HED parent body (Vesta?) leading to pyroxene homogenization against their chronological implications, it is necessary to know whether pyroxene metamorphism was recorded in the isotopic systems. However, identifying the effects of the thermal metamorphism with specific effects in the isotopic systems has been difficult, due in part to a lack of correlated isotopic and mineralogical studies of the same eucrites. Furthermore, isotopic studies often place high demands on analytical capabilities, resulting in slow growth of the isotopic database. Additionally, some isotopic systems would not respond in a direct and sensitive way to pyroxene homogenization. Nevertheless, sufficient data exist to generalize some observations, and to identify directions of potentially fruitful investigations.

Effect of high-pressure homogenization on different matrices of food supplements.

PubMed

Martínez-Sánchez, Ascensión; Tarazona-Díaz, Martha Patricia; García-González, Antonio; Gómez, Perla A; Aguayo, Encarna

2016-12-01

There is a growing demand for food supplements containing high amounts of vitamins, phenolic compounds and mineral content that provide health benefits. Those functional compounds have different solubility properties, and the maintenance of their compounds and the guarantee of their homogenic properties need the application of novel technologies. The quality of different drinkable functional foods after thermal processing (0.1 MPa) or high-pressure homogenization under two different conditions (80 MPa, 33 ℃ and 120 MPa, 43 ℃) was studied. Physicochemical characteristics and sensory qualities were evaluated throughout the six months of accelerated storage at 40 ℃ and 75% relative humidity (RH). Aroma and color were better maintained in high-pressure homogenization-treated samples than the thermally treated ones, which contributed significantly to extending their shelf life. The small particle size obtained after high-pressure homogenization treatments caused differences in turbidity and viscosity with respect to heat-treated samples. The use of high-pressure homogenization, more specifically, 120 MPa, provided active ingredient homogeneity to ensure uniform content in functional food supplements. Although the effect of high-pressure homogenization can be affected by the food matrix, high-pressure homogenization can be implemented as an alternative to conventional heat treatments in a commercial setting within the functional food supplement or pharmaceutical industry. © The Author(s) 2016.

Testing homogeneity in Weibull-regression models.

PubMed

Bolfarine, Heleno; Valença, Dione M

2005-10-01

In survival studies with families or geographical units it may be of interest testing whether such groups are homogeneous for given explanatory variables. In this paper we consider score type tests for group homogeneity based on a mixing model in which the group effect is modelled as a random variable. As opposed to hazard-based frailty models, this model presents survival times that conditioned on the random effect, has an accelerated failure time representation. The test statistics requires only estimation of the conventional regression model without the random effect and does not require specifying the distribution of the random effect. The tests are derived for a Weibull regression model and in the uncensored situation, a closed form is obtained for the test statistic. A simulation study is used for comparing the power of the tests. The proposed tests are applied to real data sets with censored data.

Homogeneous crystal nucleation in polymers.

PubMed

Schick, C; Androsch, R; Schmelzer, J W P

2017-11-15

The pathway of crystal nucleation significantly influences the structure and properties of semi-crystalline polymers. Crystal nucleation is normally heterogeneous at low supercooling, and homogeneous at high supercooling, of the polymer melt. Homogeneous nucleation in bulk polymers has been, so far, hardly accessible experimentally, and was even doubted to occur at all. This topical review summarizes experimental findings on homogeneous crystal nucleation in polymers. Recently developed fast scanning calorimetry, with cooling and heating rates up to 10 6 K s -1 , allows for detailed investigations of nucleation near and even below the glass transition temperature, including analysis of nuclei stability. As for other materials, the maximum homogeneous nucleation rate for polymers is located close to the glass transition temperature. In the experiments discussed here, it is shown that polymer nucleation is homogeneous at such temperatures. Homogeneous nucleation in polymers is discussed in the framework of the classical nucleation theory. The majority of our observations are consistent with the theory. The discrepancies may guide further research, particularly experiments to progress theoretical development. Progress in the understanding of homogeneous nucleation is much needed, since most of the modelling approaches dealing with polymer crystallization exclusively consider homogeneous nucleation. This is also the basis for advancing theoretical approaches to the much more complex phenomena governing heterogeneous nucleation.

Homogeneity of lithium distribution in cylinder-type Li-ion batteries

PubMed Central

Senyshyn, A.; Mühlbauer, M. J.; Dolotko, O.; Hofmann, M.; Ehrenberg, H.

2015-01-01

Spatially-resolved neutron powder diffraction with a gauge volume of 2 × 2 × 20 mm3 has been applied as an in situ method to probe the lithium concentration in the graphite anode of different Li-ion cells of 18650-type in charged state. Structural studies performed in combination with electrochemical measurements and X-ray computed tomography under real cell operating conditions unambiguously revealed non-homogeneity of the lithium distribution in the graphite anode. Deviations from a homogeneous behaviour have been found in both radial and axial directions of 18650-type cells and were discussed in the frame of cell geometry and electrical connection of electrodes, which might play a crucial role in the homogeneity of the lithium distribution in the active materials within each electrode. PMID:26681110

Dark energy homogeneity in general relativity: Are we applying it correctly?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duniya, Didam G. A.

2016-04-01

Thus far, there does not appear to be an agreed (or adequate) definition of homogeneous dark energy (DE). This paper seeks to define a valid, adequate homogeneity condition for DE. Firstly, it is shown that as long as w_x ≠ -1, DE must have perturbations. It is then argued, independent of w_x, that a correct definition of homogeneous DE is one whose density perturbation vanishes in comoving gauge: and hence, in the DE rest frame. Using phenomenological DE, the consequence of this approach is then investigated in the observed galaxy power spectrum—with the power spectrum being normalized on small scales, at the present epoch z=0. It is found that for high magnification bias, relativistic corrections in the galaxy power spectrum are able to distinguish the concordance model from both a homogeneous DE and a clustering DE—on super-horizon scales.

Homogenization of tissues via picosecond-infrared laser (PIRL) ablation: Giving a closer view on the in-vivo composition of protein species as compared to mechanical homogenization.

PubMed

Kwiatkowski, M; Wurlitzer, M; Krutilin, A; Kiani, P; Nimer, R; Omidi, M; Mannaa, A; Bussmann, T; Bartkowiak, K; Kruber, S; Uschold, S; Steffen, P; Lübberstedt, J; Küpker, N; Petersen, H; Knecht, R; Hansen, N O; Zarrine-Afsar, A; Robertson, W D; Miller, R J D; Schlüter, H

2016-02-16

Posttranslational modifications and proteolytic processing regulate almost all physiological processes. Dysregulation can potentially result in pathologic protein species causing diseases. Thus, tissue species proteomes of diseased individuals provide diagnostic information. Since the composition of tissue proteomes can rapidly change during tissue homogenization by the action of enzymes released from their compartments, disease specific protein species patterns can vanish. Recently, we described a novel, ultrafast and soft method for cold vaporization of tissue via desorption by impulsive vibrational excitation (DIVE) using a picosecond-infrared-laser (PIRL). Given that DIVE extraction may provide improved access to the original composition of protein species in tissues, we compared the proteome composition of tissue protein homogenates after DIVE homogenization with conventional homogenizations. A higher number of intact protein species was observed in DIVE homogenates. Due to the ultrafast transfer of proteins from tissues via gas phase into frozen condensates of the aerosols, intact protein species were exposed to a lesser extent to enzymatic degradation reactions compared with conventional protein extraction. In addition, total yield of the number of proteins is higher in DIVE homogenates, because they are very homogenous and contain almost no insoluble particles, allowing direct analysis with subsequent analytical methods without the necessity of centrifugation. Enzymatic protein modifications during tissue homogenization are responsible for changes of the in-vivo protein species composition. Cold vaporization of tissues by PIRL-DIVE is comparable with taking a snapshot at the time of the laser irradiation of the dynamic changes that occur continuously under in-vivo conditions. At that time point all biomolecules are transferred into an aerosol, which is immediately frozen. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homogenization of tissues via picosecond-infrared laser (PIRL) ablation: Giving a closer view on the in-vivo composition of protein species as compared to mechanical homogenization

PubMed Central

Kwiatkowski, M.; Wurlitzer, M.; Krutilin, A.; Kiani, P.; Nimer, R.; Omidi, M.; Mannaa, A.; Bussmann, T.; Bartkowiak, K.; Kruber, S.; Uschold, S.; Steffen, P.; Lübberstedt, J.; Küpker, N.; Petersen, H.; Knecht, R.; Hansen, N.O.; Zarrine-Afsar, A.; Robertson, W.D.; Miller, R.J.D.; Schlüter, H.

2016-01-01

Posttranslational modifications and proteolytic processing regulate almost all physiological processes. Dysregulation can potentially result in pathologic protein species causing diseases. Thus, tissue species proteomes of diseased individuals provide diagnostic information. Since the composition of tissue proteomes can rapidly change during tissue homogenization by the action of enzymes released from their compartments, disease specific protein species patterns can vanish. Recently, we described a novel, ultrafast and soft method for cold vaporization of tissue via desorption by impulsive vibrational excitation (DIVE) using a picosecond-infrared-laser (PIRL). Given that DIVE extraction may provide improved access to the original composition of protein species in tissues, we compared the proteome composition of tissue protein homogenates after DIVE homogenization with conventional homogenizations. A higher number of intact protein species was observed in DIVE homogenates. Due to the ultrafast transfer of proteins from tissues via gas phase into frozen condensates of the aerosols, intact protein species were exposed to a lesser extent to enzymatic degradation reactions compared with conventional protein extraction. In addition, total yield of the number of proteins is higher in DIVE homogenates, because they are very homogenous and contain almost no insoluble particles, allowing direct analysis with subsequent analytical methods without the necessity of centrifugation. Biological significance Enzymatic protein modifications during tissue homogenization are responsible for changes of the in-vivo protein species composition. Cold vaporization of tissues by PIRL-DIVE is comparable with taking a snapshot at the time of the laser irradiation of the dynamic changes that occur continuously under in-vivo conditions. At that time point all biomolecules are transferred into an aerosol, which is immediately frozen. PMID:26778141

Homogenized description and retrieval method of nonlinear metasurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaojun; Larouche, Stéphane; Smith, David R.

2018-03-01

A patterned, plasmonic metasurface can strongly scatter incident light, functioning as an extremely low-profile lens, filter, reflector or other optical device. When the metasurface is patterned uniformly, its linear optical properties can be expressed using effective surface electric and magnetic polarizabilities obtained through a homogenization procedure. The homogenized description of a nonlinear metasurface, however, presents challenges both because of the inherent anisotropy of the medium as well as the much larger set of potential wave interactions available, making it challenging to assign effective nonlinear parameters to the otherwise inhomogeneous layer of metamaterial elements. Here we show that a homogenization procedure can be developed to describe nonlinear metasurfaces, which derive their nonlinear response from the enhanced local fields arising within the structured plasmonic elements. With the proposed homogenization procedure, we are able to assign effective nonlinear surface polarization densities to a nonlinear metasurface, and link these densities to the effective nonlinear surface susceptibilities and averaged macroscopic pumping fields across the metasurface. These effective nonlinear surface polarization densities are further linked to macroscopic nonlinear fields through the generalized sheet transition conditions (GSTCs). By inverting the GSTCs, the effective nonlinear surface susceptibilities of the metasurfaces can be solved for, leading to a generalized retrieval method for nonlinear metasurfaces. The application of the homogenization procedure and the GSTCs are demonstrated by retrieving the nonlinear susceptibilities of a SiO2 nonlinear slab. As an example, we investigate a nonlinear metasurface which presents nonlinear magnetoelectric coupling in near infrared regime. The method is expected to apply to any patterned metasurface whose thickness is much smaller than the wavelengths of operation, with inclusions of arbitrary geometry

Preparation and characterization of paclitaxel nanosuspension using novel emulsification method by combining high speed homogenizer and high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Li, Yong; Zhao, Xiuhua; Zu, Yuangang; Zhang, Yin

2015-07-25

The aim of this study was to develop an alternative, more bio-available, better tolerated paclitaxel nanosuspension (PTXNS) for intravenous injection in comparison with commercially available Taxol(®) formulation. In this study, PTXNS was prepared by emulsification method through combination of high speed homogenizer and high pressure homogenization, followed by lyophilization process for intravenous administration. The main production parameters including volume ratio of organic phase in water and organic phase (Vo:Vw+o), concentration of PTX, content of PTX and emulsification time (Et), homogenization pressure (HP) and passes (Ps) for high pressure homogenization were optimized and their effects on mean particle size (MPS) and particle size distribution (PSD) of PTXNS were investigated. The characteristics of PTXNS, such as, surface morphology, physical status of paclitaxel (PTX) in PTXNS, redispersibility of PTXNS in purified water, in vitro dissolution study and bioavailability in vivo were all investigated. The PTXNS obtained under optimum conditions had an MPS of 186.8 nm and a zeta potential (ZP) of -6.87 mV. The PTX content in PTXNS was approximately 3.42%. Moreover, the residual amount of chloroform was lower than the International Conference on Harmonization limit (60 ppm) for solvents. The dissolution study indicated PTXNS had merits including effect to fast at the side of raw PTX and sustained-dissolution character compared with Taxol(®) formulation. Moreover, the bioavailability of PTXNS increased 14.38 and 3.51 times respectively compared with raw PTX and Taxol(®) formulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homogenous polynomially parameter-dependent H∞ filter designs of discrete-time fuzzy systems.

PubMed

Zhang, Huaguang; Xie, Xiangpeng; Tong, Shaocheng

2011-10-01

This paper proposes a novel H(∞) filtering technique for a class of discrete-time fuzzy systems. First, a novel kind of fuzzy H(∞) filter, which is homogenous polynomially parameter dependent on membership functions with an arbitrary degree, is developed to guarantee the asymptotic stability and a prescribed H(∞) performance of the filtering error system. Second, relaxed conditions for H(∞) performance analysis are proposed by using a new fuzzy Lyapunov function and the Finsler lemma with homogenous polynomial matrix Lagrange multipliers. Then, based on a new kind of slack variable technique, relaxed linear matrix inequality-based H(∞) filtering conditions are proposed. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Volatile loss during homogenization of lunar melt inclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Peng; Zhang, Youxue; Guan, Yunbin

2017-11-01

Volatile abundances in lunar mantle are critical factors to consider for constraining the model of Moon formation. Recently, the earlier understanding of a ;dry; Moon has shifted to a fairly ;wet; Moon due to the detection of measurable amount of H2O in lunar volcanic glass beads, mineral grains, and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. The ongoing debate on a ;dry; or ;wet; Moon requires further studies on lunar melt inclusions to obtain a broader understanding of volatile abundances in the lunar mantle. One important uncertainty for lunar melt inclusion studies, however, is whether the homogenization of melt inclusions would cause volatile loss. In this study, a series of homogenization experiments were conducted on olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the sample 74220 to evaluate the possible loss of volatiles during homogenization of lunar melt inclusions. Our results suggest that significant loss of H2O could occur even during minutes of homogenization, while F, Cl and S in the inclusions remain unaffected. We model the trend of H2O loss in homogenized melt inclusions by a diffusive hydrogen loss model. The model can reconcile the observed experimental data well, with a best-fit H diffusivity in accordance with diffusion data explained by the ;slow; mechanism for hydrogen diffusion in olivine. Surprisingly, no significant effect for the low oxygen fugacity on the Moon is observed on the diffusive loss of hydrogen during homogenization of lunar melt inclusions under reducing conditions. Our experimental and modeling results show that diffusive H loss is negligible for melt inclusions of >25 μm radius. As our results mitigate the concern of H2O loss during homogenization for crystalline lunar melt inclusions, we found that H2O/Ce ratios in melt inclusions from different lunar samples vary with degree of crystallization. Such a variation is more likely due to H2O loss on the lunar surface, while heterogeneity in their lunar mantle source is also a possibility. A

Immortal homogeneous Ricci flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böhm, Christoph; Lafuente, Ramiro A.

2018-05-01

We show that for an immortal homogeneous Ricci flow solution any sequence of parabolic blow-downs subconverges to a homogeneous expanding Ricci soliton. This is established by constructing a new Lyapunov function based on curvature estimates which come from real geometric invariant theory.

Homogeneous anisotropic solutions of topologically massive gravity with a cosmological constant and their homogeneous deformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moutsopoulos, George

2013-06-01

We solve the equations of topologically massive gravity (TMG) with a potentially non-vanishing cosmological constant for homogeneous metrics without isotropy. We only reproduce known solutions. We also discuss their homogeneous deformations, possibly with isotropy. We show that de Sitter space and hyperbolic space cannot be infinitesimally homogeneously deformed in TMG. We clarify some of their Segre-Petrov types and discuss the warped de Sitter spacetime.

Benchmarking homogenization algorithms for monthly data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venema, V. K. C.; Mestre, O.; Aguilar, E.; Auer, I.; Guijarro, J. A.; Domonkos, P.; Vertacnik, G.; Szentimrey, T.; Stepanek, P.; Zahradnicek, P.; Viarre, J.; Müller-Westermeier, G.; Lakatos, M.; Williams, C. N.; Menne, M. J.; Lindau, R.; Rasol, D.; Rustemeier, E.; Kolokythas, K.; Marinova, T.; Andresen, L.; Acquaotta, F.; Fratiannil, S.; Cheval, S.; Klancar, M.; Brunetti, M.; Gruber, C.; Prohom Duran, M.; Likso, T.; Esteban, P.; Brandsma, T.; Willett, K.

2013-09-01

The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action ES0601: Advances in homogenization methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME) has executed a blind intercomparison and validation study for monthly homogenization algorithms. Time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were evaluated because of their importance for climate studies. The algorithms were validated against a realistic benchmark dataset. Participants provided 25 separate homogenized contributions as part of the blind study as well as 22 additional solutions submitted after the details of the imposed inhomogeneities were revealed. These homogenized datasets were assessed by a number of performance metrics including i) the centered root mean square error relative to the true homogeneous values at various averaging scales, ii) the error in linear trend estimates and iii) traditional contingency skill scores. The metrics were computed both using the individual station series as well as the network average regional series. The performance of the contributions depends significantly on the error metric considered. Although relative homogenization algorithms typically improve the homogeneity of temperature data, only the best ones improve precipitation data. Moreover, state-of-the-art relative homogenization algorithms developed to work with an inhomogeneous reference are shown to perform best. The study showed that currently automatic algorithms can perform as well as manual ones.

Etude de faisabilite d'un systeme eolien diesel avec stockage d'air comprime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benchaabane, Youssef

Le Systeme Hybride Eolien-Diesel avec Stockage d'Air Comprime (SHEDAC) utilise l'hybridation pneumatique pour remplacer la consommation des combustibles fossiles par de l'energie renouvelable, plus particulierement de l'energie eolienne. Le surplus de l'energie eolienne est utilise pour comprimer et stocker de l'air qui est utilise ensuite pour suralimenter le moteur diesel. Le memoire de maitrise est constitue de deux articles scientifiques. Le premier article presente le developpement d'un logiciel dedie a l'etude de faisabilite d'un systeme eolien-diesel avec stockage d'air comprime. Cette etude est basee sur l'analyse des couts et des revenus, des couts des equipements (eolienne, moteur diesel, systeme de stockage d'air). Elle est completee par une analyse de sensibilite aux differents parametres, une analyse des risques et des emissions des gaz a effet de serre (GES). Le deuxieme article est une application de ce logiciel pour l'installation d'un systeme SHEDAC au camp minier Esker au Quebec en remplacement des sources actuelles de production d'energie. L'utilisation du stockage d'air comprime a l'aide d'un systeme SHEDAC est le plus rentable par rapport a l'utilisation de l'energie eolienne seule ou d'une centrale thermique au diesel seule ou des deux combinees. Avec une valeur actuelle nette et un taux de rendement interne plus eleves, cette solution permet d'obtenir le plus bas cout de l'energie pour cette region eloignee. None None None

Magnetic field homogeneity of a conical coaxial coil pair.

PubMed

Salazar, F J; Nieves, F J; Bayón, A; Gascón, F

2017-09-01

An analytical study of the magnetic field created by a double-conical conducting sheet is presented. The analysis is based on the expansion of the magnetic field in terms of Legendre polynomials. It is demonstrated analytically that the angle of the conical surface that produces a nearly homogeneous magnetic field coincides with that of a pair of loops that fulfills the Helmholtz condition. From the results obtained, we propose an electric circuit formed by pairs of isolated conducting loops tightly wound around a pair of conical surfaces, calculating numerically the magnetic field produced by this system and its heterogeneity. An experimental setup of the proposed circuit was constructed and its magnetic field was measured. The results were compared with those obtained by numerical calculation, finding a good agreement. The numerical results demonstrate a significant improvement in homogeneity in the field of the proposed pair of conical coils compared with that achieved with a simple pair of Helmholtz loops or with a double solenoid. Moreover, a new design of a double pair of conical coils based on Braunbek's four loops is also proposed to achieve greater homogeneity. Regarding homogeneity, the rating of the analyzed configurations from best to worst is as follows: (1) double pair of conical coils, (2) pair of conical coils, (3) Braunbek's four loops, (4) Helmholtz pair, and (5) solenoid pair.

Magnetic field homogeneity of a conical coaxial coil pair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, F. J.; Nieves, F. J.; Bayón, A.; Gascón, F.

2017-09-01

An analytical study of the magnetic field created by a double-conical conducting sheet is presented. The analysis is based on the expansion of the magnetic field in terms of Legendre polynomials. It is demonstrated analytically that the angle of the conical surface that produces a nearly homogeneous magnetic field coincides with that of a pair of loops that fulfills the Helmholtz condition. From the results obtained, we propose an electric circuit formed by pairs of isolated conducting loops tightly wound around a pair of conical surfaces, calculating numerically the magnetic field produced by this system and its heterogeneity. An experimental setup of the proposed circuit was constructed and its magnetic field was measured. The results were compared with those obtained by numerical calculation, finding a good agreement. The numerical results demonstrate a significant improvement in homogeneity in the field of the proposed pair of conical coils compared with that achieved with a simple pair of Helmholtz loops or with a double solenoid. Moreover, a new design of a double pair of conical coils based on Braunbek's four loops is also proposed to achieve greater homogeneity. Regarding homogeneity, the rating of the analyzed configurations from best to worst is as follows: (1) double pair of conical coils, (2) pair of conical coils, (3) Braunbek's four loops, (4) Helmholtz pair, and (5) solenoid pair.

Diurnal Variations of the Flux Imbalance Over Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yanzhao; Li, Dan; Liu, Heping; Li, Xin

2018-05-01

It is well known that the sum of the turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes as measured by the eddy-covariance method is systematically lower than the available energy (i.e., the net radiation minus the ground heat flux). We examine the separate and joint effects of diurnal and spatial variations of surface temperature on this flux imbalance in a dry convective boundary layer using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Results show that, over homogeneous surfaces, the flux due to turbulent-organized structures is responsible for the imbalance, whereas over heterogeneous surfaces, the flux due to mesoscale or secondary circulations is the main contributor to the imbalance. Over homogeneous surfaces, the flux imbalance in free convective conditions exhibits a clear diurnal cycle, showing that the flux-imbalance magnitude slowly decreases during the morning period and rapidly increases during the afternoon period. However, in shear convective conditions, the flux-imbalance magnitude is much smaller, but slightly increases with time. The flux imbalance over heterogeneous surfaces exhibits a diurnal cycle under both free and shear convective conditions, which is similar to that over homogeneous surfaces in free convective conditions, and is also consistent with the general trend in the global observations. The rapid increase in the flux-imbalance magnitude during the afternoon period is mainly caused by the afternoon decay of the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). Interestingly, over heterogeneous surfaces, the flux imbalance is linearly related to the TKE and the difference between the potential temperature and surface temperature, ΔT; the larger the TKE and ΔT values, the smaller the flux-imbalance magnitude.

Homogenized modeling methodology for 18650 lithium-ion battery module under large deformation

PubMed Central

Tang, Liang; Cheng, Pengle

2017-01-01

Effective lithium-ion battery module modeling has become a bottleneck for full-size electric vehicle crash safety numerical simulation. Modeling every single cell in detail would be costly. However, computational accuracy could be lost if the module is modeled by using a simple bulk material or rigid body. To solve this critical engineering problem, a general method to establish a computational homogenized model for the cylindrical battery module is proposed. A single battery cell model is developed and validated through radial compression and bending experiments. To analyze the homogenized mechanical properties of the module, a representative unit cell (RUC) is extracted with the periodic boundary condition applied on it. An elastic–plastic constitutive model is established to describe the computational homogenized model for the module. Two typical packing modes, i.e., cubic dense packing and hexagonal packing for the homogenized equivalent battery module (EBM) model, are targeted for validation compression tests, as well as the models with detailed single cell description. Further, the homogenized EBM model is confirmed to agree reasonably well with the detailed battery module (DBM) model for different packing modes with a length scale of up to 15 × 15 cells and 12% deformation where the short circuit takes place. The suggested homogenized model for battery module makes way for battery module and pack safety evaluation for full-size electric vehicle crashworthiness analysis. PMID:28746390

Homogenized modeling methodology for 18650 lithium-ion battery module under large deformation.

PubMed

Tang, Liang; Zhang, Jinjie; Cheng, Pengle

2017-01-01

Effective lithium-ion battery module modeling has become a bottleneck for full-size electric vehicle crash safety numerical simulation. Modeling every single cell in detail would be costly. However, computational accuracy could be lost if the module is modeled by using a simple bulk material or rigid body. To solve this critical engineering problem, a general method to establish a computational homogenized model for the cylindrical battery module is proposed. A single battery cell model is developed and validated through radial compression and bending experiments. To analyze the homogenized mechanical properties of the module, a representative unit cell (RUC) is extracted with the periodic boundary condition applied on it. An elastic-plastic constitutive model is established to describe the computational homogenized model for the module. Two typical packing modes, i.e., cubic dense packing and hexagonal packing for the homogenized equivalent battery module (EBM) model, are targeted for validation compression tests, as well as the models with detailed single cell description. Further, the homogenized EBM model is confirmed to agree reasonably well with the detailed battery module (DBM) model for different packing modes with a length scale of up to 15 × 15 cells and 12% deformation where the short circuit takes place. The suggested homogenized model for battery module makes way for battery module and pack safety evaluation for full-size electric vehicle crashworthiness analysis.

Desertification, salinization, and biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miyazono, S.; Patino, Reynaldo; Taylor, C.M.

2015-01-01

This study determined long-term changes in fish assemblages, river discharge, salinity, and local precipitation, and examined hydrological drivers of biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem, the Trans-Pecos region of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte (USA/Mexico). Historical (1977-1989) and current (2010-2011) fish assemblages were analyzed by rarefaction analysis (species richness), nonmetric multidimensional scaling (composition/variability), multiresponse permutation procedures (composition), and paired t-test (variability). Trends in hydrological conditions (1970s-2010s) were examined by Kendall tau and quantile regression, and associations between streamfiow and specific conductance (salinity) by generalized linear models. Since the 1970s, species richness and variability of fish assemblages decreased in the Rio Grande below the confluence with the Rio Conchos (Mexico), a major tributary, but not above it. There was increased representation of lower-flow/higher-salinity tolerant species, thus making fish communities below the confluence taxonomically and functionally more homogeneous to those above it. Unlike findings elsewhere, this biotic homogenization was due primarily to changes in the relative abundances of native species. While Rio Conchos discharge was > 2-fold higher than Rio Grande discharge above their confluence, Rio Conchos discharge decreased during the study period causing Rio Grande discharge below the confluence to also decrease. Rio Conchos salinity is lower than Rio Grande salinity above their confluence and, as Rio Conchos discharge decreased, it caused Rio Grande salinity below the confluence to increase (reduced dilution). Trends in discharge did not correspond to trends in precipitation except at extreme-high (90th quantile) levels. In conclusion, decreasing discharge from the Rio Conchos has led to decreasing flow and increasing salinity in the Rio Grande below the confluence. This spatially uneven desertification and

Influence of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose addition and homogenization conditions on properties and ageing of corn starch based films.

PubMed

Jiménez, Alberto; Fabra, María José; Talens, Pau; Chiralt, Amparo

2012-06-20

Edible films based on corn starch, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and their mixtures were prepared by using two different procedures to homogenize the film forming dispersions (rotor-stator and rotor-stator plus microfluidizer). The influence of both HPMC-starch ratio and the homogenization method on the structural, optical, tensile and barrier properties of the films was analysed. The ageing of the films was also studied by characterizing them after 5 weeks' storage. Starch re-crystallization in newly prepared and stored films was analysed by means of X-ray diffraction. HPMC-corn starch films showed phase separation of polymers, which was enhanced when microfluidization was applied to the film forming dispersion. Nevertheless, HPMC addition inhibited starch re-crystallization during storage, giving rise to more flexible films at the end of the period. Water barrier properties of starch films were hardly affected by the addition of HPMC, although oxygen permeability increased due to its poorer oxygen barrier properties. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topology of actions and homogeneous spaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kozlov, Konstantin L

2013-04-30

Topologization of a group of homeomorphisms and its action provide additional possibilities for studying the topological space, the group of homeomorphisms, and their interconnections. The subject of the paper is the use of the property of d-openness of an action (introduced by Ancel under the name of weak micro-transitivity) in the study of spaces with various forms of homogeneity. It is proved that a d-open action of a Cech-complete group is open. A characterization of Polish SLH spaces using d-openness is given, and it is established that any separable metrizable SLH space has an SLH completion that is a Polishmore » space. Furthermore, the completion is realized in coordination with the completion of the acting group with respect to the two-sided uniformity. A sufficient condition is given for extension of a d-open action to the completion of the space with respect to the maximal equiuniformity with preservation of d-openness. A result of van Mill is generalized, namely, it is proved that any homogeneous CDH metrizable compactum is the only G-compactification of the space of rational numbers for the action of some Polish group. Bibliography: 39 titles.« less

Orthogonality Measurement for Homogenous Projects-Bases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivan, Ion; Sandu, Andrei; Popa, Marius

2009-01-01

The homogenous projects-base concept is defined. Next, the necessary steps to create a homogenous projects-base are presented. A metric system is built, which then will be used for analyzing projects. The indicators which are meaningful for analyzing a homogenous projects-base are selected. The given hypothesis is experimentally verified. The…

Hazard Studies for Solid Propellant Rocket Motors (Etude des Risque pour les Moteurs-Fusees a Propergols Solides)

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (ORGANISATION DU TRAITE DE LATIANTIOUF NORD) AGARDograph No.3 16 Hazard Studies for Solid Propellant Rocket Motors (Etudes de...member nations to use their research and development capabilities for the common benefit of the NATO community; - Providing scientific and technical...advice and assistance to the Military Committee in the field of aerospace research and development (with particular regard to its military application

A comparison of protein profiles of cervical tissue homogenate, exfoliated cells from cervix and serum in normal and cervical malignancy conditions.

PubMed

Bhat, Sujatha; Kartha, Vasudevan Bhaskaran; Rai, Lavanya; Chidangil, Santhosh

2015-01-01

Cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women, progresses silently over long periods before producing any clinical manifestation. Research in early detection of this condition using proteomic techniques is of very recent origin. We used high-performance liquid chromatography combined with laser-induced fluorescence method in our lab to record the protein profiles of tissue homogenate, cell lysate and serum samples of normal and different stages of malignant conditions of the cervix. Information on protein markers in the protein profiles was derived using various data processing methods including curve resolution. The variations in relative intensities of different peaks with respect to peak height, width and area under the curve from different sample types were compared to get information regarding the concentration of the various proteins and their significance in the induction and metastasis of cervical cancer. The method can be used in diagnosis, follow-up with respect to the progression, remission and effective therapy, in cervical malignancy. © The Author [2014]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Direction of unsaturated flow in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lu, Ning; Kaya, Basak Sener; Godt, Jonathan W.

2011-01-01

The distribution of soil moisture in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope is a transient, variably saturated physical process controlled by rainfall characteristics, hillslope geometry, and the hydrological properties of the hillslope materials. The major driving mechanisms for moisture movement are gravity and gradients in matric potential. The latter is solely controlled by gradients of moisture content. In a homogeneous and isotropic saturated hillslope, absent a gradient in moisture content and under the driving force of gravity with a constant pressure boundary at the slope surface, flow is always in the lateral downslope direction, under either transient or steady state conditions. However, under variably saturated conditions, both gravity and moisture content gradients drive fluid motion, leading to complex flow patterns. In general, the flow field near the ground surface is variably saturated and transient, and the direction of flow could be laterally downslope, laterally upslope, or vertically downward. Previous work has suggested that prevailing rainfall conditions are sufficient to completely control these flow regimes. This work, however, shows that under time-varying rainfall conditions, vertical, downslope, and upslope lateral flow can concurrently occur at different depths and locations within the hillslope. More importantly, we show that the state of wetting or drying in a hillslope defines the temporal and spatial regimes of flow and when and where laterally downslope and/or laterally upslope flow occurs.

Direction of unsaturated flow in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lu, N.; Kaya, B.S.; Godt, J.W.

2011-01-01

The distribution of soil moisture in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope is a transient, variably saturated physical process controlled by rainfall characteristics, hillslope geometry, and the hydrological properties of the hillslope materials. The major driving mechanisms for moisture movement are gravity and gradients in matric potential. The latter is solely controlled by gradients of moisture content. In a homogeneous and isotropic saturated hillslope, absent a gradient in moisture content and under the driving force of gravity with a constant pressure boundary at the slope surface, flow is always in the lateral downslope direction, under either transient or steady state conditions. However, under variably saturated conditions, both gravity and moisture content gradients drive fluid motion, leading to complex flow patterns. In general, the flow field near the ground surface is variably saturated and transient, and the direction of flow could be laterally downslope, laterally upslope, or vertically downward. Previous work has suggested that prevailing rainfall conditions are sufficient to completely control these flow regimes. This work, however, shows that under time-varying rainfall conditions, vertical, downslope, and upslope lateral flow can concurrently occur at different depths and locations within the hillslope. More importantly, we show that the state of wetting or drying in a hillslope defines the temporal and spatial regimes of flow and when and where laterally downslope and/or laterally upslope flow occurs. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

Stability of vitamin C in frozen raw fruit and vegetable homogenates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Retention of vitamin C in homogenized raw fruits and vegetables stored under laboratory conditions prior to analysis was investigated. Raw collard greens, clementines, and potatoes were chosen, to be representative of food matrices to be sampled in USDA’s National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program...

Determination of protein carbonyls in plasma, cell extracts, tissue homogenates, isolated proteins: Focus on sample preparation and derivatization conditions

PubMed Central

Weber, Daniela; Davies, Michael J.; Grune, Tilman

2015-01-01

Protein oxidation is involved in regulatory physiological events as well as in damage to tissues and is thought to play a key role in the pathophysiology of diseases and in the aging process. Protein-bound carbonyls represent a marker of global protein oxidation, as they are generated by multiple different reactive oxygen species in blood, tissues and cells. Sample preparation and stabilization are key steps in the accurate quantification of oxidation-related products and examination of physiological/pathological processes. This review therefore focuses on the sample preparation processes used in the most relevant methods to detect protein carbonyls after derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine with an emphasis on measurement in plasma, cells, organ homogenates, isolated proteins and organelles. Sample preparation, derivatization conditions and protein handling are presented for the spectrophotometric and HPLC method as well as for immunoblotting and ELISA. An extensive overview covering these methods in previously published articles is given for researchers who plan to measure protein carbonyls in different samples. PMID:26141921

Internal homogenization: effective permittivity of a coated sphere.

PubMed

Chettiar, Uday K; Engheta, Nader

2012-10-08

The concept of internal homogenization is introduced as a complementary approach to the conventional homogenization schemes, which could be termed as external homogenization. The theory for the internal homogenization of the permittivity of subwavelength coated spheres is presented. The effective permittivity derived from the internal homogenization of coreshells is discussed for plasmonic and dielectric constituent materials. The effective model provided by the homogenization is a useful design tool in constructing coated particles with desired resonant properties.

MY Cam: can homogeneous evolution produce gravitational-wave progenitors?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negueruela, Ignacio

2016-10-01

Besides opening the era of gravitational-wave astrophysics, GW150914 has revolutionized the field of massive stars. GW150914 proves the existence of stellar-mass black holes in a configuration that current models for stellar evolution can only reproduce in special conditions of homogeneous evolution and/or low metallicity.Only a handful of very-massive binaries that could lead to a binary black hole are known. We request UV spectroscopy of MY Cam (38Msun+32Msun), the best laboratory to test several predictions by current models, in order to derive stellar abundances and wind parameters that are inaccessible from the ground. Together with our previous photometric and spectroscopic exhaustive coverage, the STIS spectra will be key to characterize the pre-common envelope phase and test the homogeneous evolution hypothesis, critical ingredients of the different progenitor scenarios proposed to explain GW15091.

Effects of homogenization treatment on recrystallization behavior of 7150 aluminum sheet during post-rolling annealing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Zhanying; Department of Applied Science, University of Québec at Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC G7H 2B1; Zhao, Gang

2016-04-15

The effects of two homogenization treatments applied to the direct chill (DC) cast billet on the recrystallization behavior in 7150 aluminum alloy during post-rolling annealing have been investigated using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. Following hot and cold rolling to the sheet, measured orientation maps, the recrystallization fraction and grain size, the misorientation angle and the subgrain size were used to characterize the recovery and recrystallization processes at different annealing temperatures. The results were compared between the conventional one-step homogenization and the new two-step homogenization, with the first step being pretreated at 250 °C. Al{sub 3}Zr dispersoids with highermore » densities and smaller sizes were obtained after the two-step homogenization, which strongly retarded subgrain/grain boundary mobility and inhibited recrystallization. Compared with the conventional one-step homogenized samples, a significantly lower recrystallized fraction and a smaller recrystallized grain size were obtained under all annealing conditions after cold rolling in the two-step homogenized samples. - Highlights: • Effects of two homogenization treatments on recrystallization in 7150 Al sheets • Quantitative study on the recrystallization evolution during post-rolling annealing • Al{sub 3}Zr dispersoids with higher densities and smaller sizes after two-step treatment • Higher recrystallization resistance of 7150 sheets with two-step homogenization.« less

Optimization and characterization of high pressure homogenization produced chemically modified starch nanoparticles.

PubMed

Ding, Yongbo; Kan, Jianquan

2017-12-01

Chemically modified starch (RS4) nanoparticles were synthesized through homogenization and water-in-oil mini-emulsion cross-linking. Homogenization was optimized with regard to z-average diameter by using a three-factor-three-level Box-Behnken design. Homogenization pressure (X 1 ), oil/water ratio (X 2 ), and surfactant (X 3 ) were selected as independent variables, whereas z-average diameter was considered as a dependent variable. The following optimum preparation conditions were obtained to achieve the minimum average size of these nanoparticles: 50 MPa homogenization pressure, 10:1 oil/water ratio, and 2 g surfactant amount, when the predicted z-average diameter was 303.6 nm. The physicochemical properties of these nanoparticles were also determined. Dynamic light scattering experiments revealed that RS4 nanoparticles measuring a PdI of 0.380 and an average size of approximately 300 nm, which was very close to the predicted z-average diameter (303.6 nm). The absolute value of zeta potential of RS4 nanoparticles (39.7 mV) was higher than RS4 (32.4 mV), with strengthened swelling power. X-ray diffraction results revealed that homogenization induced a disruption in crystalline structure of RS4 nanoparticles led to amorphous or low-crystallinity. Results of stability analysis showed that RS4 nanosuspensions (particle size) had good stability at 30 °C over 24 h.

Desertification, salinization, and biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem.

PubMed

Miyazono, Seiji; Patiño, Reynaldo; Taylor, Christopher M

2015-04-01

This study determined long-term changes in fish assemblages, river discharge, salinity, and local precipitation, and examined hydrological drivers of biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem, the Trans-Pecos region of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte (USA/Mexico). Historical (1977-1989) and current (2010-2011) fish assemblages were analyzed by rarefaction analysis (species richness), nonmetric multidimensional scaling (composition/variability), multiresponse permutation procedures (composition), and paired t-test (variability). Trends in hydrological conditions (1970s-2010s) were examined by Kendall tau and quantile regression, and associations between streamflow and specific conductance (salinity) by generalized linear models. Since the 1970s, species richness and variability of fish assemblages decreased in the Rio Grande below the confluence with the Rio Conchos (Mexico), a major tributary, but not above it. There was increased representation of lower-flow/higher-salinity tolerant species, thus making fish communities below the confluence taxonomically and functionally more homogeneous to those above it. Unlike findings elsewhere, this biotic homogenization was due primarily to changes in the relative abundances of native species. While Rio Conchos discharge was>2-fold higher than Rio Grande discharge above their confluence, Rio Conchos discharge decreased during the study period causing Rio Grande discharge below the confluence to also decrease. Rio Conchos salinity is lower than Rio Grande salinity above their confluence and, as Rio Conchos discharge decreased, it caused Rio Grande salinity below the confluence to increase (reduced dilution). Trends in discharge did not correspond to trends in precipitation except at extreme-high (90th quantile) levels. In conclusion, decreasing discharge from the Rio Conchos has led to decreasing flow and increasing salinity in the Rio Grande below the confluence. This spatially uneven desertification and

All-sky homogeneity of precipitable water vapour over Paranal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Querel, Richard R.; Kerber, Florian

2014-08-01

A Low Humidity and Temperature Profiling (LHATPRO) microwave radiometer, manufactured by Radiometer Physics GmbH (RPG), is used to monitor sky conditions over ESO's Paranal observatory in support of VLT science operations. The unit measures several channels across the strong water vapour emission line at 183 GHz, necessary for resolving the low levels of precipitable water vapour (PWV) that are prevalent on Paranal (median ~2.4 mm). The instrument consists of a humidity profiler (183-191 GHz), a temperature profiler (51-58 GHz), and an infrared camera (~10 μm) for cloud detection. We present, for the first time, a statistical analysis of the homogeneity of all-sky PWV using 21 months of periodic (every 6 hours) all-sky scans from the radiometer. These data provide unique insight into the spatial and temporal variation of atmospheric conditions relevant for astronomical observations, particularly in the infrared. We find the PWV over Paranal to be remarkably homogeneous across the sky down to 27.5° elevation with a median variation of 0.32 mm (peak to valley) or 0.07 mm (rms). The homogeneity is a function of the absolute PWV but the relative variation is fairly constant at 10-15% (peak to valley) and 3% (rms). Such variations will not be a significant issue for analysis of astronomical data. Users at ESO can specify PWV - measured at zenith - as an ambient constraint in service mode to enable, for instance, very demanding observations in the infrared that can only be conducted during periods of very good atmospheric transmission and hence low PWV. We conclude that in general it will not be necessary to add another observing constraint for PWV homogeneity to ensure integrity of observations. For demanding observations requiring very low PWV, where the relative variation is higher, the optimum support could be provided by observing with the LHATPRO in the same line-of-sight simultaneously. Such a mode of operations has already been tested but will have to be

Mechanized syringe homogenization of human and animal tissues.

PubMed

Kurien, Biji T; Porter, Andrew C; Patel, Nisha C; Kurono, Sadamu; Matsumoto, Hiroyuki; Scofield, R Hal

2004-06-01

Tissue homogenization is a prerequisite to any fractionation schedule. A plethora of hands-on methods are available to homogenize tissues. Here we report a mechanized method for homogenizing animal and human tissues rapidly and easily. The Bio-Mixer 1200 (manufactured by Innovative Products, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK) utilizes the back-and-forth movement of two motor-driven disposable syringes, connected to each other through a three-way stopcock, to homogenize animal or human tissue. Using this method, we were able to homogenize human or mouse tissues (brain, liver, heart, and salivary glands) in 5 min. From sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis and a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric enzyme assay for prolidase, we have found that the homogenates obtained were as good or even better than that obtained used a manual glass-on-Teflon (DuPont, Wilmington, DE) homogenization protocol (all-glass tube and Teflon pestle). Use of the Bio-Mixer 1200 to homogenize animal or human tissue precludes the need to stay in the cold room as is the case with the other hands-on homogenization methods available, in addition to freeing up time for other experiments.

Supported Dendrimer-Encapsulated Metal Clusters: Toward Heterogenizing Homogeneous Catalysts

DOE PAGES

Ye, Rong; Zhukhovitskiy, Aleksandr V.; Deraedt, Christophe V.; ...

2017-07-13

Recyclable catalysts, especially those that display selective reactivity, are vital for the development of sustainable chemical processes. Among available catalyst platforms, heterogeneous catalysts are particularly well-disposed toward separation from the reaction mixture via filtration methods, which renders them readily recyclable. Furthermore, heterogeneous catalysts offer numerous handles—some without homogeneous analogues—for performance and selectivity optimization. These handles include nanoparticle size, pore profile of porous supports, surface ligands and interface with oxide supports, and flow rate through a solid catalyst bed. Despite these available handles, however, conventional heterogeneous catalysts are themselves often structurally heterogeneous compared to homogeneous catalysts, which complicates efforts to optimizemore » and expand the scope of their reactivity and selectivity. Ongoing efforts in our laboratories are aimed to address the above challenge by heterogenizing homogeneous catalysts, which can be defined as the modification of homogeneous catalysts to render them in a separable (solid) phase from the starting materials and products. Specifically, we grow the small nanoclusters in dendrimers, a class of uniform polymers with the connectivity of fractal trees and generally radial symmetry. Thanks to their dense multivalency, shape persistence, and structural uniformity, dendrimers have proven to be versatile scaffolds for the synthesis and stabilization of small nanoclusters. Then these dendrimer-encapsulated metal clusters (DEMCs) are adsorbed onto mesoporous silica. Through this method, we have achieved selective transformations that had been challenging to accomplish in a heterogeneous setting, e.g., π-bond activation and aldol reactions. Extensive investigation into the catalytic systems under reaction conditions allowed us to correlate the structural features (e.g., oxidation states) of the catalysts and their activity

Microfluidic converging/diverging channels optimised for homogeneous extensional deformation.

PubMed

Zografos, K; Pimenta, F; Alves, M A; Oliveira, M S N

2016-07-01

In this work, we optimise microfluidic converging/diverging geometries in order to produce constant strain-rates along the centreline of the flow, for performing studies under homogeneous extension. The design is examined for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional flows where the effects of aspect ratio and dimensionless contraction length are investigated. Initially, pressure driven flows of Newtonian fluids under creeping flow conditions are considered, which is a reasonable approximation in microfluidics, and the limits of the applicability of the design in terms of Reynolds numbers are investigated. The optimised geometry is then used for studying the flow of viscoelastic fluids and the practical limitations in terms of Weissenberg number are reported. Furthermore, the optimisation strategy is also applied for electro-osmotic driven flows, where the development of a plug-like velocity profile allows for a wider region of homogeneous extensional deformation in the flow field.

Microfluidic converging/diverging channels optimised for homogeneous extensional deformation

PubMed Central

Zografos, K.; Oliveira, M. S. N.

2016-01-01

In this work, we optimise microfluidic converging/diverging geometries in order to produce constant strain-rates along the centreline of the flow, for performing studies under homogeneous extension. The design is examined for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional flows where the effects of aspect ratio and dimensionless contraction length are investigated. Initially, pressure driven flows of Newtonian fluids under creeping flow conditions are considered, which is a reasonable approximation in microfluidics, and the limits of the applicability of the design in terms of Reynolds numbers are investigated. The optimised geometry is then used for studying the flow of viscoelastic fluids and the practical limitations in terms of Weissenberg number are reported. Furthermore, the optimisation strategy is also applied for electro-osmotic driven flows, where the development of a plug-like velocity profile allows for a wider region of homogeneous extensional deformation in the flow field. PMID:27478523

Stability analysis for virus spreading in complex networks with quarantine and non-homogeneous transition rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alarcon-Ramos, L. A.; Schaum, A.; Rodríguez Lucatero, C.; Bernal Jaquez, R.

2014-03-01

Virus propagations in complex networks have been studied in the framework of discrete time Markov process dynamical systems. These studies have been carried out under the assumption of homogeneous transition rates, yielding conditions for virus extinction in terms of the transition probabilities and the largest eigenvalue of the connectivity matrix. Nevertheless the assumption of homogeneous rates is rather restrictive. In the present study we consider non-homogeneous transition rates, assigned according to a uniform distribution, with susceptible, infected and quarantine states, thus generalizing the previous studies. A remarkable result of this analysis is that the extinction depends on the weakest element in the network. Simulation results are presented for large free-scale networks, that corroborate our theoretical findings.

Photochemical degradation of triazine herbicides - comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysis.

PubMed

Klementova, Sarka; Zlamal, Martin

2013-04-01

Photochemical degradation of atrazine under different conditions was studied and compared, namely degradation via photocatalysis on TiO2, UV C photolysis, and homogeneous photocatalysis in the presence of added ferric ions. The reaction rate constants in heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions on TiO2 and of photolytic degradation by means of UV C light are similar, 0.018 min(-1) and 0.020 min(-1), respectively. The reaction rate constants in homogeneous photocatalytic reactions with Fe(III) added depend strongly on the Fe(III) concentration, 0.0017 min(-1) for 1.6 × 10(-6) mol l(-1) Fe(III) to 0.105 min(-1) for 3.3 × 10(-4) mol l(-1) Fe(III). In all types of reactions, dechlorination was observed; in homogeneous photocatalytic reactions and in UV C (250-300 nm) photolysis, dechlorination proceeds with a 1 : 1 stoichiometry to atrazine degradation, in photocatalytic reactions on TiO2, dechlorination measured as chloride ion release reaches only 1/5 of the substrate degradation. In photocatalytic reactions on TiO2, mineralisation of 40% carbon was observed.

Transonic flow of steam with non-equilibrium and homogenous condensation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virk, Akashdeep Singh; Rusak, Zvi

2017-11-01

A small-disturbance model for studying the physical behavior of a steady transonic flow of steam with non-equilibrium and homogeneous condensation around a thin airfoil is derived. The steam thermodynamic behavior is described by van der Waals equation of state. The water condensation rate is calculated according to classical nucleation and droplet growth models. The current study is based on an asymptotic analysis of the fluid flow and condensation equations and boundary conditions in terms of the small thickness of the airfoil, small angle of attack, closeness of upstream flow Mach number to unity and small amount of condensate. The asymptotic analysis gives the similarity parameters that govern the problem. The flow field may be described by a non-homogeneous transonic small-disturbance equation coupled with a set of four ordinary differential equations for the calculation of the condensate mass fraction. An iterative numerical scheme which combines Murman & Cole's (1971) method with Simpson's integration rule is applied to solve the coupled system of equations. The model is used to study the effects of energy release from condensation on the aerodynamic performance of airfoils operating at high pressures and temperatures and near the vapor-liquid saturation conditions.

Microphysical Modelling of the 1999-2000 Arctic Winter. 3; Impact of Homogeneous Freezing on PSCs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drdla, K.

2003-01-01

Simulations of the 1999-2000 winter have tested the effect on polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) of the homogeneous freezing of liquid ternary solutions into nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) and nitric acid dihydrate (NAD). Proposed laboratory-derived volume-based and surface-based homogeneous freezing rates have both been examined, including different assumptions about the extrapolation of laboratory measurements to atmospheric conditions. Widespread PSC formation and denitrification are possible in several of the scenarios examined. However, the simulations are all unable to explain the solid-phase PSCs observed early in the 1999-2000 winter, and are unable to reproduce the measured extent of vortex denitrification. These problems can both be attributed to the relatively cold temperatures, more than 5 K below the NAT condensation point, necessary for effective homogeneous freezing. Therefore synoptic-scale homogeneous freezing appears unlikely to be the primary mechanism responsible for solid-phase PSC formation.

Determination of protein carbonyls in plasma, cell extracts, tissue homogenates, isolated proteins: Focus on sample preparation and derivatization conditions.

PubMed

Weber, Daniela; Davies, Michael J; Grune, Tilman

2015-08-01

Protein oxidation is involved in regulatory physiological events as well as in damage to tissues and is thought to play a key role in the pathophysiology of diseases and in the aging process. Protein-bound carbonyls represent a marker of global protein oxidation, as they are generated by multiple different reactive oxygen species in blood, tissues and cells. Sample preparation and stabilization are key steps in the accurate quantification of oxidation-related products and examination of physiological/pathological processes. This review therefore focuses on the sample preparation processes used in the most relevant methods to detect protein carbonyls after derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine with an emphasis on measurement in plasma, cells, organ homogenates, isolated proteins and organelles. Sample preparation, derivatization conditions and protein handling are presented for the spectrophotometric and HPLC method as well as for immunoblotting and ELISA. An extensive overview covering these methods in previously published articles is given for researchers who plan to measure protein carbonyls in different samples. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

More homogeneous wind conditions under strong climate change decrease the potential for inter-state balancing of electricity in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohland, Jan; Reyers, Mark; Weber, Juliane; Witthaut, Dirk

2017-11-01

Limiting anthropogenic climate change requires the fast decarbonization of the electricity system. Renewable electricity generation is determined by the weather and is hence subject to climate change. We simulate the operation of a coarse-scale fully renewable European electricity system based on downscaled high-resolution climate data from EURO-CORDEX. Following a high-emission pathway (RCP8.5), we find a robust but modest increase (up to 7 %) of backup energy in Europe through the end of the 21st century. The absolute increase in the backup energy is almost independent of potential grid expansion, leading to the paradoxical effect that relative impacts of climate change increase in a highly interconnected European system. The increase is rooted in more homogeneous wind conditions over Europe resulting in intensified simultaneous generation shortfalls. Individual country contributions to European generation shortfall increase by up to 9 TWh yr-1, reflecting an increase of up to 4 %. Our results are strengthened by comparison with a large CMIP5 ensemble using an approach based on circulation weather types.

Stimulus homogeneity enhances implicit learning: evidence from contextual cueing.

PubMed

Feldmann-Wüstefeld, Tobias; Schubö, Anna

2014-04-01

Visual search for a target object is faster if the target is embedded in a repeatedly presented invariant configuration of distractors ('contextual cueing'). It has also been shown that the homogeneity of a context affects the efficiency of visual search: targets receive prioritized processing when presented in a homogeneous context compared to a heterogeneous context, presumably due to grouping processes at early stages of visual processing. The present study investigated in three Experiments whether context homogeneity also affects contextual cueing. In Experiment 1, context homogeneity varied on three levels of the task-relevant dimension (orientation) and contextual cueing was most pronounced for context configurations with high orientation homogeneity. When context homogeneity varied on three levels of the task-irrelevant dimension (color) and orientation homogeneity was fixed, no modulation of contextual cueing was observed: high orientation homogeneity led to large contextual cueing effects (Experiment 2) and low orientation homogeneity led to low contextual cueing effects (Experiment 3), irrespective of color homogeneity. Enhanced contextual cueing for homogeneous context configurations suggest that grouping processes do not only affect visual search but also implicit learning. We conclude that memory representation of context configurations are more easily acquired when context configurations can be processed as larger, grouped perceptual units. However, this form of implicit perceptual learning is only improved by stimulus homogeneity when stimulus homogeneity facilitates grouping processes on a dimension that is currently relevant in the task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transitions between homogeneous phases of polar active liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dauchot, Olivier; Nguyen Thu Lam, Khanh Dang; Schindler, Michael; EC2M Team; PCT Team

2015-03-01

Polar active liquids, composed of aligning self-propelled particle exhibit large scale collective motion. Simulations of Vicsek-like models of constant-speed point particles, aligning with their neighbors in the presence of noise, have revealed the existence of a transition towards a true long range order polar-motion phase. Generically, the homogenous polar state is unstable; non-linear propagative structures develop; and the transition is discontinuous. The long range dynamics of these systems has been successfully captured using various scheme of kinetic theories. However the complexity of the dynamics close to the transition has somewhat hindered more basics questions. Is there a simple way to predict the existence and the order of a transition to collective motion for a given microscopic dynamics? What would be the physically meaningful and relevant quantity to answer this question? Here, we tackle these questions, restricting ourselves to the study of the homogeneous phases of polar active liquids in the low density limit and obtain a very intuitive understanding of the conditions which particle interaction must satisfy to induce a transition towards collective motion.

Physical Justification for Negative Remanent Magnetization in Homogeneous Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Gu, Shuo; He, Weidong; Zhang, Ming; Zhuang, Taisen; Jin, Yi; ElBidweihy, Hatem; Mao, Yiwu; Dickerson, James H.; Wagner, Michael J.; Torre, Edward Della; Bennett, Lawrence H.

2014-01-01

The phenomenon of negative remanent magnetization (NRM) has been observed experimentally in a number of heterogeneous magnetic systems and has been considered anomalous. The existence of NRM in homogenous magnetic materials is still in debate, mainly due to the lack of compelling support from experimental data and a convincing theoretical explanation for its thermodynamic validation. Here we resolve the long-existing controversy by presenting experimental evidence and physical justification that NRM is real in a prototype homogeneous ferromagnetic nanoparticle, an europium sulfide nanoparticle. We provide novel insights into major and minor hysteresis behavior that illuminate the true nature of the observed inverted hysteresis and validate its thermodynamic permissibility and, for the first time, present counterintuitive magnetic aftereffect behavior that is consistent with the mechanism of magnetization reversal, possessing unique capability to identify NRM. The origin and conditions of NRM are explained quantitatively via a wasp-waist model, in combination of energy calculations. PMID:25183061

Homogenization techniques for population dynamics in strongly heterogeneous landscapes.

PubMed

Yurk, Brian P; Cobbold, Christina A

2018-12-01

An important problem in spatial ecology is to understand how population-scale patterns emerge from individual-level birth, death, and movement processes. These processes, which depend on local landscape characteristics, vary spatially and may exhibit sharp transitions through behavioural responses to habitat edges, leading to discontinuous population densities. Such systems can be modelled using reaction-diffusion equations with interface conditions that capture local behaviour at patch boundaries. In this work we develop a novel homogenization technique to approximate the large-scale dynamics of the system. We illustrate our approach, which also generalizes to multiple species, with an example of logistic growth within a periodic environment. We find that population persistence and the large-scale population carrying capacity is influenced by patch residence times that depend on patch preference, as well as movement rates in adjacent patches. The forms of the homogenized coefficients yield key theoretical insights into how large-scale dynamics arise from the small-scale features.

Nonstationary homogeneous nucleation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harstad, K. G.

1974-01-01

The theory of homogeneous condensation is reviewed and equations describing this process are presented. Numerical computer solutions to transient problems in nucleation (relaxation to steady state) are presented and compared to a prior computation.

Two-Dimensional Homogeneous Fermi Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hueck, Klaus; Luick, Niclas; Sobirey, Lennart; Siegl, Jonas; Lompe, Thomas; Moritz, Henning

2018-02-01

We report on the experimental realization of homogeneous two-dimensional (2D) Fermi gases trapped in a box potential. In contrast to harmonically trapped gases, these homogeneous 2D systems are ideally suited to probe local as well as nonlocal properties of strongly interacting many-body systems. As a first benchmark experiment, we use a local probe to measure the density of a noninteracting 2D Fermi gas as a function of the chemical potential and find excellent agreement with the corresponding equation of state. We then perform matter wave focusing to extract the momentum distribution of the system and directly observe Pauli blocking in a near unity occupation of momentum states. Finally, we measure the momentum distribution of an interacting homogeneous 2D gas in the crossover between attractively interacting fermions and bosonic dimers.

Searching regional rainfall homogeneity using atmospheric fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriele, Salvatore; Chiaravalloti, Francesco

2013-03-01

The correct identification of homogeneous areas in regional rainfall frequency analysis is fundamental to ensure the best selection of the probability distribution and the regional model which produce low bias and low root mean square error of quantiles estimation. In an attempt at rainfall spatial homogeneity, the paper explores a new approach that is based on meteo-climatic information. The results are verified ex-post using standard homogeneity tests applied to the annual maximum daily rainfall series. The first step of the proposed procedure selects two different types of homogeneous large regions: convective macro-regions, which contain high values of the Convective Available Potential Energy index, normally associated with convective rainfall events, and stratiform macro-regions, which are characterized by low values of the Q vector Divergence index, associated with dynamic instability and stratiform precipitation. These macro-regions are identified using Hot Spot Analysis to emphasize clusters of extreme values of the indexes. In the second step, inside each identified macro-region, homogeneous sub-regions are found using kriging interpolation on the mean direction of the Vertically Integrated Moisture Flux. To check the proposed procedure, two detailed examples of homogeneous sub-regions are examined.

A scheme to calculate higher-order homogenization as applied to micro-acoustic boundary value problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vagh, Hardik A.; Baghai-Wadji, Alireza

2008-12-01

Current technological challenges in materials science and high-tech device industry require the solution of boundary value problems (BVPs) involving regions of various scales, e.g. multiple thin layers, fibre-reinforced composites, and nano/micro pores. In most cases straightforward application of standard variational techniques to BVPs of practical relevance necessarily leads to unsatisfactorily ill-conditioned analytical and/or numerical results. To remedy the computational challenges associated with sub-sectional heterogeneities various sophisticated homogenization techniques need to be employed. Homogenization refers to the systematic process of smoothing out the sub-structural heterogeneities, leading to the determination of effective constitutive coefficients. Ordinarily, homogenization involves a sophisticated averaging and asymptotic order analysis to obtain solutions. In the majority of the cases only zero-order terms are constructed due to the complexity of the processes involved. In this paper we propose a constructive scheme for obtaining homogenized solutions involving higher order terms, and thus, guaranteeing higher accuracy and greater robustness of the numerical results. We present

[Characteristics of the glutamate decarboxylase reaction in homogenates of various regions of the rat brain].

PubMed

Rozanov, V A

1987-01-01

The glutamate decarboxylase activity in rough homogenates of cerebellum, cortex and truncal part of the rat brain was studied under different conditions of incubation: in the presence of 25 mM glutamate sodium, 0.4 mM pyridoxal-5'-phosphate and both these components. It is found that the initial glutamate decarboxylase activity in cerebellum homogenates is approximately twice as high as in the cortex and trunk homogenates. Addition of the substrate and cofactor, especially in the combination, stimulates considerably the yield of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the glutamate decarboxylase reaction, the most pronounced activation being observed in the truncal homogenates. The glutamate/GABA relation both initial and after the completion of the reaction is the maximal in the cortex and minimal in the truncal part of the brain. The data obtained evidence for the differences in the content of the GABA-producing enzyme rather than for the presence of the specific mechanisms of the enzyme regulation in different brain areas.

The effects of temperature on nitrous oxide and oxygen mixture homogeneity and stability.

PubMed

Litwin, Patrick D

2010-10-15

For many long standing practices, the rationale for them is often lost as time passes. This is the situation with respect to the storage and handling of equimolar 50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen volume/volume (v/v) mixtures. A review was undertaken of existing literature to examine the developmental history of nitrous oxide and oxygen mixtures for anesthesia and analgesia and to ascertain if sufficient bibliographic data was available to support the position that the contents of a cylinder of a 50%/50% volume/volume (v/v) mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is in a homogenous single gas phase in a filled cylinder under normal conditions of handling and storage and if justification could be found for the standard instructions given for handling before use. After ranking and removing duplicates, a total of fifteen articles were identified by the various search strategies and formed the basis of this literature review. Several studies were identified that confirmed that 50%/50% v/v mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is in a homogenous single gas phase in a filled cylinder under normal conditions of handling and storage. The effect of temperature on the change of phase of the nitrous oxide in this mixture was further examined by several authors. These studies demonstrated that although it is possible to cause condensation and phase separation by cooling the cylinder, by allowing the cylinder to rewarm to room temperature for at least 48 hours, preferably in a horizontal orientation, and inverting it three times before use, the cylinder consistently delivered the proper proportions of the component gases as a homogenous mixture. The contents of a cylinder of a 50%/50% volume/volume (v/v) mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is in a homogenous single gas phase in a filled cylinder under normal conditions of handling and storage. The standard instructions given for handling before are justified based on previously conducted studies.

Quantitative Homogenization in Nonlinear Elasticity for Small Loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neukamm, Stefan; Schäffner, Mathias

2018-04-01

We study quantitative periodic homogenization of integral functionals in the context of nonlinear elasticity. Under suitable assumptions on the energy densities (in particular frame indifference; minimality, non-degeneracy and smoothness at the identity; {p ≥q d} -growth from below; and regularity of the microstructure), we show that in a neighborhood of the set of rotations, the multi-cell homogenization formula of non-convex homogenization reduces to a single-cell formula. The latter can be expressed with the help of correctors. We prove that the homogenized integrand admits a quadratic Taylor expansion in an open neighborhood of the rotations - a result that can be interpreted as the fact that homogenization and linearization commute close to the rotations. Moreover, for small applied loads, we provide an estimate on the homogenization error in terms of a quantitative two-scale expansion.

Comparative analysis of storage conditions and homogenization methods for tick and flea species for identification by MALDI-TOF MS.

PubMed

Nebbak, A; El Hamzaoui, B; Berenger, J-M; Bitam, I; Raoult, D; Almeras, L; Parola, P

2017-12-01

Ticks and fleas are vectors for numerous human and animal pathogens. Controlling them, which is important in combating such diseases, requires accurate identification, to distinguish between vector and non-vector species. Recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was applied to the rapid identification of arthropods. The growth of this promising tool, however, requires guidelines to be established. To this end, standardization protocols were applied to species of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Latreille and Ctenocephalides felis felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) Bouché, including the automation of sample homogenization using two homogenizer devices, and varied sample preservation modes for a period of 1-6 months. The MS spectra were then compared with those obtained from manual pestle grinding, the standard homogenization method. Both automated methods generated intense, reproducible MS spectra from fresh specimens. Frozen storage methods appeared to represent the best preservation mode, for up to 6 months, while storage in ethanol is also possible, with some caveats for tick specimens. Carnoy's buffer, however, was shown to be less compatible with MS analysis for the purpose of identifying ticks or fleas. These standard protocols for MALDI-TOF MS arthropod identification should be complemented by additional MS spectrum quality controls, to generalize their use in monitoring arthropods of medical interest. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

Deviation from equilibrium conditions in molecular dynamic simulations of homogeneous nucleation.

PubMed

Halonen, Roope; Zapadinsky, Evgeni; Vehkamäki, Hanna

2018-04-28

We present a comparison between Monte Carlo (MC) results for homogeneous vapour-liquid nucleation of Lennard-Jones clusters and previously published values from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Both the MC and MD methods sample real cluster configuration distributions. In the MD simulations, the extent of the temperature fluctuation is usually controlled with an artificial thermostat rather than with more realistic carrier gas. In this study, not only a primarily velocity scaling thermostat is considered, but also Nosé-Hoover, Berendsen, and stochastic Langevin thermostat methods are covered. The nucleation rates based on a kinetic scheme and the canonical MC calculation serve as a point of reference since they by definition describe an equilibrated system. The studied temperature range is from T = 0.3 to 0.65 ϵ/k. The kinetic scheme reproduces well the isothermal nucleation rates obtained by Wedekind et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 127, 064501 (2007)] using MD simulations with carrier gas. The nucleation rates obtained by artificially thermostatted MD simulations are consistently lower than the reference nucleation rates based on MC calculations. The discrepancy increases up to several orders of magnitude when the density of the nucleating vapour decreases. At low temperatures, the difference to the MC-based reference nucleation rates in some cases exceeds the maximal nonisothermal effect predicted by classical theory of Feder et al. [Adv. Phys. 15, 111 (1966)].

Deviation from equilibrium conditions in molecular dynamic simulations of homogeneous nucleation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halonen, Roope; Zapadinsky, Evgeni; Vehkamäki, Hanna

2018-04-01

We present a comparison between Monte Carlo (MC) results for homogeneous vapour-liquid nucleation of Lennard-Jones clusters and previously published values from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Both the MC and MD methods sample real cluster configuration distributions. In the MD simulations, the extent of the temperature fluctuation is usually controlled with an artificial thermostat rather than with more realistic carrier gas. In this study, not only a primarily velocity scaling thermostat is considered, but also Nosé-Hoover, Berendsen, and stochastic Langevin thermostat methods are covered. The nucleation rates based on a kinetic scheme and the canonical MC calculation serve as a point of reference since they by definition describe an equilibrated system. The studied temperature range is from T = 0.3 to 0.65 ɛ/k. The kinetic scheme reproduces well the isothermal nucleation rates obtained by Wedekind et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 127, 064501 (2007)] using MD simulations with carrier gas. The nucleation rates obtained by artificially thermostatted MD simulations are consistently lower than the reference nucleation rates based on MC calculations. The discrepancy increases up to several orders of magnitude when the density of the nucleating vapour decreases. At low temperatures, the difference to the MC-based reference nucleation rates in some cases exceeds the maximal nonisothermal effect predicted by classical theory of Feder et al. [Adv. Phys. 15, 111 (1966)].

Homogeneous Freezing of Water Droplets and its Dependence on Droplet Size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, Thea; Möhler, Ottmar; Höhler, Kristina; Leisner, Thomas

2014-05-01

The formulation and parameterisation of microphysical processes in tropospheric clouds, such as phase transitions, is still a challenge for weather and climate models. This includes the homogeneous freezing of supercooled water droplets, since this is an important process in deep convective systems, where almost pure water droplets may stay liquid until homogeneous freezing occurs at temperatures around 238 K. Though the homogeneous ice nucleation in supercooled water is considered to be well understood, recent laboratory experiments with typical cloud droplet sizes showed one to two orders of magnitude smaller nucleation rate coefficients than previous literature results, including earlier results from experiments with single levitated water droplets and from cloud simulation experiments at the AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) facility. This motivated us to re-analyse homogeneous droplet freezing experiments conducted during the previous years at the AIDA cloud chamber. This cloud chamber has a volume of 84m3 and operates under atmospherically relevant conditions within wide ranges of temperature, pressure and humidity, whereby investigations of both tropospheric mixed-phase clouds and cirrus clouds can be realised. By controlled adiabatic expansions, the ascent of an air parcel in the troposphere can be simulated. According to our new results and their comparison to the results from single levitated droplet experiments, the homogeneous freezing of water droplets seems to be a volume-dependent process, at least for droplets as small as a few micrometers in diameter. A contribution of surface induced freezing can be ruled out, in agreement to previous conclusions from the single droplet experiments. The obtained volume nucleation rate coefficients are in good agreement, within error bars, with some previous literature data, including our own results from earlier AIDA experiments, but they do not agree with recently published lower volume

A finite-strain homogenization model for viscoplastic porous single crystals: I - Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Dawei; Ponte Castañeda, P.

2017-10-01

This paper presents a homogenization-based constitutive model for the finite-strain, macroscopic response of porous viscoplastic single crystals. The model accounts explicitly for the evolution of the average lattice orientation, as well as the porosity, average shape and orientation of the voids (and their distribution), by means of appropriate microstructural variables playing the role of internal variables and serving to characterize the evolution of both the "crystallographic" and "morphological" anisotropy of the porous single crystals. The model makes use of the fully optimized second-order variational method of Ponte Castañeda (2015), together with the iterated homogenization approach of Agoras and Ponte Castañeda (2013), to characterize the instantaneous effective response of the porous single crystals with fixed values of the microstructural variables. Consistent homogenization estimates for the average strain rate and vorticity fields in the phases are then used to derive evolution equations for the associated microstructural variables. The model is 100% predictive, requiring no fitting parameters, and applies for porous viscoplastic single crystals with general crystal anisotropy and average void shape and orientation, which are subjected to general loading conditions. In Part II of this work (Song and Ponte Castañeda, 2017a), results for both the instantaneous response and the evolution of the microstructure will be presented for porous FCC and HCP single crystals under a wide range of loading conditions, and good agreement with available FEM results will be shown.

Degradation of S-nitrosocysteine in vascular tissue homogenates: role of divalent ions.

PubMed

Kostka, P; Xu, B; Skiles, E H

1999-04-01

The objective of the study was to inquire about the mechanism(s) involved in the catabolism of S-nitrosothiols by vascular tissue under in vitro conditions. Incubations of S-nitrosocysteine (CYSNO) or S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) with homogenates isolated from porcine aortic smooth muscle resulted in only a marginal depletion of S-nitrosothiols from the reaction mixtures, which became statistically significant at relatively high concentrations of homogenate (> or =300 microg of protein/ml). Degradation of CYSNO (but not GSNO) was found to be potentiated several-fold by millimolar concentrations of either Mg2+ or Ca2+ ions. Under such conditions, the degradation of CYSNO was significantly suppressed by the removal of proteins by ultrafiltration (>80% inhibition) and eliminated completely by the alkylation of thiol groups with 1 mM N-ethylmaleimide. The potentiating effect of divalent ions on the degradation of CYSNO was insensitive to 0.1 mM neocuproine (selective chelator of Cu+ ions), although it was enhanced in the presence of 0.1 mM o-phenanthroline (selective chelator of Fe2+ ions). It is concluded that the degradation of CYSNO by tissue homogenate involves the interaction with protein-bound sulfhydryl groups, which is stimulated by Mg2+ or Ca2+ ions. The potentiating effect of o-phenanthroline suggests that the liberation of the nitrosonium moiety in such a process may be accompanied by its transfer to sulfur center(s) by transient formation of dinitrosyl-iron complexes.

Sensitivity of liquid clouds to homogenous freezing parameterizations.

PubMed

Herbert, Ross J; Murray, Benjamin J; Dobbie, Steven J; Koop, Thomas

2015-03-16

Water droplets in some clouds can supercool to temperatures where homogeneous ice nucleation becomes the dominant freezing mechanism. In many cloud resolving and mesoscale models, it is assumed that homogeneous ice nucleation in water droplets only occurs below some threshold temperature typically set at -40°C. However, laboratory measurements show that there is a finite rate of nucleation at warmer temperatures. In this study we use a parcel model with detailed microphysics to show that cloud properties can be sensitive to homogeneous ice nucleation as warm as -30°C. Thus, homogeneous ice nucleation may be more important for cloud development, precipitation rates, and key cloud radiative parameters than is often assumed. Furthermore, we show that cloud development is particularly sensitive to the temperature dependence of the nucleation rate. In order to better constrain the parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation laboratory measurements are needed at both high (>-35°C) and low (<-38°C) temperatures. Homogeneous freezing may be significant as warm as -30°CHomogeneous freezing should not be represented by a threshold approximationThere is a need for an improved parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation.

Homogenization analysis of invasion dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes with differential bias and motility.

PubMed

Yurk, Brian P

2018-07-01

Animal movement behaviors vary spatially in response to environmental heterogeneity. An important problem in spatial ecology is to determine how large-scale population growth and dispersal patterns emerge within highly variable landscapes. We apply the method of homogenization to study the large-scale behavior of a reaction-diffusion-advection model of population growth and dispersal. Our model includes small-scale variation in the directed and random components of movement and growth rates, as well as large-scale drift. Using the homogenized model we derive simple approximate formulas for persistence conditions and asymptotic invasion speeds, which are interpreted in terms of residence index. The homogenization results show good agreement with numerical solutions for environments with a high degree of fragmentation, both with and without periodicity at the fast scale. The simplicity of the formulas, and their connection to residence index make them appealing for studying the large-scale effects of a variety of small-scale movement behaviors.

Conditional dissipation of scalars in homogeneous turbulence: Closure for MMC modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wandel, Andrew P.

2013-08-01

While the mean and unconditional variance are to be predicted well by any reasonable turbulent combustion model, these are generally not sufficient for the accurate modelling of complex phenomena such as extinction/reignition. An additional criterion has been recently introduced: accurate modelling of the dissipation timescales associated with fluctuations of scalars about their conditional mean (conditional dissipation timescales). Analysis of Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results for a passive scalar shows that the conditional dissipation timescale is of the order of the integral timescale and smaller than the unconditional dissipation timescale. A model is proposed: the conditional dissipation timescale is proportional to the integral timescale. This model is used in Multiple Mapping Conditioning (MMC) modelling for a passive scalar case and a reactive scalar case, comparing to DNS results for both. The results show that this model improves the accuracy of MMC predictions so as to match the DNS results more closely using a relatively-coarse spatial resolution compared to other turbulent combustion models.

Evaluation of a locally homogeneous flow model of spray combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mao, C. P.; Szekely, G. A., Jr.; Faeth, G. M.

1980-01-01

A model of spray combustion which employs a second-order turbulence model was developed. The assumption of locally homogeneous flow is made, implying infinitely fast transport rates between the phase. Measurements to test the model were completed for a gaseous n-propane flame and an air atomized n-pentane spray flame, burning in stagnant air at atmospheric pressure. Profiles of mean velocity and temperature, as well as velocity fluctuations and Reynolds stress, were measured in the flames. The predictions for the gas flame were in excellent agreement with the measurements. The predictions for the spray were qualitatively correct, but effects of finite rate interphase transport were evident, resulting in a overstimation of the rate development of the flow. Predictions of spray penetration length at high pressures, including supercritical combustion conditions, were also completed for comparison with earlier measurements. Test conditions involved a pressure atomized n-pentane spray, burning in stagnant air at pressures of 3, 5, and 9 MPa. The comparison between predictions and measurements was fair. This is not a very sensitive test of the model, however, and further high pressure experimental and theoretical results are needed before a satisfactory assessment of the locally homogeneous flow approximation can be made.

Gravitational influences on the liquid-state homogenization and solidification of aluminum antimonide. [space processing of solar cell material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ang, C.-Y.; Lacy, L. L.

1979-01-01

Typical commercial or laboratory-prepared samples of polycrystalline AlSb contain microstructural inhomogeneities of Al- or Sb-rich phases in addition to the primary AlSb grains. The paper reports on gravitational influences, such as density-driven convection or sedimentation, that cause microscopic phase separation and nonequilibrium conditions to exist in earth-based melts of AlSb. A triple-cavity electric furnace is used to homogenize the multiphase AlSb samples in space and on earth. A comparative characterization of identically processed low- and one-gravity samples of commercial AlSb reveals major improvements in the homogeneity of the low-gravity homogenized material.

High-temperature viscoelastic creep constitutive equations for polymer composites: Homogenization theory and experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skontorp, A.; Wang, S.S.; Shibuya, Y.

1994-12-31

In this paper, a homogenization theory is developed to determine high-temperature effective viscoelastic constitutive equations for fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The homogenization theory approximates the microstructure of a fiber composite, and determine simultaneously effective macroscopic constitutive properties of the composite and the associated microscopic strain and stress in the heterogeneous material. The time-temperature dependent homogenization theory requires that the viscoelastic constituent properties of the matrix phase at elevated temperatures, the governing equations for the composites, and the boundary conditions of the problem be Laplace transformed to a conjugate problem. The homogenized effective properties in the transformed domain are determined, using amore » two-scale asymptotic expansion of field variables and an averaging procedure. Field solutions in the unit cell are determined from basic and first-order governing equations with the aid of a boundary integral method (BIM). Effective viscoelastic constitutive properties of the composite at elevated temperatures are determined by an inverse transformation, as are the microscopic stress and deformation in the composite. Using this method, interactions among fibers and between the fibers and the matrix can be evaluated explicitly, resulting in accurate solutions for composites with high-volume fraction of reinforcing fibers. Examples are given for the case of a carbon-fiber reinforced thermoplastic polyamide composite in an elevated temperature environment. The homogenization predictions are in good agreement with experimental data available for the composite.« less

Modeling the turbulent kinetic energy equation for compressible, homogeneous turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aupoix, B.; Blaisdell, G. A.; Reynolds, William C.; Zeman, Otto

1990-01-01

The turbulent kinetic energy transport equation, which is the basis of turbulence models, is investigated for homogeneous, compressible turbulence using direct numerical simulations performed at CTR. It is shown that the partition between dilatational and solenoidal modes is very sensitive to initial conditions for isotropic decaying turbulence but not for sheared flows. The importance of the dilatational dissipation and of the pressure-dilatation term is evidenced from simulations and a transport equation is proposed to evaluate the pressure-dilatation term evolution. This transport equation seems to work well for sheared flows but does not account for initial condition sensitivity in isotropic decay. An improved model is proposed.

Evaluation of experimental parameters for growth of homogeneous solid solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheel, Hans J.; Swendsen, Robert H.

2001-12-01

In this paper, we discuss the experimental conditions required to grow large two-component crystals from homogeneous solid solutions. Building on the work of Burton, Prim, and Slichter and that of Van Erk, we are able to establish that the concentration fluctuations for diffusion-limited growth are rather insensitive to hydrodynamic fluctuations. This enables a crystal grower to take advantage of forced convection to optimize growth rates without aggravating the striation problem.

Theoretical and Experimental Methods in Hypersonic Flows (Les Methodes Theoriques et Experimentales pour l’Etude Des Ecoulements Hypersoniques)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

PROCEEDINGS 514 OELECTE f Theoretical and A U Experimental Methods in A Hypersonic Flows (Les Methodes Th6oriques et Experimentales pour 1’Etude des...nitrogen ent for both equilibrium and non -equilibrium chemistry between the two groups . Both groups state that the boundary makes this mode even more...flowfield on control is also m?,ndatory unstable due to the necessary oblate shape of Hermes. when the experimental rebuilding is clearly poor and

Homogenization patterns of the world's freshwater fish faunas.

PubMed

Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

2011-11-01

The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the "Homogocene era" is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes.

Homogeneous ice nucleation from aqueous inorganic/organic particles representative of biomass burning: water activity, freezing temperatures, nucleation rates.

PubMed

Knopf, Daniel A; Rigg, Yannick J

2011-02-10

Homogeneous ice nucleation plays an important role in the formation of cirrus clouds with subsequent effects on the global radiative budget. Here we report on homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures and corresponding nucleation rate coefficients of aqueous droplets serving as surrogates of biomass burning aerosol. Micrometer-sized (NH(4))(2)SO(4)/levoglucosan droplets with mass ratios of 10:1, 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10 and aqueous multicomponent organic droplets with and without (NH(4))(2)SO(4) under typical tropospheric temperatures and relative humidities are investigated experimentally using a droplet conditioning and ice nucleation apparatus coupled to an optical microscope with image analysis. Homogeneous freezing was determined as a function of temperature and water activity, a(w), which was set at droplet preparation conditions. The ice nucleation data indicate that minor addition of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) to the aqueous organic droplets renders the temperature dependency of water activity negligible in contrast to the case of aqueous organic solution droplets. The mean homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient derived from 8 different aqueous droplet compositions with average diameters of ∼60 μm for temperatures as low as 195 K and a(w) of 0.82-1 is 2.18 × 10(6) cm(-3) s(-1). The experimentally derived freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficients are in agreement with predictions of the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory when taking predictive uncertainties into account. However, the presented ice nucleation data indicate that the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory overpredicts the freezing temperatures by up to 3 K and corresponding ice nucleation rate coefficients by up to ∼2 orders of magnitude. A shift of 0.01 in a(w), which is well within the uncertainty of typical field and laboratory relative humidity measurements, brings experimental and predicted freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice

Homogenization of Doppler broadening in spin-noise spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, M. Yu.; Ryzhov, I. I.; Smirnov, D. S.; Belyaev, L. Yu.; Potekhin, R. A.; Glazov, M. M.; Kulyasov, V. N.; Kozlov, G. G.; Aleksandrov, E. B.; Zapasskii, V. S.

2018-03-01

The spin-noise spectroscopy, being a nonperturbative linear optics tool, is still reputed to reveal a number of capabilities specific to nonlinear optics techniques. The effect of the Doppler broadening homogenization discovered in this work essentially widens these unique properties of spin-noise spectroscopy. We investigate spin noise of a classical system—cesium atoms vapor with admixture of buffer gas—by measuring the spin-induced Faraday rotation fluctuations in the region of D 2 line. The line, under our experimental conditions, is strongly inhomogeneously broadened due to the Doppler effect. Despite that, optical spectrum of the spin-noise power has the shape typical for the homogeneously broadened line with a dip at the line center. This fact is in stark contrast with the results of previous studies of inhomogeneous quantum dot ensembles and Doppler broadened atomic systems. In addition, the two-color spin-noise measurements have shown, in a highly spectacular way, that fluctuations of the Faraday rotation within the line are either correlated or anticorrelated depending on whether the two wavelengths lie on the same side or on different sides of the resonance. The experimental data are interpreted in the frame of the developed theoretical model which takes into account both kinetics and spin dynamics of Cs atoms. It is shown that the unexpected behavior of the Faraday rotation noise spectra and effective homogenization of the optical transition in the spin-noise measurements are related to smallness of the momentum relaxation time of the atoms as compared with their spin-relaxation time. Our findings demonstrate abilities of spin-noise spectroscopy for studying dynamic properties of inhomogeneously broadened ensembles of randomly moving spins.

Data on the effect of homogenization heat treatments on the cast structure and tensile properties of alloy 718Plus in the presence of grain-boundary elements.

PubMed

Hosseini, Seyed Ali; Madar, Karim Zangeneh; Abbasi, Seyed Mehdi

2017-08-01

The segregation of the elements during solidification and the direct formation of destructive phases such as Laves from the liquid, result in in-homogeneity of the cast structure and degradation of mechanical properties. Homogenization heat treatment is one of the ways to eliminate destructive Laves from the cast structure of superalloys such as 718Plus. The collected data presents the effect of homogenization treatment conditions on the cast structure, hardness, and tensile properties of the alloy 718Plus in the presence of boron and zirconium additives. For this purpose, five alloys with different contents of boron and zirconium were cast by VIM/VAR process and then were homogenized at various conditions. The microstructural investigation by OM and SEM and phase analysis by XRD were done and then hardness and tensile tests were performed on the homogenized alloys.

Homogenization of regional river dynamics by dams and global biodiversity implications.

PubMed

Poff, N Leroy; Olden, Julian D; Merritt, David M; Pepin, David M

2007-04-03

Global biodiversity in river and riparian ecosystems is generated and maintained by geographic variation in stream processes and fluvial disturbance regimes, which largely reflect regional differences in climate and geology. Extensive construction of dams by humans has greatly dampened the seasonal and interannual streamflow variability of rivers, thereby altering natural dynamics in ecologically important flows on continental to global scales. The cumulative effects of modification to regional-scale environmental templates caused by dams is largely unexplored but of critical conservation importance. Here, we use 186 long-term streamflow records on intermediate-sized rivers across the continental United States to show that dams have homogenized the flow regimes on third- through seventh-order rivers in 16 historically distinctive hydrologic regions over the course of the 20th century. This regional homogenization occurs chiefly through modification of the magnitude and timing of ecologically critical high and low flows. For 317 undammed reference rivers, no evidence for homogenization was found, despite documented changes in regional precipitation over this period. With an estimated average density of one dam every 48 km of third- through seventh-order river channel in the United States, dams arguably have a continental scale effect of homogenizing regionally distinct environmental templates, thereby creating conditions that favor the spread of cosmopolitan, nonindigenous species at the expense of locally adapted native biota. Quantitative analyses such as ours provide the basis for conservation and management actions aimed at restoring and maintaining native biodiversity and ecosystem function and resilience for regionally distinct ecosystems at continental to global scales.

Enhanced photovoltaic properties of perovskite solar cells by TiO2 homogeneous hybrid structure.

PubMed

Su, Pengyu; Fu, Wuyou; Yao, Huizhen; Liu, Li; Ding, Dong; Feng, Fei; Feng, Shuang; Xue, Yebin; Liu, Xizhe; Yang, Haibin

2017-10-01

In this paper, we fabricated a TiO 2 homogeneous hybrid structure for application in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under ambient conditions. Under the standard air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5G) illumination, PSCs based on homogeneous hybrid structure present a maximum power conversion efficiency of 5.39% which is higher than that of pure TiO 2 nanosheets. The enhanced properties can be explained by the better contact of TiO 2 nanosheets/nanoparticles with CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 and fewer pinholes in electron transport materials. The advent of such unique structure opens up new avenues for the future development of high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.

A homogenization approach for characterization of the fluid-solid coupling parameters in Biot's equations for acoustic poroelastic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, K.; van Dommelen, J. A. W.; Göransson, P.; Geers, M. G. D.

2015-09-01

In this paper, a homogenization method is proposed to obtain the parameters of Biot's poroelastic theory from a multiscale perspective. It is assumed that the behavior of a macroscopic material point can be captured through the response of a microscopic Representative Volume Element (RVE) consisting of both a solid skeleton and a gaseous fluid. The macroscopic governing equations are assumed to be Biot's poroelastic equations and the RVE is governed by the conservation of linear momentum and the adopted linear constitutive laws under the isothermal condition. With boundary conditions relying on the macroscopic solid displacement and fluid pressure, the homogenized solid stress and fluid displacement are obtained based on energy consistency. This homogenization framework offers an approach to obtain Biot's parameters directly through the response of the RVE in the regime of Darcy's flow where the pressure gradient is dominating. A numerical experiment is performed in the form of a sound absorption test on a porous material with an idealized partially open microstructure that is described by Biot's equations where the parameters are obtained through the proposed homogenization approach. The result is evaluated by comparison with Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), showing a superior performance of this approach compared to an alternative semi-phenomenological model for estimating Biot's parameters of the studied porous material.

Cosmic homogeneity: a spectroscopic and model-independent measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonçalves, R. S.; Carvalho, G. C.; Bengaly, C. A. P., Jr.; Carvalho, J. C.; Bernui, A.; Alcaniz, J. S.; Maartens, R.

2018-03-01

Cosmology relies on the Cosmological Principle, i.e. the hypothesis that the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. This implies in particular that the counts of galaxies should approach a homogeneous scaling with volume at sufficiently large scales. Testing homogeneity is crucial to obtain a correct interpretation of the physical assumptions underlying the current cosmic acceleration and structure formation of the Universe. In this letter, we use the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey to make the first spectroscopic and model-independent measurements of the angular homogeneity scale θh. Applying four statistical estimators, we show that the angular distribution of galaxies in the range 0.46 < z < 0.62 is consistent with homogeneity at large scales, and that θh varies with redshift, indicating a smoother Universe in the past. These results are in agreement with the foundations of the standard cosmological paradigm.

A numerical homogenization method for heterogeneous, anisotropic elastic media based on multiscale theory

DOE PAGES

Gao, Kai; Chung, Eric T.; Gibson, Richard L.; ...

2015-06-05

The development of reliable methods for upscaling fine scale models of elastic media has long been an important topic for rock physics and applied seismology. Several effective medium theories have been developed to provide elastic parameters for materials such as finely layered media or randomly oriented or aligned fractures. In such cases, the analytic solutions for upscaled properties can be used for accurate prediction of wave propagation. However, such theories cannot be applied directly to homogenize elastic media with more complex, arbitrary spatial heterogeneity. We therefore propose a numerical homogenization algorithm based on multiscale finite element methods for simulating elasticmore » wave propagation in heterogeneous, anisotropic elastic media. Specifically, our method used multiscale basis functions obtained from a local linear elasticity problem with appropriately defined boundary conditions. Homogenized, effective medium parameters were then computed using these basis functions, and the approach applied a numerical discretization that is similar to the rotated staggered-grid finite difference scheme. Comparisons of the results from our method and from conventional, analytical approaches for finely layered media showed that the homogenization reliably estimated elastic parameters for this simple geometry. Additional tests examined anisotropic models with arbitrary spatial heterogeneity where the average size of the heterogeneities ranged from several centimeters to several meters, and the ratio between the dominant wavelength and the average size of the arbitrary heterogeneities ranged from 10 to 100. Comparisons to finite-difference simulations proved that the numerical homogenization was equally accurate for these complex cases.« less

Spatial variability in acoustic backscatter as an indicator of tissue homogenate production in pulsed cavitational ultrasound therapy.

PubMed

Parsons, Jessica E; Cain, Charles A; Fowlkes, J Brian

2007-03-01

Spatial variability in acoustic backscatter is investigated as a potential feedback metric for assessment of lesion morphology during cavitation-mediated mechanical tissue disruption ("histotripsy"). A 750-kHz annular array was aligned confocally with a 4.5 MHz passive backscatter receiver during ex vivo insonation of porcine myocardium. Various exposure conditions were used to elicit a range of damage morphologies and backscatter characteristics [pulse duration = 14 micros, pulse repetition frequency (PRF) = 0.07-3.1 kHz, average I(SPPA) = 22-44 kW/cm2]. Variability in backscatter spatial localization was quantified by tracking the lag required to achieve peak correlation between sequential RF A-lines received. Mean spatial variability was observed to be significantly higher when damage morphology consisted of mechanically disrupted tissue homogenate versus mechanically intact coagulation necrosis (2.35 +/- 1.59 mm versus 0.067 +/- 0.054 mm, p < 0.025). Statistics from these variability distributions were used as the basis for selecting a threshold variability level to identify the onset of homogenate formation via an abrupt, sustained increase in spatially dynamic backscatter activity. Specific indices indicative of the state of the homogenization process were quantified as a function of acoustic input conditions. The prevalence of backscatter spatial variability was observed to scale with the amount of homogenate produced for various PRFs and acoustic intensities.

Cosmological models with homogeneous and isotropic spatial sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katanaev, M. O.

2017-05-01

The assumption that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic is the basis for the majority of modern cosmological models. We give an example of a metric all of whose spatial sections are spaces of constant curvature but the space-time is nevertheless not homogeneous and isotropic as a whole. We give an equivalent definition of a homogeneous and isotropic universe in terms of embedded manifolds.

Transmission of hemic neoplasia in the bay mussel, Mytilus edulis, using whole cells and cell homogenate.

PubMed

Elston, R A; Kent, M L; Drum, A S

1988-01-01

Experimental studies with hemic neoplasia in the bay mussel indicated that the condition can be transmitted allogeneically with intact whole cells and cell-free homogenate. A differential pathogenesis of the disease in mussels receiving the two different inocula supports the argument that actual cell transplantation occurred. In addition to the first demonstration of the infectious nature of the disease with cell-free homogenates, it was also shown that the disease is transmitted by cohabitation. Remission of the disease occurred in some mussels indicating individual variation in recognition mechanisms.

Homogeneity and Entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tignanelli, H. L.; Vazquez, R. A.; Mostaccio, C.; Gordillo, S.; Plastino, A.

1990-11-01

RESUMEN. Presentamos una metodologia de analisis de la homogeneidad a partir de la Teoria de la Informaci6n, aplicable a muestras de datos observacionales. ABSTRACT:Standard concepts that underlie Information Theory are employed in order design a methodology that enables one to analyze the homogeneity of a given data sample. Key : DATA ANALYSIS

Homogeneous Atomic Fermi Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Biswaroop; Yan, Zhenjie; Patel, Parth B.; Hadzibabic, Zoran; Yefsah, Tarik; Struck, Julian; Zwierlein, Martin W.

2017-03-01

We report on the creation of homogeneous Fermi gases of ultracold atoms in a uniform potential. In the momentum distribution of a spin-polarized gas, we observe the emergence of the Fermi surface and the saturated occupation of one particle per momentum state: the striking consequence of Pauli blocking in momentum space for a degenerate gas. Cooling a spin-balanced Fermi gas at unitarity, we create homogeneous superfluids and observe spatially uniform pair condensates. For thermodynamic measurements, we introduce a hybrid potential that is harmonic in one dimension and uniform in the other two. The spatially resolved compressibility reveals the superfluid transition in a spin-balanced Fermi gas, saturation in a fully polarized Fermi gas, and strong attraction in the polaronic regime of a partially polarized Fermi gas.

Enzymatic production of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine from crayfish shell wastes pretreated via high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Wei, Guoguang; Zhang, Alei; Chen, Kequan; Ouyang, Pingkai

2017-09-01

This study presents an efficient pretreatment of crayfish shell using high pressure homogenization that enables N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) production by chitinase. Firstly, the chitinase from Serratia proteamaculans NJ303 was screened for its ability to degrade crayfish shell and produce GlcNAc as the sole product. Secondly, high pressure homogenization, which caused the crayfish shell to adopt a fluffy netted structure that was characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), was evaluated as the best pretreatment method. In addition, the optimal conditions of high pressure homogenization of crayfish shell were determined to be five cycles at a pressure of 400bar, which achieved a yield of 3.9g/L of GlcNAc from 25g/L of crayfish shell in a batch enzymatic reaction over 1.5h. The results showed high pressure homogenization might be an efficient method for direct utilization of crayfish shell for enzymatic production of GlcNAc. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sewage sludge disintegration by high-pressure homogenization: a sludge disintegration model.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuxuan; Zhang, Panyue; Ma, Boqiang; Wu, Hao; Zhang, Sheng; Xu, Xin

2012-01-01

High-pressure homogenization (HPH) technology was applied as a pretreatment to disintegrate sewage sludge. The effects of homogenization pressure, homogenization cycle number, and total solid content on sludge disintegration were investigated. The sludge disintegration degree (DD(COD)), protein concentration, and polysaccharide concentration increased with the increase of homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle number, and decreased with the increase of sludge total solid (TS) content. The maximum DD(COD) of 43.94% was achieved at 80 MPa with four homogenization cycles for a 9.58 g/L TS sludge sample. A HPH sludge disintegration model of DD(COD) = kNaPb was established by multivariable linear regression to quantify the effects of homogenization parameters. The homogenization cycle exponent a and homogenization pressure exponent b were 0.4763 and 0.7324 respectively, showing that the effect of homogenization pressure (P) was more significant than that of homogenization cycle number (N). The value of the rate constant k decreased with the increase of sludge total solid content. The specific energy consumption increased with the increment of sludge disintegration efficiency. Lower specific energy consumption was required for higher total solid content sludge.

Inactivation of Bacillus spores inoculated in milk by Ultra High Pressure Homogenization.

PubMed

Amador Espejo, Genaro Gustavo; Hernández-Herrero, M M; Juan, B; Trujillo, A J

2014-12-01

Ultra High-Pressure Homogenization treatments at 300 MPa with inlet temperatures (Ti) of 55, 65, 75 and 85 °C were applied to commercial Ultra High Temperature treated whole milk inoculated with Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus sporothermodurans, Bacillus coagulans, Geobacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis spores in order to evaluate the inactivation level achieved. Ultra High-Pressure Homogenization conditions at 300 MPa with Ti = 75 and 85 °C were capable of a spore inactivation of ∼5 log CFU/mL. Furthermore, under these processing conditions, commercial sterility (evaluated as the complete inactivation of the inoculated spores) was obtained in milk, with the exception of G. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis treated at 300 MPa with Ti = 75 °C. The results showed that G. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis have higher resistance to the Ultra High-Pressure Homogenization treatments applied than the other microorganisms inoculated and that a treatment performed at 300 MPa with Ti = 85 °C was necessary to completely inactivate these microorganisms at the spore level inoculated (∼1 × 10(6) CFU/mL). Besides, a change in the resistance of B. licheniformis, B. sporothermodurans, G. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis spores was observed as the inactivation obtained increased remarkably in treatments performed with Ti between 65 and 75 °C. This study provides important evidence of the suitability of UHPH technology for the inactivation of spores in high numbers, leading to the possibility of obtaining commercially sterile milk. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced photovoltaic properties of perovskite solar cells by TiO2 homogeneous hybrid structure

PubMed Central

Su, Pengyu; Yao, Huizhen; Liu, Li; Ding, Dong; Feng, Fei; Feng, Shuang; Xue, Yebin; Liu, Xizhe; Yang, Haibin

2017-01-01

In this paper, we fabricated a TiO2 homogeneous hybrid structure for application in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under ambient conditions. Under the standard air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5G) illumination, PSCs based on homogeneous hybrid structure present a maximum power conversion efficiency of 5.39% which is higher than that of pure TiO2 nanosheets. The enhanced properties can be explained by the better contact of TiO2 nanosheets/nanoparticles with CH3NH3PbI3 and fewer pinholes in electron transport materials. The advent of such unique structure opens up new avenues for the future development of high-efficiency photovoltaic cells. PMID:29134092

Control Synthesis of Discrete-Time T-S Fuzzy Systems via a Multi-Instant Homogenous Polynomial Approach.

PubMed

Xie, Xiangpeng; Yue, Dong; Zhang, Huaguang; Xue, Yusheng

2016-03-01

This paper deals with the problem of control synthesis of discrete-time Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems by employing a novel multiinstant homogenous polynomial approach. A new multiinstant fuzzy control scheme and a new class of fuzzy Lyapunov functions, which are homogenous polynomially parameter-dependent on both the current-time normalized fuzzy weighting functions and the past-time normalized fuzzy weighting functions, are proposed for implementing the object of relaxed control synthesis. Then, relaxed stabilization conditions are derived with less conservatism than existing ones. Furthermore, the relaxation quality of obtained stabilization conditions is further ameliorated by developing an efficient slack variable approach, which presents a multipolynomial dependence on the normalized fuzzy weighting functions at the current and past instants of time. Two simulation examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the results developed in this paper.

Gauge Fields in Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Cosmologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darian, Bahman K.

Despite its formidable appearance, the study of classical Yang-Mills (YM) fields on homogeneous cosmologies is amenable to a formal treatment. This dissertation is a report on a systematic approach to the general construction of invariant YM fields on homogeneous cosmologies undertaken for the first time in this context. This construction is subsequently followed by the investigation of the behavior of YM field variables for the most simple of self-gravitating YM fields. Particularly interesting was a dynamical system analysis and the discovery of chaotic signature in the axially symmetric Bianchi I-YM cosmology. Homogeneous YM fields are well studied and are known to have chaotic properties. The chaotic behavior of YM field variables in homogeneous cosmologies might eventually lead to an invariant definition of chaos in (general) relativistic cosmological models. By choosing the gauge fields to be Abelian, the construction and the field equations presented so far reduce to that of electromagnetic field in homogeneous cosmologies. A perturbative analysis of gravitationally interacting electromagnetic and scalar fields in inhomogeneous cosmologies is performed via the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of general relativity. An essential feature of this analysis is the spatial gradient expansion of the generating functional (Hamilton principal function) to solve the Hamiltonian constraint. Perturbations of a spatially flat Friedman-Robertson-Walker cosmology with an exponential potential for the scalar field are presented.

Homogenization of Large-Scale Movement Models in Ecology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garlick, M.J.; Powell, J.A.; Hooten, M.B.; McFarlane, L.R.

2011-01-01

A difficulty in using diffusion models to predict large scale animal population dispersal is that individuals move differently based on local information (as opposed to gradients) in differing habitat types. This can be accommodated by using ecological diffusion. However, real environments are often spatially complex, limiting application of a direct approach. Homogenization for partial differential equations has long been applied to Fickian diffusion (in which average individual movement is organized along gradients of habitat and population density). We derive a homogenization procedure for ecological diffusion and apply it to a simple model for chronic wasting disease in mule deer. Homogenization allows us to determine the impact of small scale (10-100 m) habitat variability on large scale (10-100 km) movement. The procedure generates asymptotic equations for solutions on the large scale with parameters defined by small-scale variation. The simplicity of this homogenization procedure is striking when compared to the multi-dimensional homogenization procedure for Fickian diffusion,and the method will be equally straightforward for more complex models. ?? 2010 Society for Mathematical Biology.

[Growth Factors and Interleukins in Amniotic Membrane Tissue Homogenate].

PubMed

Stachon, T; Bischoff, M; Seitz, B; Huber, M; Zawada, M; Langenbucher, A; Szentmáry, N

2015-07-01

Application of amniotic membrane homogenate eye drops may be a potential treatment alternative for therapy resistant corneal epithelial defects. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor basic (bFGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in amniotic membrane homogenates. Amniotic membranes of 8 placentas were prepared and thereafter stored at - 80 °C using the standard methods of the LIONS Cornea Bank Saar-Lor-Lux, Trier/Westpfalz. Following defreezing, amniotic membranes were cut in two pieces and homogenized in liquid nitrogen. One part of the homogenate was prepared in cell-lysis buffer, the other part was prepared in PBS. The tissue homogenates were stored at - 20 °C until enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis for EGF, bFGF, HGF, KGF, IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations. Concentrations of KGF, IL-6 and IL-8 were below the detection limit using both preparation techniques. The EGF concentration in tissue homogenates treated with cell-lysis buffer (2412 pg/g tissue) was not significantly different compared to that of tissue homogenates treated with PBS (1586 pg/g tissue, p = 0.72). bFGF release was also not significantly different using cell-lysis buffer (3606 pg/g tissue) or PBS treated tissue homogenates (4649 pg/g tissue, p = 0.35). HGF release was significantly lower using cell-lysis buffer (23,555 pg/g tissue), compared to PBS treated tissue (47,766 pg/g tissue, p = 0.007). Containing EGF, bFGF and HGF, and lacking IL-6 and IL-8, the application of amniotic membrane homogenate eye drops may be a potential treatment alternative for therapy-resistant corneal epithelial defects. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Numerical investigation of homogeneous cavitation nucleation in a microchannel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Xiuxiu; Pan, Shucheng; Hu, Xiangyu; Adams, Nikolaus A.

2018-06-01

The physics of nucleation in water is an important issue for many areas, ranging from biomedical to engineering applications. Within the present study, we investigate numerically homogeneous nucleation in a microchannel induced by shock reflection to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of homogeneous nucleation. The liquid expands due to the reflected shock and homogeneous cavitation nuclei are generated. An Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is employed for modeling this process in a microchanel. Two-dimensional axisymmetric Euler equations are solved for obtaining the time evolution of shock, gas bubble, and the ambient fluid. The dynamics of dispersed vapor bubbles is coupled with the surrounding fluid in a Lagrangian framework, describing bubble location and bubble size variation. Our results reproduce nuclei distributions at different stages of homogeneous nucleation and are in good agreement with experimental results. We obtain numerical data for the negative pressure that water can sustain under the process of homogeneous nucleation. An energy transformation description for the homogeneous nucleation inside a microchannel flow is derived and analyzed in detail.

Anthropogenic disturbance homogenizes seagrass fish communities.

PubMed

Iacarella, Josephine C; Adamczyk, Emily; Bowen, Dan; Chalifour, Lia; Eger, Aaron; Heath, William; Helms, Sibylla; Hessing-Lewis, Margot; Hunt, Brian P V; MacInnis, Andrew; O'Connor, Mary I; Robinson, Clifford L K; Yakimishyn, Jennifer; Baum, Julia K

2018-05-01

Anthropogenic activities have led to the biotic homogenization of many ecological communities, yet in coastal systems this phenomenon remains understudied. In particular, activities that locally affect marine habitat-forming foundation species may perturb habitat and promote species with generalist, opportunistic traits, in turn affecting spatial patterns of biodiversity. Here, we quantified fish diversity in seagrass communities across 89 sites spanning 6° latitude along the Pacific coast of Canada, to test the hypothesis that anthropogenic disturbances homogenize (i.e., lower beta-diversity) assemblages within coastal ecosystems. We test for patterns of biotic homogenization at sites within different anthropogenic disturbance categories (low, medium, and high) at two spatial scales (within and across regions) using both abundance- and incidence-based beta-diversity metrics. Our models provide clear evidence that fish communities in high anthropogenic disturbance seagrass areas are homogenized relative to those in low disturbance areas. These results were consistent across within-region comparisons using abundance- and incidence-based measures of beta-diversity, and in across-region comparisons using incidence-based measures. Physical and biotic characteristics of seagrass meadows also influenced fish beta-diversity. Biotic habitat characteristics including seagrass biomass and shoot density were more differentiated among high disturbance sites, potentially indicative of a perturbed environment. Indicator species and trait analyses revealed fishes associated with low disturbance sites had characteristics including stenotopy, lower swimming ability, and egg guarding behavior. Our study is the first to show biotic homogenization of fishes across seagrass meadows within areas of relatively high human impact. These results support the importance of targeting conservation efforts in low anthropogenic disturbance areas across land- and seascapes, as well as managing

Homogeneity requirements for minimizing self-focusing damage by strong electromagnetic waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jokipii, J. R.; Marburger, J.

1973-01-01

The Rytov approximation for wave propagation in random media is generalized to include the effects of self-focusing. Solutions are obtained which show how the intensity fluctuations, which are either initially present in the wave or which are induced by the random inhomogeneities in the media, grow catastrophically. These solutions may be used to obtain conditions on the homogeneity of the medium, or of the incident beam, for reduction or elimination of catastrophic self-focusing in the medium.

L'etude de l'InP et du GaP suite a l'implantation ionique de Mn et a un recuit thermique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bucsa, Ioan Gigel

Cette these est dediee a l'etude des materiaux InMnP et GaMnP fabriques par implantation ionique et recuit thermique. Plus precisement nous avons investigue la possibilite de former par implantation ionique des materiaux homogenes (alliages) de InMnP et GaMnP contenant de 1 a 5 % atomiques de Mn qui seraient en etat ferromagnetique, pour des possibles applications dans la spintronique. Dans un premier chapitre introductif nous donnons les motivations de cette recherche et faisons une revue de la litterature sur ce sujet. Le deuxieme chapitre decrit les principes de l'implantation ionique, qui est la technique utilisee pour la fabrication des echantillons. Les effets de l'energie, fluence et direction du faisceau ionique sur le profil d'implantation et la formation des dommages seront mis en evidence. Aussi dans ce chapitre nous allons trouver des informations sur les substrats utilises pour l'implantation. Les techniques experimentales utilisees pour la caracterisation structurale, chimique et magnetique des echantillons, ainsi que leurs limitations sont presentees dans le troisieme chapitre. Quelques principes theoriques du magnetisme necessaires pour la comprehension des mesures magnetiques se retrouvent dans le chapitre 4. Le cinquieme chapitre est dedie a l'etude de la morphologie et des proprietes magnetiques des substrats utilises pour implantation et le sixieme chapitre, a l'etude des echantillons implantes au Mn sans avoir subi un recuit thermique. Notamment nous allons voir dans ce chapitre que l'implantation de Mn a plus que 1016 ions/cm 2 amorphise la partie implantee du materiau et le Mn implante se dispose en profondeur sur un profil gaussien. De point de vue magnetique les atomes implantes se trouvent dans un etat paramagnetique entre 5 et 300 K ayant le spin 5/2. Dans le chapitre 7 nous presentons les proprietes des echantillons recuits a basses temperatures. Nous allons voir que dans ces echantillons la couche implantee est polycristalline et les

Layout optimization using the homogenization method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suzuki, Katsuyuki; Kikuchi, Noboru

1993-01-01

A generalized layout problem involving sizing, shape, and topology optimization is solved by using the homogenization method for three-dimensional linearly elastic shell structures in order to seek a possibility of establishment of an integrated design system of automotive car bodies, as an extension of the previous work by Bendsoe and Kikuchi. A formulation of a three-dimensional homogenized shell, a solution algorithm, and several examples of computing the optimum layout are presented in this first part of the two articles.

Homogeneous cosmological models and new inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Michael S.; Widrow, Lawrence M.

1986-01-01

The promise of the inflationary-universe scenario is to free the present state of the universe from extreme dependence upon initial data. Paradoxically, inflation is usually analyzed in the context of the homogeneous and isotropic Robertson-Walker cosmological models. It is shown that all but a small subset of the homogeneous models undergo inflation. Any initial anisotropy is so strongly damped that if sufficient inflation occurs to solve the flatness and horizon problems, the universe today would still be very isotropic.

A spatially homogeneous and isotropic Einstein-Dirac cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finster, Felix; Hainzl, Christian

2011-04-01

We consider a spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmological model where Dirac spinors are coupled to classical gravity. For the Dirac spinors we choose a Hartree-Fock ansatz where all one-particle wave functions are coherent and have the same momentum. If the scale function is large, the universe behaves like the classical Friedmann dust solution. If however the scale function is small, quantum effects lead to oscillations of the energy-momentum tensor. It is shown numerically and proven analytically that these quantum oscillations can prevent the formation of a big bang or big crunch singularity. The energy conditions are analyzed. We prove the existence of time-periodic solutions which go through an infinite number of expansion and contraction cycles.

Numerical simulation of elasto-plastic deformation of composites: evolution of stress microfields and implications for homogenization models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, C.; Segurado, J.; LLorca, J.

2004-07-01

The deformation of a composite made up of a random and homogeneous dispersion of elastic spheres in an elasto-plastic matrix was simulated by the finite element analysis of three-dimensional multiparticle cubic cells with periodic boundary conditions. "Exact" results (to a few percent) in tension and shear were determined by averaging 12 stress-strain curves obtained from cells containing 30 spheres, and they were compared with the predictions of secant homogenization models. In addition, the numerical simulations supplied detailed information of the stress microfields, which was used to ascertain the accuracy and the limitations of the homogenization models to include the nonlinear deformation of the matrix. It was found that secant approximations based on the volume-averaged second-order moment of the matrix stress tensor, combined with a highly accurate linear homogenization model, provided excellent predictions of the composite response when the matrix strain hardening rate was high. This was not the case, however, in composites which exhibited marked plastic strain localization in the matrix. The analysis of the evolution of the matrix stresses revealed that better predictions of the composite behavior can be obtained with new homogenization models which capture the essential differences in the stress carried by the elastic and plastic regions in the matrix at the onset of plastic deformation.

Homogenization patterns of the world’s freshwater fish faunas

PubMed Central

Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

2011-01-01

The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the “Homogocene era” is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes. PMID:22025692

Global stabilisation of a class of generalised cascaded systems by homogeneous method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Shihong; Zheng, Wei Xing

2016-04-01

This paper considers the problem of global stabilisation of a class of generalised cascaded systems. By using the extended adding a power integrator technique, a global controller is first constructed for the driving subsystem. Then based on the homogeneous properties and polynomial assumption, it is shown that the stabilisation of the driving subsystem implies the stabilisation of the overall cascaded system. Meanwhile, by properly choosing some control parameters, the global finite-time stability of the closed-loop cascaded system is also established. The proposed control method has several new features. First, the nonlinear cascaded systems considered in the paper are more general than the conventional ones, since the powers in the nominal part of the driving subsystem are not required to be restricted to ratios of positive odd numbers. Second, the proposed method has some flexible parameters which provide the possibility for designing continuously differentiable controllers for cascaded systems, while the existing designed controllers for such kind of cascaded systems are only continuous. Third, the homogenous and polynomial conditions adopted for the driven subsystem are easier to verify when compared with the matching conditions that are widely used previously. Furthermore, the efficiency of the proposed control method is validated by its application to finite-time tracking control of non-holonomic wheeled mobile robot.

Revisiting Shock Initiation Modeling of Homogeneous Explosives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partom, Yehuda

2013-04-01

Shock initiation of homogeneous explosives has been a subject of research since the 1960s, with neat and sensitized nitromethane as the main materials for experiments. A shock initiation model of homogeneous explosives was established in the early 1960s. It involves a thermal explosion event at the shock entrance boundary, which develops into a superdetonation that overtakes the initial shock. In recent years, Sheffield and his group, using accurate experimental tools, were able to observe details of buildup of the superdetonation. There are many papers on modeling shock initiation of heterogeneous explosives, but there are only a few papers on modeling shock initiation of homogeneous explosives. In this article, bulk reaction reactive flow equations are used to model homogeneous shock initiation in an attempt to reproduce experimental data of Sheffield and his group. It was possible to reproduce the main features of the shock initiation process, including thermal explosion, superdetonation, input shock overtake, overdriven detonation after overtake, and the beginning of decay toward Chapman-Jouget (CJ) detonation. The time to overtake (TTO) as function of input pressure was also calculated and compared to the experimental TTO.

On controllability of homogeneous and inhomogeneous discrete-time multi-input bilinear systems in dimension two

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tie, Lin

2017-08-01

In this paper, the controllability problem of two-dimensional discrete-time multi-input bilinear systems is completely solved. The homogeneous and the inhomogeneous cases are studied separately and necessary and sufficient conditions for controllability are established by using a linear algebraic method, which are easy to apply. Moreover, for the uncontrollable systems, near-controllability is considered and similar necessary and sufficient conditions are also obtained. Finally, examples are provided to demonstrate the results of this paper.

The single-zone numerical model of homogeneous charge compression ignition engine performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedyanov, E. A.; Itkis, E. M.; Kuzmin, V. N.; Shumskiy, S. N.

2017-02-01

The single-zone model of methane-air mixture combustion in the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engine was developed. First modeling efforts resulted in the selection of the detailed kinetic reaction mechanism, most appropriate for the conditions of the HCCI process. Then, the model was completed so as to simulate the performance of the four-stroke engine and was coupled by physically reasonable adjusting functions. Validation of calculations against experimental data showed acceptable agreement.

Fracture of Rolled Homogeneous Steel Armor (Nucleation Threshold Stress).

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

AD-AO81 618 ARMY ARMAMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMAND ABERD--ETC F/B 19/4 FRACTURE OF ROLLED HOMOGENEOUS STEEL ARMOR (NUCLEATION THRESHOL--ETC(U...ARBRL-MR-02984A QQ FRACTURE OF ROLLED HOMOGENEOUS STEEL ARMOR (NUCLEATION THRESHOLD STRESS) Gerald L Moss Lynn SeamanLy~ S, ,.DTIC S ELECTED January...nucleation stress, Crack threshold stress, Fracture, Fracture stress, Spallation, Armor, Rolled homogeneous steel armor M~ AS$TRACr (Vita ssf -- ebb

Le changement comme tradition dans la recherche et la formation a la recherche en biotechnologie et en peripherie Etude de cas en sciences de la sante, sciences naturelles et genie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourque, Claude Julie

Le champ de la recherche scientifique et de la formation a la recherche est traverse depuis quelques dizaines d'annees par plusieurs courants et discours associes au changement, mais peu de travaux empiriques permettent de comprendre ce qui change concretement. C'est la contribution originale de cette these au champ de l'education, plus specifiquement a l'etude sociologique de l'enseignement superieur ou sont concentrees les activites liees a la triade thematique du programme doctoral dans lequel elle a ete produite : recherche, formation et pratique. L'enquete-terrain a ete realisee en 2009 et 2010 aupres de 808 repondants affilies a 60 etablissements au Quebec et a produit un vaste materiau de nature mixte (donnees quantitatives et qualitatives). Un portrait de la nebuleuse biotechnologique qui touche les secteurs des sciences de la sante, des sciences naturelles et du genie a ete realise. Ce domaine concerne des dizaines de disciplines et se revele de nature transdisciplinaire, mais les pratiques n'y sont pas davantage marquees par le changement que celles d'autres domaines connexes. Les dynamiques sociales ont fait l'objet d'analyses comparatives dans quatre contextes: le choix des programmes, des objets et des methodes, le financement, la diffusion et la planification de la carriere. Les resultats indiquent que les echanges entre les agents traditionnellement situes au coeur des activites de recherche dominent ces dynamiques dans tous les contextes etudies. L'etude des representations au fondement des pratiques a revele l'existence de trois ecoles de pensee qui coexistent dans le champ scientifique: academique, pragmatique et economiste. Ces ecoles permettent de categoriser les agents en fonction des zones de fractures qui marquent leurs oppositions tout en identifiant ce qu'ils ont en commun. Les representations et les pratiques liees a la formation temoignent d'un habitus plutot homogene, alors que les contradictions semblent plus souvent ancrees dans des

Improved turbulence models based on large eddy simulation of homogeneous, incompressible turbulent flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bardino, J.; Ferziger, J. H.; Reynolds, W. C.

1983-01-01

The physical bases of large eddy simulation and subgrid modeling are studied. A subgrid scale similarity model is developed that can account for system rotation. Large eddy simulations of homogeneous shear flows with system rotation were carried out. Apparently contradictory experimental results were explained. The main effect of rotation is to increase the transverse length scales in the rotation direction, and thereby decrease the rates of dissipation. Experimental results are shown to be affected by conditions at the turbulence producing grid, which make the initial states a function of the rotation rate. A two equation model is proposed that accounts for effects of rotation and shows good agreement with experimental results. In addition, a Reynolds stress model is developed that represents the turbulence structure of homogeneous shear flows very well and can account also for the effects of system rotation.

Projected changes in rainfall and temperature over homogeneous regions of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patwardhan, Savita; Kulkarni, Ashwini; Rao, K. Koteswara

2018-01-01

The impact of climate change on the characteristics of seasonal maximum and minimum temperature and seasonal summer monsoon rainfall is assessed over five homogeneous regions of India using a high-resolution regional climate model. Providing REgional Climate for Climate Studies (PRECIS) is developed at Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, UK. The model simulations are carried out over South Asian domain for the continuous period of 1961-2098 at 50-km horizontal resolution. Here, three simulations from a 17-member perturbed physics ensemble (PPE) produced using HadCM3 under the Quantifying Model Uncertainties in Model Predictions (QUMP) project of Hadley Centre, Met. Office, UK, have been used as lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) for the 138-year simulations of the regional climate model under Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B scenario. The projections indicate the increase in the summer monsoon (June through September) rainfall over all the homogeneous regions (15 to 19%) except peninsular India (around 5%). There may be marginal change in the frequency of medium and heavy rainfall events (>20 mm) towards the end of the present century. The analysis over five homogeneous regions indicates that the mean maximum surface air temperatures for the pre-monsoon season (March-April-May) as well as the mean minimum surface air temperature for winter season (January-February) may be warmer by around 4 °C towards the end of the twenty-first century.

On strong homogeneity of a class of global optimization algorithms working with infinite and infinitesimal scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergeyev, Yaroslav D.; Kvasov, Dmitri E.; Mukhametzhanov, Marat S.

2018-06-01

The necessity to find the global optimum of multiextremal functions arises in many applied problems where finding local solutions is insufficient. One of the desirable properties of global optimization methods is strong homogeneity meaning that a method produces the same sequences of points where the objective function is evaluated independently both of multiplication of the function by a scaling constant and of adding a shifting constant. In this paper, several aspects of global optimization using strongly homogeneous methods are considered. First, it is shown that even if a method possesses this property theoretically, numerically very small and large scaling constants can lead to ill-conditioning of the scaled problem. Second, a new class of global optimization problems where the objective function can have not only finite but also infinite or infinitesimal Lipschitz constants is introduced. Third, the strong homogeneity of several Lipschitz global optimization algorithms is studied in the framework of the Infinity Computing paradigm allowing one to work numerically with a variety of infinities and infinitesimals. Fourth, it is proved that a class of efficient univariate methods enjoys this property for finite, infinite and infinitesimal scaling and shifting constants. Finally, it is shown that in certain cases the usage of numerical infinities and infinitesimals can avoid ill-conditioning produced by scaling. Numerical experiments illustrating theoretical results are described.

Chemical zoning and homogenization of olivines in ordinary chondrites and implications for thermal histories of chondrules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyamoto, Masamichi; Mckay, David S.; Mckay, Gordon A.; Duke, Michael B.

1986-01-01

The extent and degree of homogenization of chemical zoning of olivines in type 3 ordinary chondrites is studied in order to obtain some constraints on cooling histories of chondrites. Based on Mg-Fe and CaO zoning, olivines in type 3 chondrites are classified into four types. A single chondrule usually contains olivines with the same type of zoning. Microporphyritic olivines show all four zoning types. Barred olivines usually show almost homogenized chemical zoning. The cooling rates or burial depths needed to homogenize the chemical zoning are calculated by solving the diffusion equation, using the zoning profiles as an initial condition. Mg-Fe zoning of olivine may be altered during initial cooling, whereas CaO zoning is hardly changed. Barred olivines may be homogenized during initial cooling because their size is relatively small. To simulated microporphyritic olivine chondrules, cooling from just below the liquidus at moderately high rates is preferable to cooling from above the liquidus at low rates. For postaccumulation metamorphism of type 3 chondrites to keep Mg-Fe zoning unaltered, the maximum metamorphic temperature must be less than about 400 C if cooling rates based on Fe-Ni data are assumed. Calculated cooling rates for both Fa and CaO homogenization are consistent with those by Fe-Ni data for type 4 chondrites. A hot ejecta blanket several tens of meters thick on the surface of a parent body is sufficient to homogenize Mg-Fe zoning if the temperature of the blanket is 600-700 C. Burial depths for petrologic types of ordinary chondrites in a parent body heated by Al-26 are broadly consistent with those previously proposed.

Homogeneous Immunoassays: Historical Perspective and Future Promise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullman, Edwin F.

1999-06-01

The founding and growth of Syva Company is examined in the context of its leadership role in the development of homogeneous immunoassays. The simple mix and read protocols of these methods offer advantages in routine analytical and clinical applications. Early homogeneous methods were based on insensitive detection of immunoprecipitation during antigen/antibody binding. The advent of reporter groups in biology provided a means of quantitating immunochemical binding by labeling antibody or antigen and physically separating label incorporated into immune complexes from free label. Although high sensitivity was achieved, quantitative separations were experimentally demanding. Only when it became apparent that reporter groups could provide information, not only about the location of a molecule but also about its microscopic environment, was it possible to design practical non-separation methods. The evolution of early homogenous immunoassays was driven largely by the development of improved detection strategies. The first commercial spin immunoassays, developed by Syva for drug abuse testing during the Vietnam war, were followed by increasingly powerful methods such as immunochemical modulation of enzyme activity, fluorescence, and photo-induced chemiluminescence. Homogeneous methods that quantify analytes at femtomolar concentrations within a few minutes now offer important new opportunities in clinical diagnostics, nucleic acid detection and drug discovery.

Ab initio molecular dynamics in a finite homogeneous electric field.

PubMed

Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo

2002-10-07

We treat homogeneous electric fields within density functional calculations with periodic boundary conditions. A nonlocal energy functional depending on the applied field is used within an ab initio molecular dynamics scheme. The reliability of the method is demonstrated in the case of bulk MgO for the Born effective charges, and the high- and low-frequency dielectric constants. We evaluate the static dielectric constant by performing a damped molecular dynamics in an electric field and avoiding the calculation of the dynamical matrix. Application of this method to vitreous silica shows good agreement with experiment and illustrates its potential for systems of large size.

Homogenization of periodic bi-isotropic composite materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouchetto, Ouail; Essakhi, Brahim

2018-07-01

In this paper, we present a new method for homogenizing the bi-periodic materials with bi-isotropic components phases. The presented method is a numerical method based on the finite element method to compute the local electromagnetic properties. The homogenized constitutive parameters are expressed as a function of the macroscopic electromagnetic properties which are obtained from the local properties. The obtained results are compared to Unfolding Finite Element Method and Maxwell-Garnett formulas.

Ultrasound and polar homogeneous reactions.

PubMed

Tuulmets, A

1997-04-01

The effect of ultrasound on the rates of homogeneous heterolytic reactions not switched to a free radical pathway can be explained by the perturbation of the molecular organization of or the solvation in the reacting system. A quantitative analysis of the sonochemical acceleration on the basis of the microreactor concept was carried out. It was found that (1) the Diels-Alder reaction cannot be accelerated by ultrasound except when SET or free radical processes are promoted, (2) the rectified diffusion during cavitation cannot be responsible for the acceleration of reactions, and (3) the sonochemical acceleration of polar homogeneous reactions takes place in the bulk reaction medium. This implies the presence of a 'sound-field' sonochemistry besides the 'hot-spot' sonochemistry. The occurrence of a sonochemical deceleration effect can be predicted.

Homogenization Models for Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muc, A.; Jamróz, M.

2004-03-01

Two homogenization models for evaluating Young's modulus of nanocomposites reinforced with single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes are presented. The first model is based on a physical description taking into account the interatomic interaction and nanotube geometry. The elementary cell, here a nanotube with a surrounding resin layer, is treated as a homogeneous body — a material continuum. The second model, similar to a phenomenological engineering one, is obtained by combining the law of mixture with the Cox mechanical model. This model describes the stress distribution along stretched short fibers surrounded by a resin matrix. The similarities between composite materials reinforced with short fibers and nanotubes are elucidated. The results obtained are compared with those for classical microcomposites to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of both the composite materials.

Drying regimes in homogeneous porous media from macro- to nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiery, J.; Rodts, S.; Weitz, D. A.; Coussot, P.

2017-07-01

Magnetic resonance imaging visualization down to nanometric liquid films in model porous media with pore sizes from micro- to nanometers enables one to fully characterize the physical mechanisms of drying. For pore size larger than a few tens of nanometers, we identify an initial constant drying rate period, probing homogeneous desaturation, followed by a falling drying rate period. This second period is associated with the development of a gradient in saturation underneath the sample free surface that initiates the inward recession of the contact line. During this latter stage, the drying rate varies in accordance with vapor diffusion through the dry porous region, possibly affected by the Knudsen effect for small pore size. However, we show that for sufficiently small pore size and/or saturation the drying rate is increasingly reduced by the Kelvin effect. Subsequently, we demonstrate that this effect governs the kinetics of evaporation in nanopores as a homogeneous desaturation occurs. Eventually, under our experimental conditions, we show that the saturation unceasingly decreases in a homogeneous manner throughout the wet regions of the medium regardless of pore size or drying regime considered. This finding suggests the existence of continuous liquid flow towards the interface of higher evaporation, down to very low saturation or very small pore size. Paradoxically, even if this net flow is unidirectional and capillary driven, it corresponds to a series of diffused local capillary equilibrations over the full height of the sample, which might explain that a simple Darcy's law model does not predict the effect of scaling of the net flow rate on the pore size observed in our tests.

Method of fabricating a homogeneous wire of inter-metallic alloy

DOEpatents

Ohriner, Evan Keith; Blue, Craig Alan

2001-01-01

A method for fabricating a homogeneous wire of inter-metallic alloy comprising the steps of providing a base-metal wire bundle comprising a metal, an alloy or a combination thereof; working the wire bundle through at least one die to obtain a desired dimension and to form a precursor wire; and, controllably heating the precursor wire such that a portion of the wire will become liquid while simultaneously maintaining its desired shape, whereby substantial homogenization of the wire occurs in the liquid state and additional homogenization occurs in the solid state resulting in a homogenous alloy product.

Pattern and process of biotic homogenization in the New Pangaea

PubMed Central

Baiser, Benjamin; Olden, Julian D.; Record, Sydne; Lockwood, Julie L.; McKinney, Michael L.

2012-01-01

Human activities have reorganized the earth's biota resulting in spatially disparate locales becoming more or less similar in species composition over time through the processes of biotic homogenization and biotic differentiation, respectively. Despite mounting evidence suggesting that this process may be widespread in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, past studies have predominantly focused on single taxonomic groups at a single spatial scale. Furthermore, change in pairwise similarity is itself dependent on two distinct processes, spatial turnover in species composition and changes in gradients of species richness. Most past research has failed to disentangle the effect of these two mechanisms on homogenization patterns. Here, we use recent statistical advances and collate a global database of homogenization studies (20 studies, 50 datasets) to provide the first global investigation of the homogenization process across major faunal and floral groups and elucidate the relative role of changes in species richness and turnover. We found evidence of homogenization (change in similarity ranging from −0.02 to 0.09) across nearly all taxonomic groups, spatial extent and grain sizes. Partitioning of change in pairwise similarity shows that overall change in community similarity is driven by changes in species richness. Our results show that biotic homogenization is truly a global phenomenon and put into question many of the ecological mechanisms invoked in previous studies to explain patterns of homogenization. PMID:23055062

Pattern and process of biotic homogenization in the New Pangaea.

PubMed

Baiser, Benjamin; Olden, Julian D; Record, Sydne; Lockwood, Julie L; McKinney, Michael L

2012-12-07

Human activities have reorganized the earth's biota resulting in spatially disparate locales becoming more or less similar in species composition over time through the processes of biotic homogenization and biotic differentiation, respectively. Despite mounting evidence suggesting that this process may be widespread in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, past studies have predominantly focused on single taxonomic groups at a single spatial scale. Furthermore, change in pairwise similarity is itself dependent on two distinct processes, spatial turnover in species composition and changes in gradients of species richness. Most past research has failed to disentangle the effect of these two mechanisms on homogenization patterns. Here, we use recent statistical advances and collate a global database of homogenization studies (20 studies, 50 datasets) to provide the first global investigation of the homogenization process across major faunal and floral groups and elucidate the relative role of changes in species richness and turnover. We found evidence of homogenization (change in similarity ranging from -0.02 to 0.09) across nearly all taxonomic groups, spatial extent and grain sizes. Partitioning of change in pairwise similarity shows that overall change in community similarity is driven by changes in species richness. Our results show that biotic homogenization is truly a global phenomenon and put into question many of the ecological mechanisms invoked in previous studies to explain patterns of homogenization.

Hydrogenation of carboxylic acids with a homogeneous cobalt catalyst.

PubMed

Korstanje, Ties J; van der Vlugt, Jarl Ivar; Elsevier, Cornelis J; de Bruin, Bas

2015-10-16

The reduction of esters and carboxylic acids to alcohols is a highly relevant conversion for the pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries and for biomass conversion. It is commonly performed using stoichiometric reagents, and the catalytic hydrogenation of the acids previously required precious metals. Here we report the homogeneously catalyzed hydrogenation of carboxylic acids to alcohols using earth-abundant cobalt. This system, which pairs Co(BF4)2·6H2O with a tridentate phosphine ligand, can reduce a wide range of esters and carboxylic acids under relatively mild conditions (100°C, 80 bar H2) and reaches turnover numbers of up to 8000. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities.

PubMed

Gossner, Martin M; Lewinsohn, Thomas M; Kahl, Tiemo; Grassein, Fabrice; Boch, Steffen; Prati, Daniel; Birkhofer, Klaus; Renner, Swen C; Sikorski, Johannes; Wubet, Tesfaye; Arndt, Hartmut; Baumgartner, Vanessa; Blaser, Stefan; Blüthgen, Nico; Börschig, Carmen; Buscot, Francois; Diekötter, Tim; Jorge, Leonardo Ré; Jung, Kirsten; Keyel, Alexander C; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Klemmer, Sandra; Krauss, Jochen; Lange, Markus; Müller, Jörg; Overmann, Jörg; Pašalić, Esther; Penone, Caterina; Perović, David J; Purschke, Oliver; Schall, Peter; Socher, Stephanie A; Sonnemann, Ilja; Tschapka, Marco; Tscharntke, Teja; Türke, Manfred; Venter, Paul Christiaan; Weiner, Christiane N; Werner, Michael; Wolters, Volkmar; Wurst, Susanne; Westphal, Catrin; Fischer, Markus; Weisser, Wolfgang W; Allan, Eric

2016-12-08

Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in β-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (α)-diversity and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing β-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above- and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in α-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on β-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in β-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local α-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the α-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the β-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity

Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gossner, Martin M.; Lewinsohn, Thomas M.; Kahl, Tiemo; Grassein, Fabrice; Boch, Steffen; Prati, Daniel; Birkhofer, Klaus; Renner, Swen C.; Sikorski, Johannes; Wubet, Tesfaye; Arndt, Hartmut; Baumgartner, Vanessa; Blaser, Stefan; Blüthgen, Nico; Börschig, Carmen; Buscot, Francois; Diekötter, Tim; Jorge, Leonardo Ré; Jung, Kirsten; Keyel, Alexander C.; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Klemmer, Sandra; Krauss, Jochen; Lange, Markus; Müller, Jörg; Overmann, Jörg; Pašalić, Esther; Penone, Caterina; Perović, David J.; Purschke, Oliver; Schall, Peter; Socher, Stephanie A.; Sonnemann, Ilja; Tschapka, Marco; Tscharntke, Teja; Türke, Manfred; Venter, Paul Christiaan; Weiner, Christiane N.; Werner, Michael; Wolters, Volkmar; Wurst, Susanne; Westphal, Catrin; Fischer, Markus; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Allan, Eric

2016-12-01

Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in β-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (α)-diversity and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing β-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above- and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in α-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on β-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in β-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local α-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the α-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the β-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity

Homogeneity revisited: analysis of updated precipitation series in Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bickici Arikan, Bugrayhan; Kahya, Ercan

2018-01-01

Homogeneous time series of meteorological variables are necessary for hydrologic and climate studies. Dependability of historical precipitation data is subjected to keen evaluation prior to every study in water resources, hydrology, and climate change fields. This study aims to characterize the homogeneity of long-term Turkish precipitation data in order to ensure that they can be reliably used. The homogeneity of monthly precipitation data set was tested using the standard normal homogeneity test, Buishand test, Von Neumann ratio test, and Pettitt test at the 5% significance level across Turkey. Our precipitation records including the most updated observations, extracted from 160 meteorological stations, for the periods 1974-2014 were analyzed by all the four homogeneity tests. According to the results of all tests, five out of 160 stations have an inhomogeneity. With regard to our strict confirmation rule, 44 out of 160 stations are said to be inhomogeneous since they failed from at least one of the four tests. The breaks captured by the Buishand and Pettitt tests usually tend to appear in the middle of the precipitation series, whereas the ability of standard normal homogeneity test is in favor of identifying inhomogeneities mostly at the beginning or at the end of the records. Our results showed that 42 out of 44 inhomogeneous stations passed all the four tests after applying a correction procedure based on the double mass curve analysis. Available metadata was used to interpret the detected inhomogeneity.

Introduction A l'Etude de la Médecine Expérimentale--surgical revolution part II.

PubMed

Toledo-Pereyra, Luis H

2009-01-01

The book that Claude Bernard (1813-1878) published in 1865, the Introduction à l'Etude de la Médecine Expérimentale, fostered a revolution that we believe influenced the practice of surgery when the discipline became a scientific enterprise. In Part I, we set the stage by presenting the life and accomplishments of Bernard, by reviewing his science, and introducing his experimental medicine work. In this issue in Part II, we further analyze his book and determine the "why" of a genuine surgical revolution. What were the factors that generated this revolution, and how a new generation of surgeons learned to become better researchers, and thus better surgeons, were the main objectives of this work. Science, research, and surgery became highly intertwined and the surgeon pursued these fields of knowledge more effectively.

A comparison of homogeneous equilibrium and relaxation model for CO2 expansion inside the two-phase ejector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palacz, M.; Haida, M.; Smolka, J.; Nowak, A. J.; Hafner, A.

2016-09-01

In this study, the comparison of the accuracy of the homogeneous equilibrium model (HEM) and homogeneous relaxation model (HRM) is presented. Both models were applied to simulate the CO2 expansion inside the two-phase ejectors. Moreover, the mentioned models were implemented in the robust and efficient computational tool ejectorPL. That tool guarantees the fully automated computational process and the repeatable computations for the various ejector shapes and operating conditions. The simulated motive nozzle mass flow rates were compared to the experimentally measured mass flow rates. That comparison was made for both, HEM and HRM. The results showed the unsatisfying fidelity of the HEM for the operating regimes far from the carbon dioxide critical point. On the other hand, the HRM accuracy for such conditions was slightly higher. The approach presented in this paper, showed the limitation of applicability of both two-phase models for the expansion phenomena inside the ejectors.

Method of Mapping Anomalies in Homogenous Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Bryant D. (Inventor); Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An electrical conductor and antenna are positioned in a fixed relationship to one another. Relative lateral movement is generated between the electrical conductor and a homogenous material while maintaining the electrical conductor at a fixed distance from the homogenous material. The antenna supplies a time-varying magnetic field that causes the electrical conductor to resonate and generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses. Disruptions in at least one of the electric and magnetic field responses during this lateral movement are indicative of a lateral location of a subsurface anomaly. Next, relative out-of-plane movement is generated between the electrical conductor and the homogenous material in the vicinity of the anomaly's lateral location. Disruptions in at least one of the electric and magnetic field responses during this out-of-plane movement are indicative of a depth location of the subsurface anomaly. A recording of the disruptions provides a mapping of the anomaly.

Rapid biotic homogenization of marine fish assemblages

PubMed Central

Magurran, Anne E.; Dornelas, Maria; Moyes, Faye; Gotelli, Nicholas J.; McGill, Brian

2015-01-01

The role human activities play in reshaping biodiversity is increasingly apparent in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the responses of entire marine assemblages are not well-understood, in part, because few monitoring programs incorporate both spatial and temporal replication. Here, we analyse an exceptionally comprehensive 29-year time series of North Atlantic groundfish assemblages monitored over 5° latitude to the west of Scotland. These fish assemblages show no systematic change in species richness through time, but steady change in species composition, leading to an increase in spatial homogenization: the species identity of colder northern localities increasingly resembles that of warmer southern localities. This biotic homogenization mirrors the spatial pattern of unevenly rising ocean temperatures over the same time period suggesting that climate change is primarily responsible for the spatial homogenization we observe. In this and other ecosystems, apparent constancy in species richness may mask major changes in species composition driven by anthropogenic change. PMID:26400102

Quasi-steady state conditions in heterogeneous aquifers during pumping tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zha, Yuanyuan; Yeh, Tian-Chyi J.; Shi, Liangsheng; Huang, Shao-Yang; Wang, Wenke; Wen, Jet-Chau

2017-08-01

Classical Thiem's well hydraulic theory, other aquifer test analyses, and flow modeling efforts often assume the existence of ;quasi-steady; state conditions. That is, while drawdowns due to pumping continue to grow, the hydraulic gradient in the vicinity of the pumping well does not change significantly. These conditions have built upon two-dimensional and equivalent homogeneous conceptual models, but few field data have been available to affirm the existence of these conditions. Moreover, effects of heterogeneity and three-dimensional flow on this quasi-steady state concept have not been thoroughly investigated and discussed before. In this study, we first present a quantitative definition of quasi-steady state (or steady-shape conditions) and steady state conditions based on the analytical solution of two- or three-dimensional flow induced by pumping in unbounded, homogeneous aquifers. Afterward, we use a stochastic analysis to investigate the influence of heterogeneity on the quasi-steady state concept in heterogeneous aquifers. The results of the analysis indicate that the time to reach an approximate quasi-steady state in a heterogeneous aquifer could be quite different from that estimated based on a homogeneous model. We find that heterogeneity of aquifer properties, especially hydraulic conductivity, impedes the development of the quasi-steady state condition before the flow reaching steady state. Finally, 280 drawdown-time data from the hydraulic tomographic survey conducted at a field site corroborate our finding that the quasi-steady state condition likely would not take place in heterogeneous aquifers unless pumping tests last a long period. Research significance (1) Approximate quasi-steady and steady state conditions are defined for two- or three-dimensional flow induced by pumping in unbounded, equivalent homogeneous aquifers. (2) Analysis demonstrates effects of boundary condition, well screen interval, and heterogeneity of parameters on the

Soluble Molecularly Imprinted Nanorods for Homogeneous Molecular Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Rongning; Wang, Tiantian; Zhang, Huan; Yao, Ruiqing; Qin, Wei

2018-03-01

Nowadays, it is still difficult for molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPs) to achieve homogeneous recognition since they cannot be easily dissolved in organic or aqueous phase. To address this issue, soluble molecularly imprinted nanorods have been synthesized by using soluble polyaniline doped with a functionalized organic protonic acid as the polymer matrix. By employing 1-naphthoic acid as a model, the proposed imprinted nanorods exhibit an excellent solubility and good homogeneous recognition ability. The imprinting factor for the soluble imprinted nanoroads is 6.8. The equilibrium dissociation constant and the apparent maximum number of the proposed imprinted nanorods are 248.5 μM and 22.1 μmol/g, respectively. We believe that such imprinted nanorods may provide an appealing substitute for natural receptors in homogeneous recognition related fields.

Effect of high-pressure homogenization preparation on mean globule size and large-diameter tail of oil-in-water injectable emulsions.

PubMed

Peng, Jie; Dong, Wu-Jun; Li, Ling; Xu, Jia-Ming; Jin, Du-Jia; Xia, Xue-Jun; Liu, Yu-Ling

2015-12-01

The effect of different high pressure homogenization energy input parameters on mean diameter droplet size (MDS) and droplets with > 5 μm of lipid injectable emulsions were evaluated. All emulsions were prepared at different water bath temperatures or at different rotation speeds and rotor-stator system times, and using different homogenization pressures and numbers of high-pressure system recirculations. The MDS and polydispersity index (PI) value of the emulsions were determined using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) method, and large-diameter tail assessments were performed using the light-obscuration/single particle optical sensing (LO/SPOS) method. Using 1000 bar homogenization pressure and seven recirculations, the energy input parameters related to the rotor-stator system will not have an effect on the final particle size results. When rotor-stator system energy input parameters are fixed, homogenization pressure and recirculation will affect mean particle size and large diameter droplet. Particle size will decrease with increasing homogenization pressure from 400 bar to 1300 bar when homogenization recirculation is fixed; when the homogenization pressure is fixed at 1000 bar, the particle size of both MDS and percent of fat droplets exceeding 5 μm (PFAT 5 ) will decrease with increasing homogenization recirculations, MDS dropped to 173 nm after five cycles and maintained this level, volume-weighted PFAT 5 will drop to 0.038% after three cycles, so the "plateau" of MDS will come up later than that of PFAT 5 , and the optimal particle size is produced when both of them remained at plateau. Excess homogenization recirculation such as nine times under the 1000 bar may lead to PFAT 5 increase to 0.060% rather than a decrease; therefore, the high-pressure homogenization procedure is the key factor affecting the particle size distribution of emulsions. Varying storage conditions (4-25°C) also influenced particle size, especially the PFAT 5 . Copyright

Stress waves in transversely isotropic media: The homogeneous problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marques, E. R. C.; Williams, J. H., Jr.

1986-01-01

The homogeneous problem of stress wave propagation in unbounded transversely isotropic media is analyzed. By adopting plane wave solutions, the conditions for the existence of the solution are established in terms of phase velocities and directions of particle displacements. Dispersion relations and group velocities are derived from the phase velocity expressions. The deviation angles (e.g., angles between the normals to the adopted plane waves and the actual directions of their propagation) are numerically determined for a specific fiber-glass epoxy composite. A graphical method is introduced for the construction of the wave surfaces using magnitudes of phase velocities and deviation angles. The results for the case of isotropic media are shown to be contained in the solutions for the transversely isotropic media.

Homogeneity of lava flows - Chemical data for historic Mauna Loan eruptions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, J. M.

1983-01-01

Chemical analyses of basalts collected from the major historic eruptions of Mauna Loa volcano show that many of the flow fields are remarkably homogeneous in composition. Despite their large size (lengths 9-85 km), large areal extents (13-114 sq km), and various durations of eruption (1-450 days), many of the flow fields have compositional variability that is within, or close to, the analytical error for most elements. The flow fields that are not homogeneous vary mainly in olivine content in an otherwise homogeneous melt. Some are composite flow fields made up of several, apparently homogeneous subunits erupted at different elevations along the active volcanic rifts. Not all volcanoes produce lavas that are homogeneous like those of Mauna Loa. If studies such as this are to be used to evaluate compositional diversity in lavas where there is a lack of sampling control, such as on other planets, it is necessary to understand why some flow units and flow fields are compositionally homogeneous and others are not, and to develop criteria for distinguishing between them.

Suppression of turbulent energy cascade due to phase separation in homogenous binary mixture fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Youhei; Okamoto, Sachiya

2015-11-01

When a multi-component fluid mixture becomes themophysically unstable state by quenching from well-melting condition, phase separation due to spinodal decomposition occurs, and a self-organized structure is formed. During phase separation, free energy is consumed for the structure formation. In our previous report, the phase separation in homogenous turbulence was numerically simulated and the coarsening process of phase separation was discussed. In this study, we extended our numerical model to a high Schmidt number fluid corresponding to actual polymer solution. The governing equations were continuity, Navier-Stokes, and Chan-Hiliard equations as same as our previous report. The flow filed was an isotropic homogenous turbulence, and the dimensionless parameters in the Chan-Hilliard equation were estimated based on the thermophysical condition of binary mixture. From the numerical results, it was found that turbulent energy cascade was drastically suppressed in the inertial subrange by phase separation for the high Schmidt number flow. By using the identification of turbulent and phase separation structure, we discussed the relation between total energy balance and the structures formation processes. This study is financially supported by the Grand-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (No. T26820045) from the Ministry of Education, Cul-ture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

Evaluation of a locally homogeneous model of spray evaporation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shearer, A. J.; Faeth, G. M.; Tamura, H.

1978-01-01

Measurements were conducted on an evaporating spray in a stagnant environment. The spray was formed using an air-atomizing injector to yield a Sauter mean diameter of the order of 30 microns. The region where evaporation occurred extended approximately 1 m from the injector for the test conditions. Profiles of mean velocity, temperature, composition, and drop size distribution, as well as velocity fluctuations and Reynolds stress, were measured. The results are compared with a locally homogeneous two-phase flow model which implies no velocity difference and thermodynamic equilibrium between the phases. The flow was represented by a k-epsilon-g turbulence model employing a clipped Gaussian probability density function for mixture fraction fluctuations. The model provides a good representation of earlier single-phase jet measurements, but generally overestimates the rate of development of the spray. Using the model predictions to represent conditions along the centerline of the spray, drop life-history calculations were conducted which indicate that these discrepancies are due to slip and loss of thermodynamic equilibrium between the phases.

Homogenization-assisted cavitation hybrid rotation extraction and macroporous resin enrichment of dihydroquercetin from Larix gmelinii.

PubMed

Xia, Yu; Wang, Yinhang; Li, Wei; Ma, Chunhui; Liu, Shouxin

2017-12-01

Cavitation hybrid rotation, which was and is still looked upon as an unavoidable nuisance in the flow systems, for extraction processing intensification of active chemical compounds from natural products. In this study, a homogenization-assisted cavitation hybrid rotation extraction method was applied to extract dihydroquercetin (DHQ) from larch (Larix gmelinii) wood root. The extraction parameters were optimized in single factor experiments with the DHQ extraction yields as the response values. The optimum conditions were as follows: number of extractions, three; ethanol volume fraction for the extraction, 60%; liquid-solid ratio for homogenization, 10mL/g; homogenization time, 8min; liquid-solid ratio for cavitation extraction, 9mL/g, and cavitation extraction time, 35min. Under these conditions, the DHQ content in extract was 4.50±0.02mg/g, and the extraction efficiency was higher than those of traditional techniques. Cavitation can be effectively used to improve the extraction rate by increasing the mass transfer rates and possible rupture of cell wall due to formation of microcavities leading to higher product yields with reduced processing time and solvent consumption. After the extraction process, macroporous resin column chromatography was used to concentrate and purify the DHQ. Three resins were selected from fifteen macroporous resins for further investigation of their performance. Among these resins, AB-8 resin exhibited relatively better adsorption capacities and desorption ratios for DHQ. The ethanol volume fraction of the solutions for sample loading and desorption, and flow rates for loading and desorption were optimized for the macroporous resin column chromatography. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homogeneity of the geochemical reference material BRP-1 (paraná basin basalt) and assessment of minimum mass

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cotta, Aloisio J. B.; Enzweiler, Jacinta; Wilson, Stephen A.; Perez, Carlos A.; Nardy, Antonio J. R.; Larizzatti, Joao H.

2007-01-01

Reference materials (RM) are required for quantitative analyses and their successful use is associated with the degree of homogeneity, and the traceability and confidence limits of the values established by characterisation. During the production of a RM, the chemical characterisation can only commence after it has been demonstrated that the material has the required level of homogeneity. Here we describe the preparation of BRP-1, a proposed geochemical reference material, and the results of the tests to evaluate its degree of homogeneity between and within bottles. BRP-1 is the first of two geochemical RM being produced by Brazilian institutions in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the International Association of Geoanalysts (IAG). Two test portions of twenty bottles of BRP-1 were analysed by wavelength dispersive-XRF spectrometry and major, minor and eighteen trace elements were determined. The results show that for most of the investigated elements, the units of BRP-1 were homogeneous at conditions approximately three times more rigorous than those strived for by the test of “sufficient homogeneity”. Furthermore, the within bottle homogeneity of BRP-1 was evaluated using small beam (1 mm2) synchrotron radiation XRF spectrometry and, for comparison, the USGS reference materials BCR-2 and GSP-2 were also evaluated. From our data, it has been possible to assign representative minimum masses for some major constituents (1 mg) and for some trace elements (1-13 mg), except Zr in GSP-2, for which test portions of 74 mg are recommended.

Effects of high-speed homogenization and high-pressure homogenization on structure of tomato residue fibers.

PubMed

Hua, Xiao; Xu, Shanan; Wang, Mingming; Chen, Ying; Yang, Hui; Yang, Ruijin

2017-10-01

Tomato residue fibers obtained after derosination and deproteinization were processed by high-speed homogenization (HSH) and high-pressure homogenization (HPH), and their effects on fiber structure was investigated, respectively. Characterizations including particle size distribution, SEM, TEM and XRD were performed. HSH could break raw fibers to small particles of around 60μm, while HPH could reshape fibers to build network structure. Microfibrils were released and their nanostructure consisting of elementary fibrils was observed by TEM. XRD patterns indicated both HSH and HPH could hardly alter the nanostructure of the fibers. Physicochemical properties including expansibility, WHC and OHC were determined. Both HSH and HPH could increase the soluble fiber content by about 8%, but HSH-HPH combined processing did not show better result. Acid (4mol/L HCl) was used in replacement of water medium and the acidic degradation of fibers could be promoted by high speed shearing or high pressure processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Matrix algorithms for solving (in)homogeneous bound state equations

PubMed Central

Blank, M.; Krassnigg, A.

2011-01-01

In the functional approach to quantum chromodynamics, the properties of hadronic bound states are accessible via covariant integral equations, e.g. the Bethe–Salpeter equation for mesons. In particular, one has to deal with linear, homogeneous integral equations which, in sophisticated model setups, use numerical representations of the solutions of other integral equations as part of their input. Analogously, inhomogeneous equations can be constructed to obtain off-shell information in addition to bound-state masses and other properties obtained from the covariant analogue to a wave function of the bound state. These can be solved very efficiently using well-known matrix algorithms for eigenvalues (in the homogeneous case) and the solution of linear systems (in the inhomogeneous case). We demonstrate this by solving the homogeneous and inhomogeneous Bethe–Salpeter equations and find, e.g. that for the calculation of the mass spectrum it is as efficient or even advantageous to use the inhomogeneous equation as compared to the homogeneous. This is valuable insight, in particular for the study of baryons in a three-quark setup and more involved systems. PMID:21760640

Generation of phase II in vitro metabolites using homogenized horse liver.

PubMed

Wong, Jenny K Y; Chan, George H M; Leung, David K K; Tang, Francis P W; Wan, Terence S M

2016-02-01

The successful use of homogenized horse liver for the generation of phase I in vitro metabolites has been previously reported by the authors' laboratory. Prior to the use of homogenized liver, the authors' laboratory had been using mainly horse liver microsomes for carrying out equine in vitro metabolism studies. Homogenized horse liver has shown significant advantages over liver microsomes for in vitro metabolism studies as the procedures are much quicker and have higher capability for generating more in vitro metabolites. In this study, the use of homogenized liver has been extended to the generation of phase II in vitro metabolites (glucuronide and/or sulfate conjugates) using 17β-estradiol, morphine, and boldenone undecylenate as model substrates. It was observed that phase II metabolites could also be generated even without the addition of cofactors. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of the successful use of homogenized horse liver for the generation of phase II metabolites. It also demonstrates the ease with which both phase I and phase II metabolites can now be generated in vitro simply by using homogenized liver without the need for ultracentrifuges or tedious preparation steps. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Type IIb primary hyperlipoproteinemia. An homogenous series of 412 cases].

PubMed

Rouffy, J; Loeper, J; Dreux, C; Lemogne, M; Loeper, J; Pestel, M; Dakkak, R

1976-03-20

On the basis of a homogeneous series of 412 cases of type IIb primary hyperlipoproteinaemia, the authors compare their experience with findings in the literature. The prevalence of this type of hyperlipoproteinaemia in the general population has been underestimated at 3%. Biological diagnosis remains simple (identification of a double and distinct excess in beta and pre beta lipoproteins). Extravascular lipid deposits (gerontoxon, xanthelasma, tendon xanthomata) are not type specific. Hyperlipidaemic syndrome is rare. Above all, the importance of type IIb in atheromatous disease in the young subject now seems obvious. The mode of hereditary transmission of the familial anomaly is not certain but would appear to be often associated with a double heterozygote condition.

Exhaust gas recirculation in a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

DOEpatents

Duffy, Kevin P [Metamora, IL; Kieser, Andrew J [Morton, IL; Rodman, Anthony [Chillicothe, IL; Liechty, Michael P [Chillicothe, IL; Hergart, Carl-Anders [Peoria, IL; Hardy, William L [Peoria, IL

2008-05-27

A homogeneous charge compression ignition engine operates by injecting liquid fuel directly in a combustion chamber, and mixing the fuel with recirculated exhaust and fresh air through an auto ignition condition of the fuel. The engine includes at least one turbocharger for extracting energy from the engine exhaust and using that energy to boost intake pressure of recirculated exhaust gas and fresh air. Elevated proportions of exhaust gas recirculated to the engine are attained by throttling the fresh air inlet supply. These elevated exhaust gas recirculation rates allow the HCCI engine to be operated at higher speeds and loads rendering the HCCI engine a more viable alternative to a conventional diesel engine.

Effect of homogenization on the properties and microstructure of Mozzarella cheese from buffalo milk.

PubMed

Abd El-Gawad, Mona A M; Ahmed, Nawal S; El-Abd, M M; Abd El-Rafee, S

2012-04-02

The name pasta filata refers to a unique plasticizing and texturing treatments of the fresh curd in hot water that imparts to the finished cheese its characteristic fibrous structure and melting properties. Mozzarella cheese made from standardized homogenized and non-homogenized buffalo milk with 3 and 1.5%fat. The effect of homogenization on rheological, microstructure and sensory evaluation was carried out. Fresh raw buffalo milk and starter cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus were used. The coagulants were calf rennet powder (HA-LA). Standardized buffalo milk was homogenized at 25 kg/cm2 pressure after heating to 60°C using homogenizer. Milk and cheese were analysed. Microstructure of the cheese samples was investigated either with an application of transmission or scanning electron microscope. Statistical analyses were applied on the obtained data. Soluble nitrogen total volatile free fatty acids, soluble tyrosine and tryptophan increased with using homogenized milk and also, increased with relatively decrease in case of homogenized Mozzarella cheese. Meltability of Mozzarella cheese increased with increasing the fat content and storage period and decrease with homogenization. Mozzarella cheese firmness increased with homogenization and also, increased with progressing of storage period. Flavour score, appearance and total score of Mozzarella cheese increased with homogenization and storage period progress, while body and texture score decreased with homogenization and increased with storage period progress. Microstructure of Mozzarella cheese showed the low fat cheese tends to be harder, more crumbly and less smooth than normal. Curd granule junctions were prominent in non-homogenized milk cheese. Homogenization of milk cheese caused changes in the microstructure of the Mozzarella cheese. Microstructure studies of cheese revealed that cheese made from homogenized milk is smoother and has a finer texture than

Periodic solutions of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation with a periodic non-homogeneous term and Aubry-Mather theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sobolevskii, A N

It is proved that the one-dimensional Hamilton-Jacobi equation with a periodic non-homogeneous term admits a family of generalized solutions, each of which can be represented as the sum of a linear and a periodic function; a condition for the uniqueness of such a solution is given in terms of Aubry-Mather theory.

Superfluid transition of homogeneous and trapped two-dimensional Bose gases.

PubMed

Holzmann, Markus; Baym, Gordon; Blaizot, Jean-Paul; Laloë, Franck

2007-01-30

Current experiments on atomic gases in highly anisotropic traps present the opportunity to study in detail the low temperature phases of two-dimensional inhomogeneous systems. Although, in an ideal gas, the trapping potential favors Bose-Einstein condensation at finite temperature, interactions tend to destabilize the condensate, leading to a superfluid Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii phase with a finite superfluid mass density but no long-range order, as in homogeneous fluids. The transition in homogeneous systems is conveniently described in terms of dissociation of topological defects (vortex-antivortex pairs). However, trapped two-dimensional gases are more directly approached by generalizing the microscopic theory of the homogeneous gas. In this paper, we first derive, via a diagrammatic expansion, the scaling structure near the phase transition in a homogeneous system, and then study the effects of a trapping potential in the local density approximation. We find that a weakly interacting trapped gas undergoes a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition from the normal state at a temperature slightly below the Bose-Einstein transition temperature of the ideal gas. The characteristic finite superfluid mass density of a homogeneous system just below the transition becomes strongly suppressed in a trapped gas.

Effect of Microstructure Constraints on the Homogenized Elastic Constants of Elastomeric Sylgard/GMB Syntactic Foam.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Judith Alice; Steck, Daniel; Brown, Judith Alice

Previous numerical studies of Sylgard filled with glass microballoons (GMB) have relied on various microstructure idealizations to achieve a large range of volume fractions with high mesh quality. This study investigates how different microstructure idealizations and constraints affect the apparent homogenized elastic constants in the virgin state of the material, in which all GMBs are intact and perfectly bonded to the Sylgard matrix, and in the fully damaged state of the material in which all GMBs are destroyed. In the latter state, the material behaves as an elastomeric foam. Four microstructure idealizations are considered relating to how GMBs are packedmore » into a representative volume element (RVE): (1) no boundary penetration nor GMB-GMB overlap, (2) GMB-GMB overlap, (3) boundary penetration, and (4) boundary penetration and GMB-GMB overlap. First order computational homogenization with kinematically uniform displacement boundary conditions (KUBCs) was employed to determine the homogenized (apparent) bulk and shear moduli for the four microstructure idealizations in the intact and fully broken GMB material states. It was found that boundary penetration has a significant effect on the shear modulus for microstructures with intact GMBs, but that neither boundary penetration nor GMB overlap have a significant effect on homogenized properties for microstructures with fully broken GMBs. The primary conclusion of the study is that future investigations into Sylgard/GMB micromechanics should either force GMBs to stay within the RVE fully and/or use periodic BCs (PBCs) to eliminate the boundary penetration issues. The implementation of PBCs requires the improvement of existing tools in Sandia’s Sierra/SM code.« less

Catalytic photodegradation of pharmaceuticals - homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysis.

PubMed

Klementova, S; Kahoun, D; Doubkova, L; Frejlachova, K; Dusakova, M; Zlamal, M

2017-01-18

Photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals (hydrocortisone, estradiol, and verapamil) and personal care product additives (parabens-methyl, ethyl, and propyl derivatives) was investigated in the homogeneous phase (with ferric ions as the catalyst) and on TiO 2 . Ferric ions in concentrations corresponding to concentrations in natural water bodies were shown to be a significant accelerator of the degradation in homogeneous reaction mixtures. In heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions on TiO 2 , lower reaction rates, but mineralisation to higher extents, were observed.

Trapping of diffusing particles by striped cylindrical surfaces. Boundary homogenization approach

PubMed Central

Dagdug, Leonardo; Berezhkovskii, Alexander M.; Skvortsov, Alexei T.

2015-01-01

We study trapping of diffusing particles by a cylindrical surface formed by rolling a flat surface, containing alternating absorbing and reflecting stripes, into a tube. For an arbitrary stripe orientation with respect to the tube axis, this problem is intractable analytically because it requires dealing with non-uniform boundary conditions. To bypass this difficulty, we use a boundary homogenization approach which replaces non-uniform boundary conditions on the tube wall by an effective uniform partially absorbing boundary condition with properly chosen effective trapping rate. We demonstrate that the exact solution for the effective trapping rate, known for a flat, striped surface, works very well when this surface is rolled into a cylindrical tube. This is shown for both internal and external problems, where the particles diffuse inside and outside the striped tube, at three orientations of the stripe direction with respect to the tube axis: (a) perpendicular to the axis, (b) parallel to the axis, and (c) at the angle of π/4 to the axis. PMID:26093574

A comparison of maximal bioenergetic enzyme activities obtained with commonly used homogenization techniques.

PubMed

Grace, M; Fletcher, L; Powers, S K; Hughes, M; Coombes, J

1996-12-01

Homogenization of tissue for analysis of bioenergetic enzyme activities is a common practice in studies examining metabolic properties of skeletal muscle adaptation to disease, aging, inactivity or exercise. While numerous homogenization techniques are in use today, limited information exists concerning the efficacy of specific homogenization protocols. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of four commonly used approaches to homogenizing skeletal muscle for analysis of bioenergetic enzyme activity. The maximal enzyme activity (Vmax) of citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured from homogenous muscle samples (N = 48 per homogenization technique) and used as indicators to determine which protocol had the highest efficacy. The homogenization techniques were: (1) glass-on-glass pestle; (2) a combination of a mechanical blender and a teflon pestle (Potter-Elvehjem); (3) a combination of the mechanical blender and a biological detergent; and (4) the combined use of a mechanical blender and a sonicator. The glass-on-glass pestle homogenization protocol produced significantly higher (P < 0.05) enzyme activities compared to all other protocols for both enzymes. Of the four protocols examined, the data demonstrate that the glass-on-glass pestle homogenization protocol is the technique of choice for studying bioenergetic enzyme activity in skeletal muscle.

Estimation of homogeneous nucleation flux via a kinetic model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, C. F.; Bauer, S. H.

1991-01-01

The proposed kinetic model for condensation under homogeneous conditions, and the onset of unidirectional cluster growth in supersaturated gases, does not suffer from the conceptual flaws that characterize classical nucleation theory. When a full set of simultaneous rate equation is solved, a characteristic time emerges, for each cluster size, at which the production rate, and its rate of conversion to the next size (n + 1) are equal. Procedures for estimating the essential parameters are proposed; condensation fluxes J(kin) exp ss are evaluated. Since there are practical limits to the cluster size that can be incorporated in the set of simultaneous first-order differential equations, a code was developed for computing an approximate J(th) exp ss based on estimates of a 'constrained equilibrium' distribution, and identification of its minimum.

Mesoscopic homogenization of semi-insulating GaAs by two-step post growth annealing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffmann, B.; Jurisch, M.; Koehler, A.

1996-12-31

Mesoscopic homogenization of the electrical properties of s.i. LEC-GaAs is commonly realized by thermal treatment of the crystals including the steps of dissolution of arsenic precipitates, homogenization of excess As and re-precipitation by creating a controlled supersaturation. Caused by the inhomogeneous distribution of dislocations and the corresponding cellular structure along and across LEC-grown crystals a proper choice of the time-temperature program is necessary to minimize fluctuations of mesoscopic homogeneity. A modified two-step ingot annealing process is demonstrated to ensure the homogeneous distribution of mesoscopic homogeneity.

TESTING HOMOGENEITY WITH GALAXY STAR FORMATION HISTORIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoyle, Ben; Jimenez, Raul; Tojeiro, Rita

2013-01-01

Observationally confirming spatial homogeneity on sufficiently large cosmological scales is of importance to test one of the underpinning assumptions of cosmology, and is also imperative for correctly interpreting dark energy. A challenging aspect of this is that homogeneity must be probed inside our past light cone, while observations take place on the light cone. The star formation history (SFH) in the galaxy fossil record provides a novel way to do this. We calculate the SFH of stacked luminous red galaxy (LRG) spectra obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We divide the LRG sample into 12 equal-area contiguous sky patchesmore » and 10 redshift slices (0.2 < z < 0.5), which correspond to 120 blocks of volume {approx}0.04 Gpc{sup 3}. Using the SFH in a time period that samples the history of the universe between look-back times 11.5 and 13.4 Gyr as a proxy for homogeneity, we calculate the posterior distribution for the excess large-scale variance due to inhomogeneity, and find that the most likely solution is no extra variance at all. At 95% credibility, there is no evidence of deviations larger than 5.8%.« less

Homogeneous Biosensing Based on Magnetic Particle Labels

PubMed Central

Schrittwieser, Stefan; Pelaz, Beatriz; Parak, Wolfgang J.; Lentijo-Mozo, Sergio; Soulantica, Katerina; Dieckhoff, Jan; Ludwig, Frank; Guenther, Annegret; Tschöpe, Andreas; Schotter, Joerg

2016-01-01

The growing availability of biomarker panels for molecular diagnostics is leading to an increasing need for fast and sensitive biosensing technologies that are applicable to point-of-care testing. In that regard, homogeneous measurement principles are especially relevant as they usually do not require extensive sample preparation procedures, thus reducing the total analysis time and maximizing ease-of-use. In this review, we focus on homogeneous biosensors for the in vitro detection of biomarkers. Within this broad range of biosensors, we concentrate on methods that apply magnetic particle labels. The advantage of such methods lies in the added possibility to manipulate the particle labels by applied magnetic fields, which can be exploited, for example, to decrease incubation times or to enhance the signal-to-noise-ratio of the measurement signal by applying frequency-selective detection. In our review, we discriminate the corresponding methods based on the nature of the acquired measurement signal, which can either be based on magnetic or optical detection. The underlying measurement principles of the different techniques are discussed, and biosensing examples for all techniques are reported, thereby demonstrating the broad applicability of homogeneous in vitro biosensing based on magnetic particle label actuation. PMID:27275824

Regionalization Study of Satellite based Hydrological Model (SHM) in Hydrologically Homogeneous River Basins of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumari, Babita; Paul, Pranesh Kumar; Singh, Rajendra; Mishra, Ashok; Gupta, Praveen Kumar; Singh, Raghvendra P.

2017-04-01

A new semi-distributed conceptual hydrological model, namely Satellite based Hydrological Model (SHM), has been developed under 'PRACRITI-2' program of Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad for sustainable water resources management of India by using data from Indian Remote Sensing satellites. Entire India is divided into 5km x 5km grid cells and properties at the center of the cells are assumed to represent the property of the cells. SHM contains five modules namely surface water, forest, snow, groundwater and routing. Two empirical equations (SCS-CN and Hargreaves) and water balance method have been used in the surface water module; the forest module is based on the calculations of water balancing & dynamics of subsurface. 2-D Boussinesq equation is used for groundwater modelling which is solved using implicit finite-difference. The routing module follows a distributed routing approach which requires flow path and network with the key point of travel time estimation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of SHM using regionalization technique which also checks the usefulness of a model in data scarce condition or for ungauged basins. However, homogeneity analysis is pre-requisite to regionalization. Similarity index (Φ) and hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis are adopted to test the homogeneity in terms of physical attributes of three basins namely Brahmani (39,033 km km^2)), Baitarani (10,982 km km^2)) and Kangsabati (9,660 km km^2)) with respect to Subarnarekha (29,196 km km^2)) basin. The results of both homogeneity analysis show that Brahmani basin is the most homogeneous with respect to Subarnarekha river basin in terms of physical characteristics (land use land cover classes, soiltype and elevation). The calibration and validation of model parameters of Brahmani basin is in progress which are to be transferred into the SHM set up of Subarnarekha basin and results are to be compared with the results of calibrated and validated

Transport of a decay chain in homogenous porous media: analytical solutions.

PubMed

Bauer, P; Attinger, S; Kinzelbach, W

2001-06-01

With the aid of integral transforms, analytical solutions for the transport of a decay chain in homogenous porous media are derived. Unidirectional steady-state flow and radial steady-state flow in single and multiple porosity media are considered. At least in Laplace domain, all solutions can be written in closed analytical formulae. Partly, the solutions can also be inverted analytically. If not, analytical calculation of the steady-state concentration distributions, evaluation of temporal moments and numerical inversion are still possible. Formulae for several simple boundary conditions are given and visualized in this paper. The derived novel solutions are widely applicable and are very useful for the validation of numerical transport codes.

Automatic benchmarking of homogenization packages applied to synthetic monthly series within the frame of the MULTITEST project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guijarro, José A.; López, José A.; Aguilar, Enric; Domonkos, Peter; Venema, Victor; Sigró, Javier; Brunet, Manola

2017-04-01

After the successful inter-comparison of homogenization methods carried out in the COST Action ES0601 (HOME), many methods kept improving their algorithms, suggesting the need of performing new inter-comparison exercises. However, manual applications of the methodologies to a large number of testing networks cannot be afforded without involving the work of many researchers over an extended time. The alternative is to make the comparisons as automatic as possible, as in the MULTITEST project, which, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, tests homogenization methods by applying them to a large number of synthetic networks of monthly temperature and precipitation. One hundred networks of 10 series were sampled from different master networks containing 100 series of 720 values (60 years times 12 months). Three master temperature networks were built with different degree of cross-correlations between the series in order to simulate conditions of different station densities or climatic heterogeneity. Also three master synthetic networks were developed for precipitation, this time mimicking the characteristics of three different climates: Atlantic temperate, Mediterranean and monsoonal. Inhomogeneities were introduced in every network sampled from the master networks, and all publicly available homogenization methods that we could run in an automatic way were applied to them: ACMANT 3.0, Climatol 3.0, MASH 3.03, RHTestV4, USHCN v52d and HOMER 2.6. Most of them were tested with different settings, and their comparative results can be inspected in box-plot graphics of Root Mean Squared Errors and trend biases computed between the homogenized data and their original homogeneous series. In a first stage, inhomogeneities were applied to the synthetic homogeneous series with five different settings with increasing difficulty and realism: i) big shifts in half of the series; ii) the same with a strong seasonality; iii) short term platforms and local

A novel approach to make homogeneous protease-stable monovalent streptavidin

DOE PAGES

Zhang, M.; Shao, J; Xiao, J.; ...

2015-06-11

The interaction between the tetramer streptavidin and biotin is recognized as one of the strongest non-covalent associations. Owing to the tight and specific binding, the streptavidin-biotin system has been used widely for bimolecular labeling, purification, immobilization, and even for targeted delivery of therapeutics drugs. Here, we report a novel approach to make homogeneous monovalent tetramer streptavidin. The purified monovalent protein showed both thermal stability and protease stability. Unexpectedly, we found that two proteases, Proteinase K (PK) and Subtilisin (SU), can efficiently remove the His8-tag from the wild-type subunit without affecting the tetramer architecture of monovalent streptavidin, thus making it moremore » homogeneous. In addition, crystallization was performed to assure the homogeneity of the monovalent protein prepared. Overall, monovalent streptavidin shows increased homogeneity and will likely be valuable for many future applications in a wide range of research areas.« less

Homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions in curved channel with porous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayat, T.; Ayub, Sadia; Alsaedi, A.

2018-06-01

Purpose of the present investigation is to examine the peristaltic flow through porous medium in a curved conduit. Problem is modeled for incompressible electrically conducting Ellis fluid. Influence of porous medium is tackled via modified Darcy's law. The considered model utilizes homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions with equal diffusivities for reactant and autocatalysis. Constitutive equations are formulated in the presence of viscous dissipation. Channel walls are compliant in nature. Governing equations are modeled and simplified under the assumptions of small Reynolds number and large wavelength. Graphical results for velocity, temperature, heat transfer coefficient and homogeneous-heterogeneous reaction parameters are examined for the emerging parameters entering into the problem. Results reveal an activation in both homogenous-heterogenous reaction effect and heat transfer rate with increasing curvature of the channel.

Extreme between-study homogeneity in meta-analyses could offer useful insights.

PubMed

Ioannidis, John P A; Trikalinos, Thomas A; Zintzaras, Elias

2006-10-01

Meta-analyses are routinely evaluated for the presence of large between-study heterogeneity. We examined whether it is also important to probe whether there is extreme between-study homogeneity. We used heterogeneity tests with left-sided statistical significance for inference and developed a Monte Carlo simulation test for testing extreme homogeneity in risk ratios across studies, using the empiric distribution of the summary risk ratio and heterogeneity statistic. A left-sided P=0.01 threshold was set for claiming extreme homogeneity to minimize type I error. Among 11,803 meta-analyses with binary contrasts from the Cochrane Library, 143 (1.21%) had left-sided P-value <0.01 for the asymptotic Q statistic and 1,004 (8.50%) had left-sided P-value <0.10. The frequency of extreme between-study homogeneity did not depend on the number of studies in the meta-analyses. We identified examples where extreme between-study homogeneity (left-sided P-value <0.01) could result from various possibilities beyond chance. These included inappropriate statistical inference (asymptotic vs. Monte Carlo), use of a specific effect metric, correlated data or stratification using strong predictors of outcome, and biases and potential fraud. Extreme between-study homogeneity may provide useful insights about a meta-analysis and its constituent studies.

A rapid mechanism to remobilize and homogenize highly crystalline magma bodies.

PubMed

Burgisser, Alain; Bergantz, George W

2011-03-10

The largest products of magmatic activity on Earth, the great bodies of granite and their corresponding large eruptions, have a dual nature: homogeneity at the large scale and spatial and temporal heterogeneity at the small scale. This duality calls for a mechanism that selectively removes the large-scale heterogeneities associated with the incremental assembly of these magmatic systems and yet occurs rapidly despite crystal-rich, viscous conditions seemingly resistant to mixing. Here we show that a simple dynamic template can unify a wide range of apparently contradictory observations from both large plutonic bodies and volcanic systems by a mechanism of rapid remobilization (unzipping) of highly viscous crystal-rich mushes. We demonstrate that this remobilization can lead to rapid overturn and produce the observed juxtaposition of magmatic materials with very disparate ages and complex chemical zoning. What distinguishes our model is the recognition that the process has two stages. Initially, a stiff mushy magma is reheated from below, producing a reduction in crystallinity that leads to the growth of a subjacent buoyant mobile layer. When the thickening mobile layer becomes sufficiently buoyant, it penetrates the overlying viscous mushy magma. This second stage rapidly exports homogenized material from the lower mobile layer to the top of the system, and leads to partial overturn within the viscous mush itself as an additional mechanism of mixing. Model outputs illustrate that unzipping can rapidly produce large amounts of mobile magma available for eruption. The agreement between calculated and observed unzipping rates for historical eruptions at Pinatubo and at Montserrat demonstrates the general applicability of the model. This mechanism furthers our understanding of both the formation of periodically homogenized plutons (crust building) and of ignimbrites by large eruptions.

Impact of homogeneous strain on uranium vacancy diffusion in uranium dioxide

DOE PAGES

Goyal, Anuj; Phillpot, Simon R.; Subramanian, Gopinath; ...

2015-03-03

We present a detailed mechanism of, and the effect of homogeneous strains on, the migration of uranium vacancies in UO 2. Vacancy migration pathways and barriers are identified using density functional theory and the effect of uniform strain fields are accounted for using the dipole tensor approach. We report complex migration pathways and noncubic symmetry associated with the uranium vacancy in UO 2 and show that these complexities need to be carefully accounted for to predict the correct diffusion behavior of uranium vacancies. We show that under homogeneous strain fields, only the dipole tensor of the saddle with respect tomore » the minimum is required to correctly predict the change in the energy barrier between the strained and the unstrained case. Diffusivities are computed using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations for both neutral and fully charged state of uranium single and divacancies. We calculate the effect of strain on migration barriers in the temperature range 800–1800 K for both vacancy types. Homogeneous strains as small as 2% have a considerable effect on diffusivity of both single and divacancies of uranium, with the effect of strain being more pronounced for single vacancies than divacancies. In contrast, the response of a given defect to strain is less sensitive to changes in the charge state of the defect. Further, strain leads to anisotropies in the mobility of the vacancy and the degree of anisotropy is very sensitive to the nature of the applied strain field for strain of equal magnitude. Our results indicate that the influence of strain on vacancy diffusivity will be significantly greater when single vacancies dominate the defect structure, such as sintering, while the effects will be much less substantial under irradiation conditions where divacancies dominate.« less

Decay and growth laws in homogeneous shear turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briard, Antoine; Gomez, Thomas; Mons, Vincent; Sagaut, Pierre

2016-07-01

Homogeneous anisotropic turbulence has been widely studied in the past decades, both numerically and experimentally. Shear flows have received a particular attention because of the numerous physical phenomena they exhibit. In the present paper, both the decay and growth of anisotropy in homogeneous shear flows at high Reynolds numbers are revisited thanks to a recent eddy-damped quasi-normal Markovian closure adapted to homogeneous anisotropic turbulence. The emphasis is put on several aspects: an asymptotic model for the slow part of the pressure-strain tensor is derived for the return to isotropy process when mean velocity gradients are released. Then, a general decay law for purely anisotropic quantities in Batchelor turbulence is proposed. At last, a discussion is proposed to explain the scattering of global quantities obtained in DNS and experiments in sustained shear flows: the emphasis is put on the exponential growth rate of the kinetic energy and on the shear parameter.

Development of Molecular Catalysts to Bridge the Gap between Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Rong

be versatile scaffolds for the synthesis and stabilization of small nanoclusters. Then these dendrimer-encapsulated metal clusters (DEMCs) are adsorbed onto mesoporous silica. Through this method, we have achieved selective transformations that had been challenging to accomplish in a heterogeneous setting, e.g. pi-bond activation and aldol reactions. Extensive investigation into the catalytic systems under reaction conditions allowed us to correlate the structural features (e.g. oxidation states) of the catalysts and their activity. Moreover, we have demonstrated that supported DEMCs are also excellent catalysts for typical heterogeneous reactions, including hydrogenation and alkane isomerization. Critically, these investigations also confirmed that the supported DEMCs are heterogeneous and stable against leaching. Catalysts optimization is achieved through the modulation of various parameters. The clusters are oxidized (e.g., with PhICl2) or reduced (e.g., with H2) in situ. Changing the dendrimer properties (e.g., generation, terminal functional groups) is analogous to ligand modification in homogeneous catalysts, which affect both catalytic activity and selectivity. Similarly, pore size of the support is another factor in determining product distribution. In a flow reactor, the flow rate is adjusted to control the residence time of the starting material and intermediates, and thus the final product selectivity. Our approach to heterogeneous catalysis affords various advantages: (1) the catalyst system can tap into the reactivity typical to homogeneous catalysts, which conventional heterogeneous catalysts could not achieve; (2) unlike most homogeneous catalysts with comparable performance, the heterogenized homogeneous catalysts can be recycled; (3) improved activity or selectivity compared to conventional homogeneous catalysts is possible because of uniquely heterogeneous parameters for optimization. While localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) provides a

Superconductivity modelling: Homogenization of Bean`s model in three dimensions, and the problem of transverse conductivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bossavit, A.

The authors show how to pass from the local Bean`s model, assumed to be valid as a behavior law for a homogeneous superconductor, to a model of similar form, valid on a larger space scale. The process, which can be iterated to higher and higher space scales, consists in solving for the fields e and j over a ``periodicity cell`` with periodic boundary conditions.

A simple homogeneous model for regular and irregular metallic wire media samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosulnikov, S. Y.; Mirmoosa, M. S.; Simovski, C. R.

2018-02-01

To simplify the solution of electromagnetic problems with wire media samples, it is reasonable to treat them as the samples of a homogeneous material without spatial dispersion. The account of spatial dispersion implies additional boundary conditions and makes the solution of boundary problems difficult especially if the sample is not an infinitely extended layer. Moreover, for a novel type of wire media - arrays of randomly tilted wires - a spatially dispersive model has not been developed. Here, we introduce a simplistic heuristic model of wire media samples shaped as bricks. Our model covers WM of both regularly and irregularly stretched wires.

On the asymptotic behaviour of 2D stationary Navier-Stokes solutions with symmetry conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decaster, Agathe; Iftimie, Dragoş

2017-10-01

We consider the 2D stationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in ℝ2. Under suitable symmetry, smallness and decay at infinity conditions on the forcing we determine the behaviour at infinity of the solutions. Moreover, when the forcing is small, satisfies suitable symmetry conditions and decays at infinity like a vector field homogeneous of degree -3, we show that there exists a unique small solution whose asymptotic behaviour at infinity is homogeneous of degree -1.

Homogeneous free-form directional backlight for 3D display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krebs, Peter; Liang, Haowen; Fan, Hang; Zhang, Aiqin; Zhou, Yangui; Chen, Jiayi; Li, Kunyang; Zhou, Jianying

2017-08-01

Realization of a near perfect homogeneous secondary emission source for 3D display is proposed and demonstrated. The light source takes advantage of an array of free-form emission surface with a specially tailored light guiding structure, a light diffuser and Fresnel lens. A seamless and homogeneous directional emission is experimentally obtained which is essential for a high quality naked-eye 3D display.

Etude de l'affaiblissement du comportement mecanique du pergelisol du au rechauffement climatique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buteau, Sylvie

Le rechauffement climatique predit pour les prochaines decennies, aura des impacts majeurs sur le pergelisol qui sont tres peu documentes pour l'instant. La presente etude a pour but d'evaluer ces impacts sur les proprietes mecaniques du pergelisol et sa stabilite a long terme. Une nouvelle technique d'essai de penetration au cone a taux de deformation controle, a ete developpee pour caracteriser en place le pergelisol. Ces essais geotechniques et la mesure de differentes proprietes physiques ont ete effectues sur une butte de pergelisol au cours du printemps 2000. Le developpement et l'utilisation d'un modele geothermique 1D tenant compte de la thermodependance du comportement mecanique ont permis d'evaluer que les etendues de pergelisol chaud deviendraient instables a la suite d'un rechauffement de l'ordre de 5°C sur cent ans. En effet, la resistance mecanique du pergelisol diminuera alors rapidement jusqu'a 11,6 MPa, ce qui correspond a une perte relative de 98% de la resistance par rapport a un scenario sans rechauffement.

General Theorems about Homogeneous Ellipsoidal Inclusions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korringa, J.; And Others

1978-01-01

Mathematical theorems about the properties of ellipsoids are developed. Included are Poisson's theorem concerning the magnetization of a homogeneous body of ellipsoidal shape, the polarization of a dielectric, the transport of heat or electricity through an ellipsoid, and other problems. (BB)

Homogenization of CZ Si wafers by Tabula Rasa annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meduňa, M.; Caha, O.; Kuběna, J.; Kuběna, A.; Buršík, J.

2009-12-01

The precipitation of interstitial oxygen in Czochralski grown silicon has been investigated by infrared absorption spectroscopy, chemical etching, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction after application of homogenization annealing process called Tabula Rasa. The influence of this homogenization step consisting in short time annealing at high temperature has been observed for various temperatures and times. The experimental results involving the interstitial oxygen decay in Si wafers and absorption spectra of SiOx precipitates during precipitation annealing at 1000∘ C were compared with other techniques for various Tabula Rasa temperatures. The differences in oxygen precipitation, precipitate morphology and evolution of point defects in samples with and without Tabula Rasa applied is evident from all used experimental techniques. The results qualitatively correlate with prediction of homogenization annealing process based on classical nucleation theory.

Kinetics of homogeneous and surface-catalyzed mercury(II) reduction by iron(II)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amirbahman, Aria; Kent, Douglas B.; Curtis, Gary P.; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.

2013-01-01

Production of elemental mercury, Hg(0), via Hg(II) reduction is an important pathway that should be considered when studying Hg fate in environment. We conducted a kinetic study of abiotic homogeneous and surface-catalyzed Hg(0) production by Fe(II) under dark anoxic conditions. Hg(0) production rate, from initial 50 pM Hg(II) concentration, increased with increasing pH (5.5–8.1) and aqueous Fe(II) concentration (0.1–1 mM). The homogeneous rate was best described by the expression, rhom = khom [FeOH+] [Hg(OH)2]; khom = 7.19 × 10+3 L (mol min)−1. Compared to the homogeneous case, goethite (α-FeOOH) and hematite (α-Fe2O3) increased and γ-alumina (γ-Al2O3) decreased the Hg(0) production rate. Heterogeneous Hg(0) production rates were well described by a model incorporating equilibrium Fe(II) adsorption, rate-limited Hg(II) reduction by dissolved and adsorbed Fe(II), and rate-limited Hg(II) adsorption. Equilibrium Fe(II) adsorption was described using a surface complexation model calibrated with previously published experimental data. The Hg(0) production rate was well described by the expression rhet = khet [>SOFe(II)] [Hg(OH)2], where >SOFe(II) is the total adsorbed Fe(II) concentration; khet values were 5.36 × 10+3, 4.69 × 10+3, and 1.08 × 10+2 L (mol min)−1 for hematite, goethite, and γ-alumina, respectively. Hg(0) production coupled to reduction by Fe(II) may be an important process to consider in ecosystem Hg studies.

Heterogeneous to homogeneous melting transition visualized with ultrafast electron diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

The ultrafast laser excitation of matters leads to non-equilibrium states with complex solid-liquid phase transition dynamics. We used electron diffraction at mega-electronvolt energies to visualize the ultrafast melting of gold on the atomic scale length. For energy densities approaching the irreversible melting regime, we first observed heterogeneous melting on time scales of 100 ps to 1000 ps, transitioning to homogeneous melting that occurs catastrophically within 10-20 ps at higher energy densities. We showed evidence for the heterogeneous coexistence of solid and liquid. We determined the ion and electron temperature evolution and found superheated conditions. Our results constrain the electron-ion couplingmore » rate, determine the Debye temperature and reveal the melting sensitivity to nucleation seeds.« less

Generalized quantum theory of recollapsing homogeneous cosmologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, David; Hartle, James B.

2004-06-01

A sum-over-histories generalized quantum theory is developed for homogeneous minisuperspace type A Bianchi cosmological models, focusing on the particular example of the classically recollapsing Bianchi type-IX universe. The decoherence functional for such universes is exhibited. We show how the probabilities of decoherent sets of alternative, coarse-grained histories of these model universes can be calculated. We consider in particular the probabilities for classical evolution defined by a suitable coarse graining. For a restricted class of initial conditions and coarse grainings we exhibit the approximate decoherence of alternative histories in which the universe behaves classically and those in which it does not. For these situations we show that the probability is near unity for the universe to recontract classically if it expands classically. We also determine the relative probabilities of quasiclassical trajectories for initial states of WKB form, recovering for such states a precise form of the familiar heuristic “JṡdΣ” rule of quantum cosmology, as well as a generalization of this rule to generic initial states.

Beyond relationships between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dixon, David A.; Katz, Alexander; Arslan, Ilke

2014-08-13

Scientists who regard catalysis as a coherent field have been striving for decades to articulate the fundamental unifying principles. But because these principles seem to be broader than chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science combined, catalytic scientists commonly interact within the sub-domains of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and bio-catalysis, and increasingly within even narrower domains such as organocatalysis, phase-transfer catalysis, acid-base catalysis, zeolite catalysis, etc. Attempts to unify catalysis have motivated researchers to find relationships between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and to mimic enzymes. These themes have inspired vibrant international meetings and workshops, and we have benefited from the idea exchanges andmore » have some thoughts about a path forward.« less

Homogeneity of gels and gel-derived glasses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mukherjee, S. P.

1984-01-01

The significance and implications of gel preparation procedures in controlling the homogeneity of multicomponent oxide gels are discussed. The role of physicochemical factors such as the structure and chemical reactivities of alkoxides, the formation of double-metal alkoxides, and the nature of solvent(s) are critically analyzed in the context of homogeneity of gels during gelation. Three procedures for preparing gels in the SiO2-B2O3-Na2O system are examined in the context of cation distribution. Light scattering results for glasses in the SiO2-B2O3-Na2O system prepared by both the gel technique and the conventional technique are examined.

Applications of High and Ultra High Pressure Homogenization for Food Safety.

PubMed

Patrignani, Francesca; Lanciotti, Rosalba

2016-01-01

Traditionally, the shelf-life and safety of foods have been achieved by thermal processing. Low temperature long time and high temperature short time treatments are the most commonly used hurdles for the pasteurization of fluid foods and raw materials. However, the thermal treatments can reduce the product quality and freshness. Consequently, some non-thermal pasteurization process have been proposed during the last decades, including high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric field, ultrasound (US), and high pressure homogenization (HPH). This last technique has been demonstrated to have a great potential to provide "fresh-like" products with prolonged shelf-life. Moreover, the recent developments in high-pressure-homogenization technology and the design of new homogenization valves able to withstand pressures up to 350-400 MPa have opened new opportunities to homogenization processing in the food industries and, consequently, permitted the development of new products differentiated from traditional ones by sensory and structural characteristics or functional properties. For this, this review deals with the principal mechanisms of action of HPH against microorganisms of food concern in relation to the adopted homogenizer and process parameters. In addition, the effects of homogenization on foodborne pathogenic species inactivation in relation to the food matrix and food chemico-physical and process variables will be reviewed. Also the combined use of this alternative technology with other non-thermal technologies will be considered.

Applications of High and Ultra High Pressure Homogenization for Food Safety

PubMed Central

Patrignani, Francesca; Lanciotti, Rosalba

2016-01-01

Traditionally, the shelf-life and safety of foods have been achieved by thermal processing. Low temperature long time and high temperature short time treatments are the most commonly used hurdles for the pasteurization of fluid foods and raw materials. However, the thermal treatments can reduce the product quality and freshness. Consequently, some non-thermal pasteurization process have been proposed during the last decades, including high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric field, ultrasound (US), and high pressure homogenization (HPH). This last technique has been demonstrated to have a great potential to provide “fresh-like” products with prolonged shelf-life. Moreover, the recent developments in high-pressure-homogenization technology and the design of new homogenization valves able to withstand pressures up to 350–400 MPa have opened new opportunities to homogenization processing in the food industries and, consequently, permitted the development of new products differentiated from traditional ones by sensory and structural characteristics or functional properties. For this, this review deals with the principal mechanisms of action of HPH against microorganisms of food concern in relation to the adopted homogenizer and process parameters. In addition, the effects of homogenization on foodborne pathogenic species inactivation in relation to the food matrix and food chemico-physical and process variables will be reviewed. Also the combined use of this alternative technology with other non-thermal technologies will be considered. PMID:27536270

Homogeneity of ball milled ceramic powders: Effect of jar shape and milling conditions.

PubMed

Broseghini, M; D'Incau, M; Gelisio, L; Pugno, N M; Scardi, P

2017-02-01

This paper contains data and supporting information of and complementary to the research article entitled " Effect of jar shape on high-energy planetary ball milling efficiency: simulations and experiments " (Broseghini et al.,) [1]. Calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ) was ground using two jars of different shape (cylindrical and half-moon) installed on a planetary ball-mill, exploring different operating conditions (jar-to-plate angular velocity ratio and milling time). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images and X-Ray Powder Diffraction data (XRPD) were collected to assess the effect of milling conditions on the end-product crystallite size. Due to the inhomogeneity of the end product, the Whole Powder Pattern Model (WPPM, (Scardi, 2008) [2]) analysis of XRPD data required the hypothesis of a bimodal distribution of sizes - respectively ground (fine fraction) and less-to-not ground (coarse fraction) - confirmed by SEM images and suggested by the previous literature (Abdellatief et al., 2013) [3,4]. Predominance of fine fraction clearly indicates optimal milling conditions.

Modeling the Homogenization Kinetics of As-Cast U-10wt% Mo alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Zhijie; Joshi, Vineet; Hu, Shenyang Y.

2016-01-15

Low-enriched U-22at% Mo (U-10Mo) alloy has been considered as an alternative material to replace the highly enriched fuels in research reactors. For the U-10Mo to work effectively and replace the existing fuel material, a thorough understanding of the microstructure development from as-cast to the final formed structure is required. The as-cast microstructure typically resembles an inhomogeneous microstructure with regions containing molybdenum-rich and -lean regions, which may affect the processing and possibly the in-reactor performance. This as-cast structure must be homogenized by thermal treatment to produce a uniform Mo distribution. The development of a modeling capability will improve the understanding ofmore » the effect of initial microstructures on the Mo homogenization kinetics. In the current work, we investigated the effect of as-cast microstructure on the homogenization kinetics. The kinetics of the homogenization was modeled based on a rigorous algorithm that relates the line scan data of Mo concentration to the gray scale in energy dispersive spectroscopy images, which was used to generate a reconstructed Mo concentration map. The map was then used as realistic microstructure input for physics-based homogenization models, where the entire homogenization kinetics can be simulated and validated against the available experiment data at different homogenization times and temperatures.« less

Stabilisation of perturbed chains of integrators using Lyapunov-based homogeneous controllers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harmouche, Mohamed; Laghrouche, Salah; Chitour, Yacine; Hamerlain, Mustapha

2017-12-01

In this paper, we present a Lyapunov-based homogeneous controller for the stabilisation of a perturbed chain of integrators of arbitrary order r ≥ 1. The proposed controller is based on homogeneous controller for stabilisation of pure chain of integrators. The control of homogeneity degree is also introduced and various controllers are designed using this concept, namely a bounded-controller with minimum amplitude of discontinuous control and a controller with globally fixed-time convergence. The performance of the controller is validated through simulations.

Simple Köhler homogenizers for image-forming solar concentrators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Weiya; Winston, Roland

2010-08-01

By adding simple Köhler homogenizers in the form of aspheric lenses generated with an optimization approach, we solve the problems of non-uniform irradiance distribution and non-square irradiance pattern existing in some image-forming solar concentrators. The homogenizers do not require optical bonding to the solar cells or total internal reflection surface. Two examples are shown including a Fresnel lens based concentrator and a two-mirror aplanatic system.

The abject gaze and the homosexual body: Flandrin's Figure d'Etude.

PubMed

Camille, M

1994-01-01

This article charts the history of the reception, reproduction and appropriation of a single image that has recently become a kind of "gay icon"--the Figure d'Etude in the Louvre, painted by Hippolyte Flandrin in 1835. Initially no more than a neo-classical academic exercise, the formal emptiness of this picture meant that it could be re-invested and reinscribed with new meanings and new titles at every turn. Emblematic of the anxious visibility/invisibility of the newly discovered homosexual body during a period when the gaze still had to be kept a dark secret, Flandrin's image only "came out" in its later photographic reworkings by Frederick Holland Day and Baron von Gloeden. After being reproduced for a specifically homosexual audience early this century, the popular Romantic pose of the young man curled-up in profile became a standard one, reappearing recently in the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe. The inactive, abject and inward-turned isolation of the figure with its narcissistic self-absorption makes it, in my view, a profoundly negative stereotype of the gay gaze and the homosexual body. Flandrin's figure nonetheless appears today on gay merchandise world-wide as a sign of our separate and secluded subject positions and our community's unwillingness to radically alter older imposed and inherited classical stereotypes.

Effect of Mg Addition on the Refinement and Homogenized Distribution of Inclusions in Steel with Different Al Contents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Linzhu; Yang, Shufeng; Li, Jingshe; Zhang, Shuo; Ju, Jiantao

2017-04-01

To investigate the effect of Mg addition on the refinement and homogenized distribution of inclusions, deoxidized experiments with different amounts of aluminum and magnesium addition were carried out at 1873 K (1600 °C) under the condition of no fluid flow. The size distribution of three-dimensional inclusions obtained by applying the modified Schwartz-Saltykov transformation from the observed planar size distribution, and degree of homogeneity in inclusion dispersion quantified by measuring the inter-surface distance of inclusions, were studied as a function of the amount of Mg addition and holding time. The nucleation and growth of inclusions based on homogeneous nucleation theory and Ostwald ripening were discussed with the consideration of supersaturation degree and interfacial energy between molten steel and inclusions. The average attractive force acted on inclusions in experimental steels was estimated according to Paunov's theory. The results showed that in addition to increasing the Mg addition, increasing the oxygen activity at an early stage of deoxidation and lowering the dissolved oxygen content are conductive to the increase of nucleation rate as well as to the refinement of inclusions Moreover, it was found that the degree of homogeneity in inclusion dispersion decreases with an increase of the attractive force acted on inclusions, which is largely dependent on the inclusion composition and volume fraction of inclusions.

Automatic Control of the Concrete Mixture Homogeneity in Cycling Mixers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anatoly Fedorovich, Tikhonov; Drozdov, Anatoly

2018-03-01

The article describes the factors affecting the concrete mixture quality related to the moisture content of aggregates, since the effectiveness of the concrete mixture production is largely determined by the availability of quality management tools at all stages of the technological process. It is established that the unaccounted moisture of aggregates adversely affects the concrete mixture homogeneity and, accordingly, the strength of building structures. A new control method and the automatic control system of the concrete mixture homogeneity in the technological process of mixing components have been proposed, since the tasks of providing a concrete mixture are performed by the automatic control system of processing kneading-and-mixing machinery with operational automatic control of homogeneity. Theoretical underpinnings of the control of the mixture homogeneity are presented, which are related to a change in the frequency of vibrodynamic vibrations of the mixer body. The structure of the technical means of the automatic control system for regulating the supply of water is determined depending on the change in the concrete mixture homogeneity during the continuous mixing of components. The following technical means for establishing automatic control have been chosen: vibro-acoustic sensors, remote terminal units, electropneumatic control actuators, etc. To identify the quality indicator of automatic control, the system offers a structure flowchart with transfer functions that determine the ACS operation in transient dynamic mode.

Homogeneous Characterization of Transiting Exoplanet Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez Maqueo Chew, Yilen; Faedi, Francesca; Hebb, Leslie; Pollacco, Don; Stassun, Keivan; Ghezzi, Luan; Cargile, Phillip; Barros, Susana; Smalley, Barry; Mack, Claude

2012-02-01

We aim to obtain a homogeneous set of high resolution, high signal- to-noise (S/N) spectra for a large and diverse sample of stars with transiting planets, using the Kitt Peak 4-m echelle spectrograph for bright Northern targets (7.7homogeneous analysis of this high-quality dataset, we will be able to investigate any systematic uncertainties on the derived stellar properties, and consequently, on the planetary properties derived from the iterative combination of our spectral analysis with the best available radial velocity data and transit photometry. % to derive a homogeneous set of properties for the transiting systems. The resulting consistent set of physical properties will allow us to further explore known correlations, e.g., core-size of the planet and stellar metallicity, and to newly identify subtle relationships providing insight into our understanding of planetary formation, structure, and evolution. Our pilot study analyzing our WASP-13 HIRES spectrum (R 48 000, S/N>150) in combination with high precision light curves shows an improvement in the precision of the stellar parameters of 60% in Teff, 75% in FeH, 82% in mstar, and 73% in rstar, which translates into a 64% improvement in the precision of rpl, and more than 2% on mpl, relative to the discovery paper's values.

Isotopic homogeneity of iron in the early solar nebula.

PubMed

Zhu, X K; Guo, Y; O'Nions, R K; Young, E D; Ash, R D

2001-07-19

The chemical and isotopic homogeneity of the early solar nebula, and the processes producing fractionation during its evolution, are central issues of cosmochemistry. Studies of the relative abundance variations of three or more isotopes of an element can in principle determine if the initial reservoir of material was a homogeneous mixture or if it contained several distinct sources of precursor material. For example, widespread anomalies observed in the oxygen isotopes of meteorites have been interpreted as resulting from the mixing of a solid phase that was enriched in 16O with a gas phase in which 16O was depleted, or as an isotopic 'memory' of Galactic evolution. In either case, these anomalies are regarded as strong evidence that the early solar nebula was not initially homogeneous. Here we present measurements of the relative abundances of three iron isotopes in meteoritic and terrestrial samples. We show that significant variations of iron isotopes exist in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. But when plotted in a three-isotope diagram, all of the data for these Solar System materials fall on a single mass-fractionation line, showing that homogenization of iron isotopes occurred in the solar nebula before both planetesimal accretion and chondrule formation.

Optimization of the Magnetic Field Homogeneity Area for Solenoid Type Magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perepelkin, Eugene; Polyakova, Rima; Tarelkin, Aleksandr; Kovalenko, Alexander; Sysoev, Pavel; Sadovnikova, Marianne; Yudin, Ivan

2018-02-01

Homogeneous magnetic fields are important requisites in modern physics research. In this paper we discuss the problem of magnetic field homogeneity area maximization for solenoid magnets. We discuss A-model and B-model, which are basic types of solenoid magnets used to provide a homogeneous field, and methods for their optimization. We propose C-model which can be used for the NICA project. We have also carried out a cross-check of the C-model with the parameters stated for the CLEO II detector.

Cryogenic homogenization and sampling of heterogeneous multi-phase feedstock

DOEpatents

Doyle, Glenn Michael; Ideker, Virgene Linda; Siegwarth, James David

2002-01-01

An apparatus and process for producing a homogeneous analytical sample from a heterogenous feedstock by: providing the mixed feedstock, reducing the temperature of the feedstock to a temperature below a critical temperature, reducing the size of the feedstock components, blending the reduced size feedstock to form a homogeneous mixture; and obtaining a representative sample of the homogeneous mixture. The size reduction and blending steps are performed at temperatures below the critical temperature in order to retain organic compounds in the form of solvents, oils, or liquids that may be adsorbed onto or absorbed into the solid components of the mixture, while also improving the efficiency of the size reduction. Preferably, the critical temperature is less than 77 K (-196.degree. C.). Further, with the process of this invention the representative sample may be maintained below the critical temperature until being analyzed.

Multicomponent homogeneous alloys and method for making same

DOEpatents

Dutta, Partha S.; Miller, Thomas R.

2003-09-02

The present application discloses a method for preparing a homogeneous ternary or quaternary alloy from a quaternary melt. The method includes providing a family of phase diagrams for the quaternary melt which shows (i) composition/temperature data, (ii) tie lines connecting equilibrium liquid and solid compositions, and (iii) isotherms representing boundaries of a miscibility gap. Based on the family of phase diagrams, a quaternary melt composition and an alloy growth temperature is selected. A quaternary melt having the selected quaternary melt composition is provided and a ternary or quaternary alloy is grown from the quaternary melt at the selected alloy growth temperature. A method for making homogeneous ternary or quaternary alloy from a ternary or quaternary melt is also disclosed, as are homogeneous quaternary single-crystal alloys which are substantially free from crystal defects and which have the formula A.sub.x B.sub.1-x C.sub.y D.sub.1-y, x and y being the same or different and in the range of 0.001 to 0.999.

Salty popcorn in a homogeneous low-dimensional toy model of holographic QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliot-Ripley, Matthew

2017-04-01

Recently, a homogeneous ansatz has been used to study cold dense nuclear matter in the Sakai-Sugimoto model of holographic QCD. To justify this homogeneous approximation we here investigate a homogeneous ansatz within a low-dimensional toy version of Sakai-Sugimoto to study finite baryon density configurations and compare it to full numerical solutions. We find the ansatz corresponds to enforcing a dyon salt arrangement in which the soliton solutions are split into half-soliton layers. Within this ansatz we find analogues of the proposed baryonic popcorn transitions, in which solutions split into multiple layers in the holographic direction. The homogeneous results are found to qualitatively match the full numerical solutions, lending confidence to the homogeneous approximations of the full Sakai-Sugimoto model. In addition, we find exact compact solutions in the high density, flat space limit which demonstrate the existence of further popcorn transitions to three layers and beyond.

On the modeling of irradiation-induced homogeneous precipitation in proton-bombarded Ni-Si solid solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Nghi Q.; Janghorban, K.; Ardell, A. J.

1981-10-01

Irradiation-induced solute redistribution leading to precipitation of coherent γ' particles in undersaturated Ni-based solid solutions containing 6 and 8 at.% Si during 400-keV proton bombardment was modeled, based on the concept of solute segregation in concentrated alloys under spatially-dependent defect production conditions. The combined effects of (i) an extremely large difference between the defect production rates in the peak-damage and mid-range regions during irradiation and (ii) a preferential coupling between the interstitial and solute fluxes generate a net transient flux of Si atoms into the mid-range region, which is much larger than the solute flux out of this location. As a result, the Si concentration exceeds the solubility limit and homogeneous precipitation of the γ' phase occurs in this particular region of the irradiated samples. The spatial, compositional and temperature dependences of irradiation-induced homogeneous precipitation derived from the present theoretical calculations are in good qualitative agreement with experimental observations

Effect of high pressure homogenization on aqueous phase solvent extraction of lipids from Nannochloris Oculata microalgae

DOE PAGES

Samarasinghe, Nalin; Fernando, Sandun; Faulkner, William B.

2012-12-01

The ability to extract lipids from high-moisture Nannochloris Oculata algal biomass disrupted with high pressure homogenization was investigated. During the first phase, the effect of high pressure homogenization (system pressure and number of passes) on disrupting aqueous algae (of different concentrations and degree of stress) was investigated. Secondly, the effect of degree of cell wall disruption on the amount of lipids extracted with three solvents, namely: hexane, dichloromethane and chloroform, were compared. Studies reveled that high pressure homogenization is effective on cell disruption while the amount of system pressure being the most significant factor affecting the degree of cell breakage.more » Although the number of passes had some impact, the level of disruption seemed to level-off after a certain number of passes. The study revealed that slightly polar solvents (such as chloroform and dichloromethane) performed better in aqueous-phase lipid extractions as compared to hexane. Also, it was revealed that it was not necessary to disrupt the algal cells completely to achieve appreciable levels of lipid yields. In fact, conditions that exerted only 20% of the cells to completely disrupt, allowed sufficient damage to liberate most of the lipids contained in the remainder of the cells.« less

Effect of high pressure homogenization on aqueous phase solvent extraction of lipids from Nannochloris Oculata microalgae

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samarasinghe, Nalin; Fernando, Sandun; Faulkner, William B.

The ability to extract lipids from high-moisture Nannochloris Oculata algal biomass disrupted with high pressure homogenization was investigated. During the first phase, the effect of high pressure homogenization (system pressure and number of passes) on disrupting aqueous algae (of different concentrations and degree of stress) was investigated. Secondly, the effect of degree of cell wall disruption on the amount of lipids extracted with three solvents, namely: hexane, dichloromethane and chloroform, were compared. Studies reveled that high pressure homogenization is effective on cell disruption while the amount of system pressure being the most significant factor affecting the degree of cell breakage.more » Although the number of passes had some impact, the level of disruption seemed to level-off after a certain number of passes. The study revealed that slightly polar solvents (such as chloroform and dichloromethane) performed better in aqueous-phase lipid extractions as compared to hexane. Also, it was revealed that it was not necessary to disrupt the algal cells completely to achieve appreciable levels of lipid yields. In fact, conditions that exerted only 20% of the cells to completely disrupt, allowed sufficient damage to liberate most of the lipids contained in the remainder of the cells.« less

Temperature lowering program for homogeneous doping in flux growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiwei, Wang; Shouquan, Jia

1989-10-01

Based on the mass conservation law and the Burton-Prim-Slichter equation, the temperature program for homogeneous doping in flux growth by slow cooling was derived. The effect of various factors, such as initial supersaturation, solution volume, growth kinetic coefficient and degree of mixing in the solution on growth rate, crystal size and temperature program is discussed in detail. Theoretical analysis shows that there is a critical crystal size above which homogeneous doping is impossible.

Does prescribed burning result in biotic homogenization of coastal heathlands?

PubMed

Velle, Liv Guri; Nilsen, Liv Sigrid; Norderhaug, Ann; Vandvik, Vigdis

2014-05-01

Biotic homogenization due to replacement of native biodiversity by widespread generalist species has been demonstrated in a number of ecosystems and taxonomic groups worldwide, causing growing conservation concern. Human disturbance is a key driver of biotic homogenization, suggesting potential conservation challenges in seminatural ecosystems, where anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing and burning are necessary for maintaining ecological dynamics and functioning. We test whether prescribed burning results in biotic homogenization in the coastal heathlands of north-western Europe, a seminatural landscape where extensive grazing and burning has constituted the traditional land-use practice over the past 6000 years. We compare the beta-diversity before and after fire at three ecological scales: within local vegetation patches, between wet and dry heathland patches within landscapes, and along a 470 km bioclimatic gradient. Within local patches, we found no evidence of homogenization after fire; species richness increased, and the species that entered the burnt Calluna stands were not widespread specialists but native grasses and herbs characteristic of the heathland system. At the landscapes scale, we saw a weak homogenization as wet and dry heathland patches become more compositionally similar after fire. This was because of a decrease in habitat-specific species unique to either wet or dry habitats and postfire colonization by a set of heathland specialists that established in both habitat types. Along the bioclimatic gradient, species that increased after fire generally had more specific environmental requirements and narrower geographical distributions than the prefire flora, resulting in a biotic 'heterogenisation' after fire. Our study demonstrates that human disturbance does not necessarily cause biotic homogenization, but that continuation of traditional land-use practices can instead be crucial for the maintenance of the diversity and ecological

Homogeneous dielectric barrier discharges in atmospheric air and its influencing factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ran, Junxia; Li, Caixia; Ma, Dong; Luo, Haiyun; Li, Xiaowei

2018-03-01

The stable homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is obtained in atmospheric 2-3 mm air gap. It is generated using center frequency 1 kHz high voltage power supply between two plane parallel electrodes with specific alumina ceramic plates as the dielectric barriers. The discharge characteristics are studied by a measurement of its electrical discharge parameters and observation of its light emission phenomena. The results show that a large single current pulse of about 200 μs duration appearing in each voltage pulse, and its light emission is radially homogeneous and covers the entire surface of the two electrodes. The homogeneous discharge generated is a Townsend discharge during discharge. The influences of applied barrier, its thickness, and surface roughness on the transition of discharge modes are studied. The results show that it is difficult to produce a homogeneous discharge using smooth plates or alumina plate surface roughness Ra < 100 nm even at a 1 mm air gap. If the alumina plate is too thin, the discharge also transits to filamentary discharge. If it is too thick, the discharge is too weak to observe. With the increase of air gap distance and applied voltage, the discharge can also transit from a homogeneous mode to a filamentary mode. In order to generate stable and homogeneous DBD at a larger air gap, proper dielectric material, dielectric thickness, and dielectric surface roughness should be used, and proper applied voltage amplitude and frequency should also be used.

A Class of Homogeneous Scalar Tensor Cosmologies with a Radiation Fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazadjiev, Stoytcho S.

We present a new class of exact homogeneous cosmological solutions with a radiation fluid for all scalar tensor theories. The solutions belong to Bianchi type VIh cosmologies. Explicit examples of nonsingular homogeneous scalar tensor cosmologies are also given.

Asymptotic Expansion Homogenization for Multiscale Nuclear Fuel Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hales, J. D.; Tonks, M. R.; Chockalingam, K.

2015-03-01

Engineering scale nuclear fuel performance simulations can benefit by utilizing high-fidelity models running at a lower length scale. Lower length-scale models provide a detailed view of the material behavior that is used to determine the average material response at the macroscale. These lower length-scale calculations may provide insight into material behavior where experimental data is sparse or nonexistent. This multiscale approach is especially useful in the nuclear field, since irradiation experiments are difficult and expensive to conduct. The lower length-scale models complement the experiments by influencing the types of experiments required and by reducing the total number of experiments needed.more » This multiscale modeling approach is a central motivation in the development of the BISON-MARMOT fuel performance codes at Idaho National Laboratory. These codes seek to provide more accurate and predictive solutions for nuclear fuel behavior. One critical aspect of multiscale modeling is the ability to extract the relevant information from the lower length-scale sim- ulations. One approach, the asymptotic expansion homogenization (AEH) technique, has proven to be an effective method for determining homogenized material parameters. The AEH technique prescribes a system of equations to solve at the microscale that are used to compute homogenized material constants for use at the engineering scale. In this work, we employ AEH to explore the effect of evolving microstructural thermal conductivity and elastic constants on nuclear fuel performance. We show that the AEH approach fits cleanly into the BISON and MARMOT codes and provides a natural, multidimensional homogenization capability.« less

Homogenizing Advanced Alloys: Thermodynamic and Kinetic Simulations Followed by Experimental Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jablonski, Paul D.; Hawk, Jeffrey A.

2017-01-01

Segregation of solute elements occurs in nearly all metal alloys during solidification. The resultant elemental partitioning can severely degrade as-cast material properties and lead to difficulties during post-processing (e.g., hot shorts and incipient melting). Many cast articles are subjected to a homogenization heat treatment in order to minimize segregation and improve their performance. Traditionally, homogenization heat treatments are based upon past practice or time-consuming trial and error experiments. Through the use of thermodynamic and kinetic modeling software, NETL has designed a systematic method to optimize homogenization heat treatments. Use of the method allows engineers and researchers to homogenize casting chemistries to levels appropriate for a given application. The method also allows for the adjustment of heat treatment schedules to fit limitations on in-house equipment (capability, reliability, etc.) while maintaining clear numeric targets for segregation reduction. In this approach, the Scheil module within Thermo-Calc is used to predict the as-cast segregation present within an alloy, and then diffusion controlled transformations is used to model homogenization kinetics as a function of time and temperature. Examples of computationally designed heat treatments and verification of their effects on segregation and properties of real castings are presented.

Hydrogen storage materials and method of making by dry homogenation

DOEpatents

Jensen, Craig M.; Zidan, Ragaiy A.

2002-01-01

Dry homogenized metal hydrides, in particular aluminum hydride compounds, as a material for reversible hydrogen storage is provided. The reversible hydrogen storage material comprises a dry homogenized material having transition metal catalytic sites on a metal aluminum hydride compound, or mixtures of metal aluminum hydride compounds. A method of making such reversible hydrogen storage materials by dry doping is also provided and comprises the steps of dry homogenizing metal hydrides by mechanical mixing, such as be crushing or ball milling a powder, of a metal aluminum hydride with a transition metal catalyst. In another aspect of the invention, a method of powering a vehicle apparatus with the reversible hydrogen storage material is provided.

A modified homogeneous relaxation model for CO2 two-phase flow in vapour ejector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haida, M.; Palacz, M.; Smolka, J.; Nowak, A. J.; Hafner, A.; Banasiak, K.

2016-09-01

In this study, the homogenous relaxation model (HRM) for CO2 flow in a two-phase ejector was modified in order to increase the accuracy of the numerical simulations The two- phase flow model was implemented on the effective computational tool called ejectorPL for fully automated and systematic computations of various ejector shapes and operating conditions. The modification of the HRM was performed by a change of the relaxation time and the constants included in the relaxation time equation based on the experimental result under the operating conditions typical for the supermarket refrigeration system. The modified HRM was compared to the HEM results, which were performed based on the comparison of motive nozzle and suction nozzle mass flow rates.

Crucial effect of melt homogenization on the fragility of non-stoichiometric chalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravindren, Sriram; Gunasekera, K.; Tucker, Z.; Diebold, A.; Boolchand, P.; Micoulaut, M.

2014-04-01

The kinetics of homogenization of binary AsxSe100 - x melts in the As concentration range 0% < x < 50% are followed in Fourier Transform (FT)-Raman profiling experiments, and show that 2 g sized melts in the middle concentration range 20% < x < 30% take nearly two weeks to homogenize when starting materials are reacted at 700 °C. In glasses of proven homogeneity, we find molar volumes to vary non-monotonically with composition, and the fragility index M displays a broad global minimum in the 20% < x < 30% range of x wherein M< 20. We show that properly homogenized samples have a lower measured fragility when compared to larger under-reacted melts. The enthalpy of relaxation at Tg, ΔHnr(x) shows a minimum in the 27% < x < 37% range. The super-strong nature of melt compositions in the 20% < x < 30% range suppresses melt diffusion at high temperatures leading to the slow kinetics of melt homogenization.

Cascade catalysis for the homogeneous hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol.

PubMed

Huff, Chelsea A; Sanford, Melanie S

2011-11-16

This communication demonstrates the homogeneous hydrogenation of CO(2) to CH(3)OH via cascade catalysis. Three different homogeneous catalysts, (PMe(3))(4)Ru(Cl)(OAc), Sc(OTf)(3), and (PNN)Ru(CO)(H), operate in sequence to promote this transformation.

Biotic homogenization of three insect groups due to urbanization.

PubMed

Knop, Eva

2016-01-01

Cities are growing rapidly, thereby expected to cause a large-scale global biotic homogenization. Evidence for the homogenization hypothesis is mostly derived from plants and birds, whereas arthropods have so far been neglected. Here, I tested the homogenization hypothesis with three insect indicator groups, namely true bugs, leafhoppers, and beetles. In particular, I was interested whether insect species community composition differs between urban and rural areas, whether they are more similar between cities than between rural areas, and whether the found pattern is explained by true species turnover, species diversity gradients and geographic distance, by non-native or specialist species, respectively. I analyzed insect species communities sampled on birch trees in a total of six Swiss cities and six rural areas nearby. In all indicator groups, urban and rural community composition was significantly dissimilar due to native species turnover. Further, for bug and leafhopper communities, I found evidence for large-scale homogenization due to urbanization, which was driven by reduced species turnover of specialist species in cities. Species turnover of beetle communities was similar between cities and rural areas. Interestingly, when specialist species of beetles were excluded from the analyses, cities were more dissimilar than rural areas, suggesting biotic differentiation of beetle communities in cities. Non-native species did not affect species turnover of the insect groups. However, given non-native arthropod species are increasing rapidly, their homogenizing effect might be detected more often in future. Overall, the results show that urbanization has a negative large-scale impact on the diversity specialist species of the investigated insect groups. Specific measures in cities targeted at increasing the persistence of specialist species typical for the respective biogeographic region could help to stop the loss of biodiversity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Homogeneous screening assay for human tankyrase.

PubMed

Narwal, Mohit; Fallarero, Adyary; Vuorela, Pia; Lehtiö, Lari

2012-06-01

Tankyrase, a member of human PARP protein superfamily, catalyzes a covalent post-translational modification of substrate proteins. This modification, poly(ADP-ribos)ylation, leads to changes in protein interactions and modifies downstream signaling events. Tankyrase 1 is a potential drug target due to its functions in telomere homeostasis and in Wnt signaling. We describe here optimization and application of an activity-based homogenous assay for tankyrase inhibitors in a high-throughput screening format. The method measures the consumption of substrate by the chemical conversion of the remaining NAD(+) into a stable fluorescent condensation product. Conditions were optimized to measure the enzymatic auto-modification of a recombinant catalytic fragment of tankyrase 1. The fluorescence assay is inexpensive, operationally easy and performs well according to the statistical analysis (Z'= 0.7). A validatory screen with a natural product library confirmed suitability of the assay for finding new tankyrase inhibitors. Flavone was the most potent (IC(50)=325 nM) hit from the natural compounds. A flavone derivative, apigenin, and isopropyl gallate showed potency on the micromolar range, but displayed over 30-fold selectivity for tankyrase over the studied isoenzymes PARP1 and PARP2. The assay is robust and will be useful for screening new tankyrase inhibitors.

Titin domains progressively unfolded by force are homogenously distributed along the molecule.

PubMed

Bianco, Pasquale; Mártonfalvi, Zsolt; Naftz, Katalin; Kőszegi, Dorina; Kellermayer, Miklós

2015-07-21

Titin is a giant filamentous protein of the muscle sarcomere in which stretch induces the unfolding of its globular domains. However, the mechanisms of how domains are progressively selected for unfolding and which domains eventually unfold have for long been elusive. Based on force-clamp optical tweezers experiments we report here that, in a paradoxical violation of mechanically driven activation kinetics, neither the global domain unfolding rate, nor the folded-state lifetime distributions of full-length titin are sensitive to force. This paradox is reconciled by a gradient of mechanical stability so that domains are gradually selected for unfolding as the magnitude of the force field increases. Atomic force microscopic screening of extended titin molecules revealed that the unfolded domains are distributed homogenously along the entire length of titin, and this homogeneity is maintained with increasing overstretch. Although the unfolding of domains with progressively increasing mechanical stability makes titin a variable viscosity damper, the spatially randomized variation of domain stability ensures that the induced structural changes are not localized but are distributed along the molecule's length. Titin may thereby provide complex safety mechanims for protecting the sarcomere against structural disintegration under excessive mechanical conditions. Copyright © 2015 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A multi-scale homogenization model for fine-grained porous viscoplastic polycrystals: I - Finite-strain theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Dawei; Ponte Castañeda, P.

2018-06-01

We make use of the recently developed iterated second-order homogenization method to obtain finite-strain constitutive models for the macroscopic response of porous polycrystals consisting of large pores randomly distributed in a fine-grained polycrystalline matrix. The porous polycrystal is modeled as a three-scale composite, where the grains are described by single-crystal viscoplasticity and the pores are assumed to be large compared to the grain size. The method makes use of a linear comparison composite (LCC) with the same substructure as the actual nonlinear composite, but whose local properties are chosen optimally via a suitably designed variational statement. In turn, the effective properties of the resulting three-scale LCC are determined by means of a sequential homogenization procedure, utilizing the self-consistent estimates for the effective behavior of the polycrystalline matrix, and the Willis estimates for the effective behavior of the porous composite. The iterated homogenization procedure allows for a more accurate characterization of the properties of the matrix by means of a finer "discretization" of the properties of the LCC to obtain improved estimates, especially at low porosities, high nonlinearties and high triaxialities. In addition, consistent homogenization estimates for the average strain rate and spin fields in the pores and grains are used to develop evolution laws for the substructural variables, including the porosity, pore shape and orientation, as well as the "crystallographic" and "morphological" textures of the underlying matrix. In Part II of this work has appeared in Song and Ponte Castañeda (2018b), the model will be used to generate estimates for both the instantaneous effective response and the evolution of the microstructure for porous FCC and HCP polycrystals under various loading conditions.

Effect of dynamic high pressure homogenization on the aggregation state of soy protein.

PubMed

Keerati-U-Rai, Maneephan; Corredig, Milena

2009-05-13

Although soy proteins are often employed as functional ingredients in oil-water emulsions, very little is known about the aggregation state of the proteins in solution and whether any changes occur to soy protein dispersions during homogenization. The effect of dynamic high pressure homogenization on the aggregation state of the proteins was investigated using microdifferential scanning calorimetry and high performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiangle laser light scattering. Soy protein isolates as well as glycinin and beta-conglycinin fractions were prepared from defatted soy flakes and redispersed in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. The dispersions were then subjected to homogenization at two different pressures, 26 and 65 MPa. The results demonstrated that dynamic high pressure homogenization causes changes in the supramolecular structure of the soy proteins. Both beta-conglycinin and glycinin samples had an increased temperature of denaturation after homogenization. The chromatographic elution profile showed a reduction in the aggregate concentration with homogenization pressure for beta-conglycinin and an increase in the size of the soluble aggregates for glycinin and soy protein isolate.

Homogeneous Catalysis by Transition Metal Compounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mawby, Roger

1988-01-01

Examines four processes involving homogeneous catalysis which highlight the contrast between the simplicity of the overall reaction and the complexity of the catalytic cycle. Describes how catalysts provide circuitous routes in which all energy barriers are relatively low rather than lowering the activation energy for a single step reaction.…

Non-homogeneous flow profiles in sheared bacterial suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, Devranjan; Cheng, Xiang

Bacterial suspensions under shear exhibit interesting rheological behaviors including the remarkable ``superfluidic'' state with vanishing viscosity at low shear rates. Theoretical studies have shown that such ``superfluidic'' state is linked with non-homogeneous shear flows, which are induced by coupling between nematic order of active fluids and hydrodynamics of shear flows. However, although bulk rheology of bacterial suspensions has been experimentally studied, shear profiles within bacterial suspensions have not been explored so far. Here, we experimentally investigate the flow behaviors of E. coli suspensions under planar oscillatory shear. Using confocal microscopy and PIV, we measure velocity profiles across gap between two shear plates. We find that with increasing shear rates, high-concentration bacterial suspensions exhibit an array of non-homogeneous flow behaviors like yield-stress flows and shear banding. We show that these non-homogeneous flows are due to collective motion of bacterial suspensions. The phase diagram of sheared bacterial suspensions is systematically mapped as functions of shear rates an bacterial concentrations. Our experiments provide new insights into rheology of bacterial suspensions and shed light on shear induced dynamics of active fluids. Chemical Engineering and Material Science department.

Selecting for extinction: nonrandom disease-associated extinction homogenizes amphibian biotas.

PubMed

Smith, Kevin G; Lips, Karen R; Chase, Jonathan M

2009-10-01

Studying the patterns in which local extinctions occur is critical to understanding how extinctions affect biodiversity at local, regional and global spatial scales. To understand the importance of patterns of extinction at a regional spatial scale, we use data from extirpations associated with a widespread pathogenic agent of amphibian decline, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) as a model system. We apply novel null model analyses to these data to determine whether recent extirpations associated with Bd have resulted in selective extinction and homogenization of diverse tropical American amphibian biotas. We find that Bd-associated extinctions in this region were nonrandom and disproportionately, but not exclusively, affected low-occupancy and endemic species, resulting in homogenization of the remnant amphibian fauna. The pattern of extirpations also resulted in phylogenetic homogenization at the family level and ecological homogenization of reproductive mode and habitat association. Additionally, many more species were extirpated from the region than would be expected if extirpations occurred randomly. Our results indicate that amphibian declines in this region are an extinction filter, reducing regional amphibian biodiversity to highly similar relict assemblages and ultimately causing amplified biodiversity loss at regional and global scales.

Effect of heat and homogenization on in vitro digestion of milk

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Central to commercial fluid milk processing is the use of high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurization to ensure the safety and quality of milk, and homogenization to prevent creaming of fat-containing milk. UHT processed homogenized milk is also available commercially and is typically used to...

Role of structural barriers for carotenoid bioaccessibility upon high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Palmero, Paola; Panozzo, Agnese; Colle, Ines; Chigwedere, Claire; Hendrickx, Marc; Van Loey, Ann

2016-05-15

A specific approach to investigate the effect of high pressure homogenization on the carotenoid bioaccessibility in tomato-based products was developed. Six different tomato-based model systems were reconstituted in order to target the specific role of the natural structural barriers (chromoplast substructure/cell wall) and of the phases (soluble/insoluble) in determining the carotenoid bioaccessibility and viscosity changes upon high pressure homogenization. Results indicated that in the absence of natural structural barriers (carotenoid enriched oil), the soluble and insoluble phases determined the carotenoid bioaccessibility upon processing whereas, in their presence, these barriers governed the bioaccessibility. Furthermore, it was shown that the increment of the viscosity upon high pressure homogenization is determined by the presence of insoluble phase, however, this result was related to the initial ratio of the soluble:insoluble phases in the system. In addition, no relationship between the changes in viscosity and carotenoid bioaccessibility upon high pressure homogenization was found. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimizing homogenization by chaotic unmixing?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weijs, Joost; Bartolo, Denis

2016-11-01

A number of industrial processes rely on the homogeneous dispersion of non-brownian particles in a viscous fluid. An ideal mixing would yield a so-called hyperuniform particle distribution. Such configurations are characterized by density fluctuations that grow slower than the standard √{ N}-fluctuations. Even though such distributions have been found in several natural structures, e.g. retina receptors in birds, they have remained out of experimental reach until very recently. Over the last 5 years independent experiments and numerical simulations have shown that periodically driven suspensions can self-assemble hyperuniformally. Simple as the recipe may be, it has one important disadvantage. The emergence of hyperuniform states co-occurs with a critical phase transition from reversible to non reversible particle dynamics. As a consequence the homogenization dynamics occurs over a time that diverges with the system size (critical slowing down). Here, we discuss how this process can be sped up by exploiting the stirring properties of chaotic advection. Among the questions that we answer are: What are the physical mechanisms in a chaotic flow that are relevant for hyperuniformity? How can we tune the flow parameters such to obtain optimal hyperuniformity in the fastest way? JW acknowledges funding by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) through a Rubicon Grant.

Colour homogeneity and visual perception of age, health and attractiveness of male facial skin.

PubMed

Fink, B; Matts, P J; D'Emiliano, D; Bunse, L; Weege, B; Röder, S

2012-12-01

Visible facial skin condition in females is known to affect perception of age, health and attractiveness. Skin colour distribution in shape- and topography-standardized female faces, driven by localized melanin and haemoglobin, can account for up to twenty years of apparent age perception. Although this is corroborated by an ability to discern female age even in isolated, non-contextual skin images, a similar effect in the perception of male skin is yet to be demonstrated. To investigate the effect of skin colour homogeneity and chromophore distribution on the visual perception of age, health and attractiveness of male facial skin. Cropped images from the cheeks of facial images of 160 Caucasian British men aged 10-70 years were blind-rated for age, health and attractiveness by a total of 308 participants. In addition, the homogeneity of skin images and corresponding eumelanin/oxyhaemoglobin concentration maps were analysed objectively using Haralick's image segmentation algorithm. Isolated skin images taken from the cheeks of younger males were judged as healthier and more attractive. Perception of age, health and attractiveness was strongly related to melanin and haemoglobin distribution, whereby more even distributions led to perception of younger age and greater health and attractiveness. The evenness of melanized features was a stronger cue for age perception, whereas haemoglobin distribution was associated more strongly with health and attractiveness perception. Male skin colour homogeneity, driven by melanin and haemoglobin distribution, influences perception of age, health and attractiveness. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology © 2011 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

A priori evaluation of the Pantano and Sarkar model in compressible homogeneous shear flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khlifi, Hechmi; Abdallah, J.; Aïcha, H.; Taïeb, L.

2011-01-01

In this study, a Reynolds stress closure, including the Pantano and Sarkar model of the mean part of the pressure-strain correlation is used for the computation of compressible homogeneous at high-speed shear flow. Several studies concerning the compressible homogeneous shear flow show that the changes of the turbulence structures are principally due to the structural compressibility effects which significantly affect the pressure field and then the pressure-strain correlation. Eventually, this term appears as the main term responsible for the changes in the magnitude of the Reynolds stress anisotropies. The structure of the gradient Mach number is similar to that of turbulence, therefore this parameter may be appropriate to study the changes in turbulence structures that arise from structural compressibility effects. Thus, the incompressible model of the pressure strain correlation and its corrected form by using the turbulent Mach turbulent only, fail to correctly evaluate the compressibility effects at high shear flow. An extension of the widely used incompressible Launder, Reece and Rodi model on compressible homogeneous shear flow is the major aim of the present work. From this extension, the standard coefficients C become a function of the extra compressibility parameters (the turbulent Mach number M and the gradient Mach number M) through the Pantano and Sarkar model. Application of the model on compressible homogeneous shear flow by considering various initial conditions shows reasonable agreement with the DNS results of Simone et al. and Sarkar. The observed trend of the dramatic increase in the normal Reynolds stress anisotropies, the significant decrease in the Reynolds shear stress anisotropy and the increase of the turbulent kinetic energy amplification rate with increasing the gradient Mach number are well predicted by the model. The ability of the model to predict the equilibrium states for the flow in cases A to A from DNS results of Sarkar is

Homogeneous photocatalytic oxidation of UV filter para-aminobenzoic acid in aqueous solutions.

PubMed

Tsoumachidou, Sophia; Lambropoulou, Dimitra; Poulios, Ioannis

2017-01-01

The presence of personal care product (PCP) residues in the aquatic environment is an emerging issue due to their uncontrolled release through graywater; for this reason, efforts are being made to develop methods to inactivate or eliminate this class of substances in the environment. In this work, homogeneous photocatalysis has been applied for the degradation of UV filter para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), which exists in several types of PCPs, in order to identify the optimum degradation conditions. The oxidation of PABA by photo-Fenton and oxalate-induced photo-Fenton (ferrioxalate) processes was investigated, and the effect of various operating variables has been assessed, i.e., Fe 3+ (0.0035-0.014 g L -1 ), H 2 O 2 (0.025-0.2 g L -1 ), T (280-323 K), and type of radiation (UV-A, visible). Furthermore, experiments under optimal conditions have been performed in order to evaluate the transformation pathways and phytotoxicity of the treated PABA solution.

On the homogenization of the acoustic wave propagation in perforated ducts of finite length for an inviscid and a viscous model.

PubMed

Semin, Adrien; Schmidt, Kersten

2018-02-01

The direct numerical simulation of the acoustic wave propagation in multiperforated absorbers with hundreds or thousands of tiny openings would result in a huge number of basis functions to resolve the microstructure. One is, however, primarily interested in effective and so homogenized transmission and absorption properties and how they are influenced by microstructure and its endpoints. For this, we introduce the surface homogenization that asymptotically decomposes the solution in a macroscopic part, a boundary layer corrector close to the interface and a near-field part close to its ends. The effective transmission and absorption properties are expressed by transmission conditions for the macroscopic solution on an infinitely thin interface and corner conditions at its endpoints to ensure the correct singular behaviour, which are intrinsic to the microstructure. We study and give details on the computation of the effective parameters for an inviscid and a viscous model and show their dependence on geometrical properties of the microstructure for the example of Helmholtz equation. Numerical experiments indicate that with the obtained macroscopic solution representation one can achieve an high accuracy for low and high porosities as well as for viscous boundary conditions while using only a small number of basis functions.

Assessment the effect of homogenized soil on soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohawesh, O.; Janssen, M.; Maaitah, O.; Lennartz, B.

2017-09-01

Soil hydraulic properties play a crucial role in simulating water flow and contaminant transport. Soil hydraulic properties are commonly measured using homogenized soil samples. However, soil structure has a significant effect on the soil ability to retain and to conduct water, particularly in aggregated soils. In order to determine the effect of soil homogenization on soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport, undisturbed soil samples were carefully collected. Five different soil structures were identified: Angular-blocky, Crumble, Angular-blocky (different soil texture), Granular, and subangular-blocky. The soil hydraulic properties were determined for undisturbed and homogenized soil samples for each soil structure. The soil hydraulic properties were used to model soil water transport using HYDRUS-1D.The homogenized soil samples showed a significant increase in wide pores (wCP) and a decrease in narrow pores (nCP). The wCP increased by 95.6, 141.2, 391.6, 3.9, 261.3%, and nCP decreased by 69.5, 10.5, 33.8, 72.7, and 39.3% for homogenized soil samples compared to undisturbed soil samples. The soil water retention curves exhibited a significant decrease in water holding capacity for homogenized soil samples compared with the undisturbed soil samples. The homogenized soil samples showed also a decrease in soil hydraulic conductivity. The simulated results showed that water movement and distribution were affected by soil homogenizing. Moreover, soil homogenizing affected soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport. However, field studies are being needed to find the effect of these differences on water, chemical, and pollutant transport under several scenarios.

Equilibrium states of homogeneous sheared compressible turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riahi, M.; Lili, T.

2011-06-01

Equilibrium states of homogeneous compressible turbulence subjected to rapid shear is studied using rapid distortion theory (RDT). The purpose of this study is to determine the numerical solutions of unsteady linearized equations governing double correlations spectra evolution. In this work, RDT code developed by authors solves these equations for compressible homogeneous shear flows. Numerical integration of these equations is carried out using a second-order simple and accurate scheme. The two Mach numbers relevant to homogeneous shear flow are the turbulent Mach number Mt, given by the root mean square turbulent velocity fluctuations divided by the speed of sound, and the gradient Mach number Mg which is the mean shear rate times the transverse integral scale of the turbulence divided by the speed of sound. Validation of this code is performed by comparing RDT results with direct numerical simulation (DNS) of [A. Simone, G.N. Coleman, and C. Cambon, Fluid Mech. 330, 307 (1997)] and [S. Sarkar, J. Fluid Mech. 282, 163 (1995)] for various values of initial gradient Mach number Mg0. It was found that RDT is valid for small values of the non-dimensional times St (St < 3.5). It is important to note that RDT is also valid for large values of St (St > 10) in particular for large values of Mg0. This essential feature justifies the resort to RDT in order to determine equilibrium states in the compressible regime.

Determination of alkylphenols and 17beta-estradiol in fish homogenate. Extraction and clean-up strategies.

PubMed

Navarro, P; Bustamante, J; Vallejo, A; Prieto, A; Usobiaga, A; Arrasate, S; Anakabe, E; Puy-Azurmendi, E; Zuloaga, O

2010-09-17

The determination of target analytes such as nonyl- and octylphenols and 17beta-estradiol in fish homogenate require of solid-liquid extraction step. In this work microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and focused-ultrasound liquid extraction (FUSLE) were studied as two different alternatives for extraction of the target compounds in zebrafish (Danio rerio) homogenate. In this work solid phase extraction (SPE) using 5-g and 10-g Florisil cartridges and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were studied for the clean-up of the MAE and FUSLE extracts due to the non-selective extraction step. Although good recoveries were obtained both for SPE (106% and 126% range) and GPC (79% and 100% range) clean-up procedures, cleaner chromatograms were obtained after SPE and finally 5-g Florisil cartridges were tested since no improvement was observed when 10-g Florisil cartridges were used. Under optimized clean-up conditions, MAE and FUSLE provided comparable results for 4nOP and NP, while more accurate results were obtained for 4tOP and E2 after FUSLE. Finally, the method was applied to the determination of alkylphenols and 17beta-estradiol in zebrafish homogenate that had been exposed to known concentrations of the target analytes. In the case of alkylphenols two different isomers of nonyl- and octylphenol (4-(3',6'-dimethyl-3'-hepthyl)phenol, 363-NP, and 4-(3'-methyl-3'-hepthyl)phenol, 33-OP) were studied. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homogeneity and internal defects detect of infrared Se-based chalcogenide glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zupana; Wu, Ligang; Lin, Changgui; Song, Bao'an; Wang, Xunsi; Shen, Xiang; Dai, Shixunb

2011-10-01

Ge-Sb-Se chalcogenide glasses is a kind of excellent infrared optical material, which has been enviromental friendly and widely used in infrared thermal imaging systems. However, due to the opaque feature of Se-based glasses in visible spectral region, it's difficult to measure their homogeneity and internal defect as the common oxide ones. In this study, a measurement was proposed to observe the homogeneity and internal defect of these glasses based on near-IR imaging technique and an effective measurement system was also constructed. The testing result indicated the method can gives the information of homogeneity and internal defect of infrared Se-based chalcogenide glass clearly and intuitionally.

Influence of homogenization treatment on physicochemical properties and enzymatic hydrolysis rate of pure cellulose fibers.

PubMed

Jacquet, N; Vanderghem, C; Danthine, S; Blecker, C; Paquot, M

2013-02-01

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of different homogenization treatments on the physicochemical properties and the hydrolysis rate of a pure bleached cellulose. Results obtained show that homogenization treatments improve the enzymatic hydrolysis rate of the cellulose fibers by 25 to 100 %, depending of the homogenization treatment applied. Characterization of the samples showed also that homogenization had an impact on some physicochemical properties of the cellulose. For moderate treatment intensities (pressure below 500 b and degree of homogenization below 25), an increase of water retention values (WRV) that correlated to the increase of the hydrolysis rate was highlighted. Result also showed that the overall crystallinity of the cellulose properties appeared not to be impacted by the homogenization treatment. For higher treatment intensities, homogenized cellulose samples developed a stable tridimentional network that contributes to decrease cellulase mobility and slowdown the hydrolysis process.

Broken Ergodicity in Ideal, Homogeneous, Incompressible Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morin, Lee; Shebalin, John; Fu, Terry; Nguyen, Phu; Shum, Victor

2010-01-01

We discuss the statistical mechanics of numerical models of ideal homogeneous, incompressible turbulence and their relevance for dissipative fluids and magnetofluids. These numerical models are based on Fourier series and the relevant statistical theory predicts that Fourier coefficients of fluid velocity and magnetic fields (if present) are zero-mean random variables. However, numerical simulations clearly show that certain coefficients have a non-zero mean value that can be very large compared to the associated standard deviation. We explain this phenomena in terms of broken ergodicity', which is defined to occur when dynamical behavior does not match ensemble predictions on very long time-scales. We review the theoretical basis of broken ergodicity, apply it to 2-D and 3-D fluid and magnetohydrodynamic simulations of homogeneous turbulence, and show new results from simulations using GPU (graphical processing unit) computers.

Asymptotic stability of spectral-based PDF modeling for homogeneous turbulent flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos, Alejandro; Duraisamy, Karthik; Iaccarino, Gianluca

2015-11-01

Engineering models of turbulence, based on one-point statistics, neglect spectral information inherent in a turbulence field. It is well known, however, that the evolution of turbulence is dictated by a complex interplay between the spectral modes of velocity. For example, for homogeneous turbulence, the pressure-rate-of-strain depends on the integrated energy spectrum weighted by components of the wave vectors. The Interacting Particle Representation Model (IPRM) (Kassinos & Reynolds, 1996) and the Velocity/Wave-Vector PDF model (Van Slooten & Pope, 1997) emulate spectral information in an attempt to improve the modeling of turbulence. We investigate the evolution and asymptotic stability of the IPRM using three different approaches. The first approach considers the Lagrangian evolution of individual realizations (idealized as particles) of the stochastic process defined by the IPRM. The second solves Lagrangian evolution equations for clusters of realizations conditional on a given wave vector. The third evolves the solution of the Eulerian conditional PDF corresponding to the aforementioned clusters. This last method avoids issues related to discrete particle noise and slow convergence associated with Lagrangian particle-based simulations.

Ultra-thin carbon-fiber paper fabrication and carbon-fiber distribution homogeneity evaluation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, L. F.; Chen, D. Y.; Wang, Q.; Li, H.; Zhao, Z. G.

2018-01-01

A preparation technology of ultra-thin Carbon-fiber paper is reported. Carbon fiber distribution homogeneity has a great influence on the properties of ultra-thin Carbon-fiber paper. In this paper, a self-developed homogeneity analysis system is introduced to assist users to evaluate the distribution homogeneity of Carbon fiber among two or more two-value images of carbon-fiber paper. A relative-uniformity factor W/H is introduced. The experimental results show that the smaller the W/H factor, the higher uniformity of the distribution of Carbon fiber is. The new uniformity-evaluation method provides a practical and reliable tool for analyzing homogeneity of materials.

MHODE: a local-homogeneity theory for improved source-parameter estimation of potential fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedi, Maurizio; Florio, Giovanni; Paoletti, Valeria

2015-08-01

We describe a multihomogeneity theory for source-parameter estimation of potential fields. Similar to what happens for random source models, where the monofractal scaling-law has been generalized into a multifractal law, we propose to generalize the homogeneity law into a multihomogeneity law. This allows a theoretically correct approach to study real-world potential fields, which are inhomogeneous and so do not show scale invariance, except in the asymptotic regions (very near to or very far from their sources). Since the scaling properties of inhomogeneous fields change with the scale of observation, we show that they may be better studied at a set of scales than at a single scale and that a multihomogeneous model is needed to explain its complex scaling behaviour. In order to perform this task, we first introduce fractional-degree homogeneous fields, to show that: (i) homogeneous potential fields may have fractional or integer degree; (ii) the source-distributions for a fractional-degree are not confined in a bounded region, similarly to some integer-degree models, such as the infinite line mass and (iii) differently from the integer-degree case, the fractional-degree source distributions are no longer uniform density functions. Using this enlarged set of homogeneous fields, real-world anomaly fields are studied at different scales, by a simple search, at any local window W, for the best homogeneous field of either integer or fractional-degree, this yielding a multiscale set of local homogeneity-degrees and depth estimations which we call multihomogeneous model. It is so defined a new technique of source parameter estimation (Multi-HOmogeneity Depth Estimation, MHODE), permitting retrieval of the source parameters of complex sources. We test the method with inhomogeneous fields of finite sources, such as faults or cylinders, and show its effectiveness also in a real-case example. These applications show the usefulness of the new concepts, multihomogeneity and

Biotic homogenization can decrease landscape-scale forest multifunctionality.

PubMed

van der Plas, Fons; Manning, Pete; Soliveres, Santiago; Allan, Eric; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Verheyen, Kris; Wirth, Christian; Zavala, Miguel A; Ampoorter, Evy; Baeten, Lander; Barbaro, Luc; Bauhus, Jürgen; Benavides, Raquel; Benneter, Adam; Bonal, Damien; Bouriaud, Olivier; Bruelheide, Helge; Bussotti, Filippo; Carnol, Monique; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Charbonnier, Yohan; Coomes, David Anthony; Coppi, Andrea; Bastias, Cristina C; Dawud, Seid Muhie; De Wandeler, Hans; Domisch, Timo; Finér, Leena; Gessler, Arthur; Granier, André; Grossiord, Charlotte; Guyot, Virginie; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Jactel, Hervé; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Joly, François-Xavier; Jucker, Tommaso; Koricheva, Julia; Milligan, Harriet; Mueller, Sandra; Muys, Bart; Nguyen, Diem; Pollastrini, Martina; Ratcliffe, Sophia; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten; Selvi, Federico; Stenlid, Jan; Valladares, Fernando; Vesterdal, Lars; Zielínski, Dawid; Fischer, Markus

2016-03-29

Many experiments have shown that local biodiversity loss impairs the ability of ecosystems to maintain multiple ecosystem functions at high levels (multifunctionality). In contrast, the role of biodiversity in driving ecosystem multifunctionality at landscape scales remains unresolved. We used a comprehensive pan-European dataset, including 16 ecosystem functions measured in 209 forest plots across six European countries, and performed simulations to investigate how local plot-scale richness of tree species (α-diversity) and their turnover between plots (β-diversity) are related to landscape-scale multifunctionality. After accounting for variation in environmental conditions, we found that relationships between α-diversity and landscape-scale multifunctionality varied from positive to negative depending on the multifunctionality metric used. In contrast, when significant, relationships between β-diversity and landscape-scale multifunctionality were always positive, because a high spatial turnover in species composition was closely related to a high spatial turnover in functions that were supported at high levels. Our findings have major implications for forest management and indicate that biotic homogenization can have previously unrecognized and negative consequences for large-scale ecosystem multifunctionality.

Biotic homogenization can decrease landscape-scale forest multifunctionality

PubMed Central

van der Plas, Fons; Manning, Pete; Soliveres, Santiago; Allan, Eric; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Verheyen, Kris; Wirth, Christian; Zavala, Miguel A.; Ampoorter, Evy; Baeten, Lander; Barbaro, Luc; Bauhus, Jürgen; Benavides, Raquel; Benneter, Adam; Bonal, Damien; Bouriaud, Olivier; Bruelheide, Helge; Bussotti, Filippo; Carnol, Monique; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Charbonnier, Yohan; Coppi, Andrea; Bastias, Cristina C.; Dawud, Seid Muhie; De Wandeler, Hans; Domisch, Timo; Finér, Leena; Granier, André; Grossiord, Charlotte; Guyot, Virginie; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Jactel, Hervé; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Joly, François-xavier; Jucker, Tommaso; Koricheva, Julia; Milligan, Harriet; Mueller, Sandra; Muys, Bart; Nguyen, Diem; Pollastrini, Martina; Ratcliffe, Sophia; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten; Selvi, Federico; Stenlid, Jan; Valladares, Fernando; Vesterdal, Lars; Zielínski, Dawid; Fischer, Markus

2016-01-01

Many experiments have shown that local biodiversity loss impairs the ability of ecosystems to maintain multiple ecosystem functions at high levels (multifunctionality). In contrast, the role of biodiversity in driving ecosystem multifunctionality at landscape scales remains unresolved. We used a comprehensive pan-European dataset, including 16 ecosystem functions measured in 209 forest plots across six European countries, and performed simulations to investigate how local plot-scale richness of tree species (α-diversity) and their turnover between plots (β-diversity) are related to landscape-scale multifunctionality. After accounting for variation in environmental conditions, we found that relationships between α-diversity and landscape-scale multifunctionality varied from positive to negative depending on the multifunctionality metric used. In contrast, when significant, relationships between β-diversity and landscape-scale multifunctionality were always positive, because a high spatial turnover in species composition was closely related to a high spatial turnover in functions that were supported at high levels. Our findings have major implications for forest management and indicate that biotic homogenization can have previously unrecognized and negative consequences for large-scale ecosystem multifunctionality. PMID:26979952

ANALYSIS OF FISH HOMOGENATES FOR PERFLUORINATED COMPOUNDS

EPA Science Inventory

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) which include PFOS and PFOA are widely distributed in wildlife. Whole fish homogenates were analyzed for PFCs from the upper Mississippi, the Missouri and the Ohio rivers. Methods development, validation data, and preliminary study results will b...

Castings, Steel, Homogenization of Steel Castings

DTIC Science & Technology

1942-12-05

concerninr.. the ef- fe~ct of homogenizing herat-- treAment u-non the ballistic prop- erties -%f cLast steel armo--iercinr nrro jectilt:s. .arden.YD- 1 t...of hLmogenizing- treAments upon the3 corrosi;.A -.f quenched- Lr(- t c,-.rnered. c-.st steel. Harich, Riffin, -ri Bolotsk-2 .. ade two-bec-d weldahtil

Exploring cosmic homogeneity with the BOSS DR12 galaxy sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ntelis, Pierros; Hamilton, Jean-Christophe; Le Goff, Jean-Marc; Burtin, Etienne; Laurent, Pierre; Rich, James; Guillermo Busca, Nicolas; Tinker, Jeremy; Aubourg, Eric; du Mas des Bourboux, Hélion; Bautista, Julian; Palanque Delabrouille, Nathalie; Delubac, Timothée; Eftekharzadeh, Sarah; Hogg, David W.; Myers, Adam; Vargas-Magaña, Mariana; Pâris, Isabelle; Petitjean, Partick; Rossi, Graziano; Schneider, Donald P.; Tojeiro, Rita; Yeche, Christophe

2017-06-01

In this study, we probe the transition to cosmic homogeneity in the Large Scale Structure (LSS) of the Universe using the CMASS galaxy sample of BOSS spectroscopic survey which covers the largest effective volume to date, 3 h-3 Gpc3 at 0.43 <= z <= 0.7. We study the scaled counts-in-spheres, N(homogeneity scale of the universe using a Landy & Szalay inspired estimator. Defining the scale of transition to homogeneity as the scale at which D2(r) reaches 3 within 1%, i.e. D2(r)>2.97 for r>RH, we find RH = (63.3±0.7) h-1 Mpc, in agreement at the percentage level with the predictions of the ΛCDM model RH=62.0 h-1 Mpc. Thanks to the large cosmic depth of the survey, we investigate the redshift evolution of the transition to homogeneity scale and find agreement with the ΛCDM prediction. Finally, we find that Script D2 is compatible with 3 at scales larger than 300 h-1 Mpc in all redshift bins. These results consolidate the Cosmological Principle and represent a precise consistency test of the ΛCDM model.

A homogeneous superconducting magnet design using a hybrid optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Zhipeng; Wang, Qiuliang; Liu, Feng; Yan, Luguang

2013-12-01

This paper employs a hybrid optimization algorithm with a combination of linear programming (LP) and nonlinear programming (NLP) to design the highly homogeneous superconducting magnets for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The whole work is divided into two stages. The first LP stage provides a global optimal current map with several non-zero current clusters, and the mathematical model for the LP was updated by taking into account the maximum axial and radial magnetic field strength limitations. In the second NLP stage, the non-zero current clusters were discretized into practical solenoids. The superconducting conductor consumption was set as the objective function both in the LP and NLP stages to minimize the construction cost. In addition, the peak-peak homogeneity over the volume of imaging (VOI), the scope of 5 Gauss fringe field, and maximum magnetic field strength within superconducting coils were set as constraints. The detailed design process for a dedicated 3.0 T animal MRI scanner was presented. The homogeneous magnet produces a magnetic field quality of 6.0 ppm peak-peak homogeneity over a 16 cm by 18 cm elliptical VOI, and the 5 Gauss fringe field was limited within a 1.5 m by 2.0 m elliptical region.

Design and fabrication of optical homogenizer with micro structure by injection molding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.-C. A.; Chang, S.-W.; Weng, C.-J.

2008-08-01

This paper is to design and fabricate an optical homogenizer with hybrid design of collimator, toroidal lens array, and projection lens for beam shaping of Gaussian beam into uniform cylindrical beam. TracePro software was used to design the geometry of homogenizer and simulation of injection molding was preceded by Moldflow MPI to evaluate the mold design for injection molding process. The optical homogenizer is a cylindrical part with thickness 8.03 mm and diameter 5 mm. The micro structure of toroidal array has groove height designed from 12 μm to 99 μm. An electrical injection molding machine and PMMA (n= 1.4747) were selected to perform the experiment. Experimental results show that the optics homogenizer has achieved the transfer ratio of grooves (TRG) as 88.98% and also the optical uniformity as 68% with optical efficiency as 91.88%. Future study focuses on development of an optical homogenizer for LED light source.

Producing a lycopene nanodispersion: Formulation development and the effects of high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Shariffa, Y N; Tan, T B; Uthumporn, U; Abas, F; Mirhosseini, H; Nehdi, I A; Wang, Y-H; Tan, C P

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop formulations to produce lycopene nanodispersions and to investigate the effects of the homogenization pressure on the physicochemical properties of the lycopene nanodispersion. The samples were prepared by using emulsification-evaporation technique. The best formulation was achieved by dispersing an organic phase (0.3% w/v lycopene dissolved in dichloromethane) in an aqueous phase (0.3% w/v Tween 20 dissolved in deionized water) at a ratio of 1:9 by using homogenization process. The increased level of homogenization pressure to 500bar reduced the particle size and lycopene concentration significantly (p<0.05). Excessive homogenization pressure (700-900bar) resulted in large particle sizes with high dispersibility. The zeta potential and turbidity of the lycopene nanodispersion were significantly influenced by the homogenization pressure. The results from this study provided useful information for producing small-sized lycopene nanodispersions with a narrow PDI and good stability for application in beverage products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistical homogeneity tests applied to large data sets from high energy physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trusina, J.; Franc, J.; Kůs, V.

2017-12-01

Homogeneity tests are used in high energy physics for the verification of simulated Monte Carlo samples, it means if they have the same distribution as a measured data from particle detector. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, χ 2, and Anderson-Darling tests are the most used techniques to assess the samples’ homogeneity. Since MC generators produce plenty of entries from different models, each entry has to be re-weighted to obtain the same sample size as the measured data has. One way of the homogeneity testing is through the binning. If we do not want to lose any information, we can apply generalized tests based on weighted empirical distribution functions. In this paper, we propose such generalized weighted homogeneity tests and introduce some of their asymptotic properties. We present the results based on numerical analysis which focuses on estimations of the type-I error and power of the test. Finally, we present application of our homogeneity tests to data from the experiment DØ in Fermilab.

Low-gravity homogenization and solidification of aluminum antimonide. [Apollo-Soyuz test project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ang, C.-Y.; Lacy, L. L.

1976-01-01

The III-V semiconducting compound AlSb shows promise as a highly efficient solar cell material, but it has not been commercially exploited because of difficulties in compound synthesis. Liquid state homogenization and solidification of AlSb were carried out in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Experiment MA-044 in the hope that compositional homogeneity would be improved by negating the large density difference between the two constituents. Post-flight analysis and comparative characterization of the space-processed and ground-processed samples indicate that there are major homogeneity improvements in the low-gravity solidified material.

How the Spectre of Societal Homogeneity Undermines Equitable Healthcare for Refugees

PubMed Central

Razum, Oliver; Wenner, Judith; Bozorgmehr, Kayvan

2017-01-01

Recourse to a purported ideal of societal homogeneity has become common in the context of the refugee reception crisis – not only in Japan, as Leppold et al report, but also throughout Europe. Calls for societal homogeneity in Europe originate from populist movements as well as from some governments. Often, they go along with reduced social support for refugees and asylum seekers, for example in healthcare provision. The fundamental right to health is then reduced to a citizens’ right, granted fully only to nationals. Germany, in spite of welcoming many refugees in 2015, is a case in point: entitlement and access to healthcare for asylum seekers are restricted during the first 15 months of their stay. We show that arguments brought forward to defend such restrictions do not hold, particularly not those which relate to maintaining societal homogeneity. European societies are not homogeneous, irrespective of migration. But as migration will continue, societies need to invest in what we call "globalization within." Removing entitlement restrictions and access barriers to healthcare for refugees and asylum seekers is one important element thereof. PMID:28812828

Anthropogenic Matrices Favor Homogenization of Tree Reproductive Functions in a Highly Fragmented Landscape.

PubMed

Carneiro, Magda Silva; Campos, Caroline Cambraia Furtado; Beijo, Luiz Alberto; Ramos, Flavio Nunes

2016-01-01

Species homogenization or floristic differentiation are two possible consequences of the fragmentation process in plant communities. Despite the few studies, it seems clear that fragments with low forest cover inserted in anthropogenic matrices are more likely to experience floristic homogenization. However, the homogenization process has two other components, genetic and functional, which have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to verify whether there was homogenization of tree reproductive functions in a fragmented landscape and, if found, to determine how the process was influenced by landscape composition. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwest Brazil. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwestern Brazil. In each fragment, all individual trees were sampled that had a diameter at breast height ≥3 cm, in ten plots (0.2 ha) and, classified within 26 reproductive functional types (RFTs). The process of functional homogenization was evaluated using additive partitioning of diversity. Additionally, the effect of landscape composition on functional diversity and on the number of individuals within each RFT was evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model. appeared to be in a process of functional homogenization (dominance of RFTs, alpha diversity lower than expected by chance and and low beta diversity). More than 50% of the RFTs and the functional diversity were affected by the landscape parameters. In general, the percentage of forest cover has a positive effect on RFTs while the percentage of coffee matrix has a negative one. The process of functional homogenization has serious consequences for biodiversity conservation because some functions may disappear that, in the long term, would threaten the fragments. This study contributes to a better understanding of how landscape changes affect the functional diversity, abundance of individuals in RFTs and the process of functional homogenization, as well as how to

Anthropogenic Matrices Favor Homogenization of Tree Reproductive Functions in a Highly Fragmented Landscape

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Species homogenization or floristic differentiation are two possible consequences of the fragmentation process in plant communities. Despite the few studies, it seems clear that fragments with low forest cover inserted in anthropogenic matrices are more likely to experience floristic homogenization. However, the homogenization process has two other components, genetic and functional, which have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to verify whether there was homogenization of tree reproductive functions in a fragmented landscape and, if found, to determine how the process was influenced by landscape composition. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwest Brazil. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwestern Brazil. In each fragment, all individual trees were sampled that had a diameter at breast height ≥3 cm, in ten plots (0.2 ha) and, classified within 26 reproductive functional types (RFTs). The process of functional homogenization was evaluated using additive partitioning of diversity. Additionally, the effect of landscape composition on functional diversity and on the number of individuals within each RFT was evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model. appeared to be in a process of functional homogenization (dominance of RFTs, alpha diversity lower than expected by chance and and low beta diversity). More than 50% of the RFTs and the functional diversity were affected by the landscape parameters. In general, the percentage of forest cover has a positive effect on RFTs while the percentage of coffee matrix has a negative one. The process of functional homogenization has serious consequences for biodiversity conservation because some functions may disappear that, in the long term, would threaten the fragments. This study contributes to a better understanding of how landscape changes affect the functional diversity, abundance of individuals in RFTs and the process of functional homogenization, as well as how to

Algebraic Reynolds stress modeling of turbulence subject to rapid homogeneous and non-homogeneous compression or expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoriev, I. A.; Wallin, S.; Brethouwer, G.; Grundestam, O.; Johansson, A. V.

2016-02-01

A recently developed explicit algebraic Reynolds stress model (EARSM) by Grigoriev et al. ["A realizable explicit algebraic Reynolds stress model for compressible turbulent flow with significant mean dilatation," Phys. Fluids 25(10), 105112 (2013)] and the related differential Reynolds stress model (DRSM) are used to investigate the influence of homogeneous shear and compression on the evolution of turbulence in the limit of rapid distortion theory (RDT). The DRSM predictions of the turbulence kinetic energy evolution are in reasonable agreement with RDT while the evolution of diagonal components of anisotropy correctly captures the essential features, which is not the case for standard compressible extensions of DRSMs. The EARSM is shown to give a realizable anisotropy tensor and a correct trend of the growth of turbulence kinetic energy K, which saturates at a power law growth versus compression ratio, as well as retaining a normalized strain in the RDT regime. In contrast, an eddy-viscosity model results in a rapid exponential growth of K and excludes both realizability and high magnitude of the strain rate. We illustrate the importance of using a proper algebraic treatment of EARSM in systems with high values of dilatation and vorticity but low shear. A homogeneously compressed and rotating gas cloud with cylindrical symmetry, related to astrophysical flows and swirling supercritical flows, was investigated too. We also outline the extension of DRSM and EARSM to include the effect of non-homogeneous density coupled with "local mean acceleration" which can be important for, e.g., stratified flows or flows with heat release. A fixed-point analysis of direct numerical simulation data of combustion in a wall-jet flow demonstrates that our model gives quantitatively correct predictions of both streamwise and cross-stream components of turbulent density flux as well as their influence on the anisotropies. In summary, we believe that our approach, based on a proper

High-frequency homogenization for travelling waves in periodic media.

PubMed

Harutyunyan, Davit; Milton, Graeme W; Craster, Richard V

2016-07-01

We consider high-frequency homogenization in periodic media for travelling waves of several different equations: the wave equation for scalar-valued waves such as acoustics; the wave equation for vector-valued waves such as electromagnetism and elasticity; and a system that encompasses the Schrödinger equation. This homogenization applies when the wavelength is of the order of the size of the medium periodicity cell. The travelling wave is assumed to be the sum of two waves: a modulated Bloch carrier wave having crystal wavevector [Formula: see text] and frequency ω 1 plus a modulated Bloch carrier wave having crystal wavevector [Formula: see text] and frequency ω 2 . We derive effective equations for the modulating functions, and then prove that there is no coupling in the effective equations between the two different waves both in the scalar and the system cases. To be precise, we prove that there is no coupling unless ω 1 = ω 2 and [Formula: see text] where Λ =(λ 1 λ 2 …λ d ) is the periodicity cell of the medium and for any two vectors [Formula: see text] the product a ⊙ b is defined to be the vector ( a 1 b 1 , a 2 b 2 ,…, a d b d ). This last condition forces the carrier waves to be equivalent Bloch waves meaning that the coupling constants in the system of effective equations vanish. We use two-scale analysis and some new weak-convergence type lemmas. The analysis is not at the same level of rigour as that of Allaire and co-workers who use two-scale convergence theory to treat the problem, but has the advantage of simplicity which will allow it to be easily extended to the case where there is degeneracy of the Bloch eigenvalue.

High-throughput method for optimum solubility screening for homogeneity and crystallization of proteins

DOEpatents

Kim, Sung-Hou [Moraga, CA; Kim, Rosalind [Moraga, CA; Jancarik, Jamila [Walnut Creek, CA

2012-01-31

An optimum solubility screen in which a panel of buffers and many additives are provided in order to obtain the most homogeneous and monodisperse protein condition for protein crystallization. The present methods are useful for proteins that aggregate and cannot be concentrated prior to setting up crystallization screens. A high-throughput method using the hanging-drop method and vapor diffusion equilibrium and a panel of twenty-four buffers is further provided. Using the present methods, 14 poorly behaving proteins have been screened, resulting in 11 of the proteins having highly improved dynamic light scattering results allowing concentration of the proteins, and 9 were crystallized.

Testing the homogeneity of the Universe using gamma-ray bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming-Hua; Lin, Hai-Nan

2015-10-01

Aims: The discovery of a statistically significant clustering in the distribution of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has recently been reported. Given that the cluster has a characteristic size of 2000-3000 Mpc and a redshift between 1.6 ≤ z ≤ 2.1, it has been claimed that this structure is incompatible with the cosmological principle of homogeneity and isotropy of our Universe. In this paper, we study the homogeneity of the GRB distribution using a subsample of the Greiner GRB catalogue, which contains 314 objects with redshift 0 < z < 2.5 (244 of them discovered by the Swift GRB mission). We try to reconcile the dilemma between the new observations and the current theory of structure formation and growth. Methods: To test the results against the possible biases in redshift determination and the incompleteness of the Greiner sample, we also apply our analysis to the 244 GRBs discovered by Swift and the subsample presented by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxy Legacy Survey (SHOALS). The real space two-point correlation function (2PCF) of GRBs, ξ(r), is calculated using a Landy-Szalay estimator. We perform a standard least-χ2 fit to the measured 2PCFs of GRBs. We use the best-fit 2PCF to deduce a recently defined homogeneity scale. The homogeneity scale, RH, is defined as the comoving radius of the sphere inside which the number of GRBs N(homogeneous distribution of GRBs with correlation dimension above D2 = 2.97 on scales of r ≥ 8200 h-1 Mpc. For the Swift subsample of 244 GRBs, the correlation length and slope are r0 = 387.51 ± 132.75 h-1 Mpc and γ = 1.57 ± 0.65 (at 1�

The asymptotic homogenization elasticity tensor properties for composites with material discontinuities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penta, Raimondo; Gerisch, Alf

2017-01-01

The classical asymptotic homogenization approach for linear elastic composites with discontinuous material properties is considered as a starting point. The sharp length scale separation between the fine periodic structure and the whole material formally leads to anisotropic elastic-type balance equations on the coarse scale, where the arising fourth rank operator is to be computed solving single periodic cell problems on the fine scale. After revisiting the derivation of the problem, which here explicitly points out how the discontinuity in the individual constituents' elastic coefficients translates into stress jump interface conditions for the cell problems, we prove that the gradient of the cell problem solution is minor symmetric and that its cell average is zero. This property holds for perfect interfaces only (i.e., when the elastic displacement is continuous across the composite's interface) and can be used to assess the accuracy of the computed numerical solutions. These facts are further exploited, together with the individual constituents' elastic coefficients and the specific form of the cell problems, to prove a theorem that characterizes the fourth rank operator appearing in the coarse-scale elastic-type balance equations as a composite material effective elasticity tensor. We both recover known facts, such as minor and major symmetries and positive definiteness, and establish new facts concerning the Voigt and Reuss bounds. The latter are shown for the first time without assuming any equivalence between coarse and fine-scale energies ( Hill's condition), which, in contrast to the case of representative volume elements, does not identically hold in the context of asymptotic homogenization. We conclude with instructive three-dimensional numerical simulations of a soft elastic matrix with an embedded cubic stiffer inclusion to show the profile of the physically relevant elastic moduli (Young's and shear moduli) and Poisson's ratio at increasing (up to

Efficacy of low-temperature high hydrostatic pressure processing in inactivating Vibrio parahaemolyticus in culture suspension and oyster homogenate.

PubMed

Phuvasate, Sureerat; Su, Yi-Cheng

2015-03-02

Culture suspensions of five clinical and five environmental Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains in 2% NaCl solution were subjected to high pressure processing (HPP) under various conditions (200-300MPa for 5 and 10 min at 1.5-20°C) to study differences in pressure resistance among the strains. The most pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive strains were selected to investigate the effects of low temperatures (15, 5 and 1.5°C) on HPP (200 or 250MPa for 5 min) to inactivate V. parahaemolyticus in sterile oyster homogenates. Inactivation of V. parahaemolyticus cells in culture suspensions and oyster homogenates was greatly enhanced by lowering the processing temperature from 15 to 5 or 1.5°C. A treatment of oyster homogenates at 250MPa for 5 min at 5°C decreased the populations of V. parahaemolyticus by 6.2logCFU/g for strains 10290 and 100311Y11 and by >7.4logCFU/g for strain 10292. Decreasing the processing temperature of the same treatment to 1.5°C reduced all the V. parahaemolyticus strains inoculated to oyster homogenates to non-detectable (<10CFU/g) levels. Factors including pressure level, processing temperature and time all need to be considered for developing effective HPP for eliminating pathogens from foods. Further studies are needed to validate the efficacy of the HPP (250MPa for 5 min at 1.5°C) in inactivating V. parahaemolyticus cells in whole oysters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homogeneous illusion device exhibiting transformed and shifted scattering effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Jin-Shuo; Wu, Qun; Zhang, Kuang; He, Xun-Jun; Wang, Yue

2016-06-01

Based on the theory of transformation optics, a type of homogeneous illusion device exhibiting transformed and shifted scattering effect is proposed in this paper. The constitutive parameters of the proposed device are derived, and full-wave simulations are performed to validate the electromagnetic properties of transformed and shifted scattering effect. The simulation results show that the proposed device not only can visually shift the image of target in two dimensions, but also can visually transform the shape of target. It is expected that such homogeneous illusion device could possess potential applications in military camouflage and other field of electromagnetic engineering.

Homogenization theory for designing graded viscoelastic sonic crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Zhao-Liang; Ren, Chun-Yu; Pei, Yong-Mao; Fang, Dai-Ning

2015-02-01

In this paper, we propose a homogenization theory for designing graded viscoelastic sonic crystals (VSCs) which consist of periodic arrays of elastic scatterers embedded in a viscoelastic host material. We extend an elastic homogenization theory to VSC by using the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle and propose an analytical effective loss factor of VSC. The results of VSC and the equivalent structure calculated by using the finite element method are in good agreement. According to the relation of the effective loss factor to the filling fraction, a graded VSC plate is easily and quickly designed. Then, the graded VSC may have potential applications in the vibration absorption and noise reduction fields. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB610301).

Some variance reduction methods for numerical stochastic homogenization

PubMed Central

Blanc, X.; Le Bris, C.; Legoll, F.

2016-01-01

We give an overview of a series of recent studies devoted to variance reduction techniques for numerical stochastic homogenization. Numerical homogenization requires that a set of problems is solved at the microscale, the so-called corrector problems. In a random environment, these problems are stochastic and therefore need to be repeatedly solved, for several configurations of the medium considered. An empirical average over all configurations is then performed using the Monte Carlo approach, so as to approximate the effective coefficients necessary to determine the macroscopic behaviour. Variance severely affects the accuracy and the cost of such computations. Variance reduction approaches, borrowed from other contexts in the engineering sciences, can be useful. Some of these variance reduction techniques are presented, studied and tested here. PMID:27002065

Variable valve timing in a homogenous charge compression ignition engine

DOEpatents

Lawrence, Keith E.; Faletti, James J.; Funke, Steven J.; Maloney, Ronald P.

2004-08-03

The present invention relates generally to the field of homogenous charge compression ignition engines, in which fuel is injected when the cylinder piston is relatively close to the bottom dead center position for its compression stroke. The fuel mixes with air in the cylinder during the compression stroke to create a relatively lean homogeneous mixture that preferably ignites when the piston is relatively close to the top dead center position. However, if the ignition event occurs either earlier or later than desired, lowered performance, engine misfire, or even engine damage, can result. The present invention utilizes internal exhaust gas recirculation and/or compression ratio control to control the timing of ignition events and combustion duration in homogeneous charge compression ignition engines. Thus, at least one electro-hydraulic assist actuator is provided that is capable of mechanically engaging at least one cam actuated intake and/or exhaust valve.

Effect of heat treatment, pH, sugar concentration, and metal addition on green color retention in homogenized puree of Thompson seedless grape

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Homogenized puree of Thompson seedless (Vitis vinifera ‘Thompson Seedless’) grape was treated under different conditions, including heating time (5-30 min), temperature (20-80°C) and pH (2-10). Treatments with separate additions of glucose, fructose, and sucrose at concentrations of 100-600 g/L and ...

Remembering Tocqueville: Reflections on the American Condition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keohane, Nannerl O.

2000-01-01

Presents the 2000 Robert H. Atwell Distinguished Lecture given at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education in Chicago (Illinois), which focuses on the ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville to find lessons for the current condition of higher education. These include American egalitarianism, homogeneity, individualism, and pragmatism.…

Etude de la Production de Paires de Leptons dans les Interactions Proton-Beryllium a 450 GEV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubry, Pierre Rene Roger

L'experience HELIOS a fait une etude precise de la production des paires e^+e^-, mu^+mu^-, mu ^+mu^-+nu, et mu^+/- e^+/- dans les interactions p-Be a 450 GeV. Le detecteur comporte un spectrometre a electrons, un spectrometre a muons, et un ensemble de calorimetres qui peuvent mesurer les photons et l'energie manquante emportee par les neutrinos. Les paires de leptons sont observees dans la region cinematique ^1: eqalign {2/m_mu 6 GeV cr E_{e}&>2.8 GeV cr.25&etude de la distribution en energie manquante des dimuons de masse intermediaire (1.2 GeV

A homogenized localizing gradient damage model with micro inertia effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhao; Poh, Leong Hien

2018-07-01

The conventional gradient enhancement regularizes structural responses during material failure. However, it induces a spurious damage growth phenomenon, which is shown here to persist in dynamics. Similar issues were reported with the integral averaging approach. Consequently, the conventional nonlocal enhancement cannot adequately describe the dynamic fracture of quasi-brittle materials, particularly in the high strain rate regime, where a diffused damage profile precludes the development of closely spaced macrocracks. To this end, a homogenization theory is proposed to translate the micro processes onto the macro scale. Starting with simple elementary models at the micro scale to describe the fracture mechanisms, an additional kinematic field is introduced to capture the variations in deformation and velocity within a unit cell. An energetic equivalence between micro and macro is next imposed to ensure consistency at the two scales. The ensuing homogenized microforce balance resembles closely the conventional gradient expression, albeit with an interaction domain that decreases with damage, complemented by a micro inertia effect. Considering a direct single pressure bar example, the homogenized model is shown to resolve the non-physical responses obtained with conventional nonlocal enhancement. The predictive capability of the homogenized model is furthermore demonstrated by considering the spall tests of concrete, with good predictions on failure characteristics such as fragmentation profiles and dynamic tensile strengths, at three different loading rates.

The water vapour radiometer of Paranal: homogeneity of precipitable water vapour from two years of operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerber, Florian; Querel, Richard R.; Neureiter, Bianca

2015-04-01

A Low Humidity and Temperature Profiling (LHATPRO) microwave radiometer, manufactured by Radiometer Physics GmbH (RPG), is used to monitor sky conditions over ESO's Paranal observatory in support of VLT science operations. The unit measures several channels across the strong water vapour emission line at 183 GHz, necessary for resolving the low levels of precipitable water vapour (PWV) that are prevalent on Paranal (median ∼2.4 mm). The instrument consists of a humidity profiler (183-191 GHz), a temperature profiler (51-58 GHz), and an infrared camera (∼10 μm) for cloud detection. We present a statistical analysis of the homogeneity of all-sky PWV using 24 months of PWV observations. The question we tried to address was whether PWV is homogeneous enough across the sky such that service mode observations with the VLT can routinely be conducted with a user-provided constraint for PWV measured at zenith. We find the PWV over Paranal to be remarkably homogeneous across the sky down to 27.5° elevation with a median variation of 0.07 mm (rms). The homogeneity is a function of the absolute PWV but the relative variation is fairly constant at 2 to 3% (rms). Such variations will not be a significant issue for analysis of astronomical data. Users at ESO can specify PWV - measured at zenith - as an ambient constraint in service mode to enable, for instance, very demanding observations in the infrared. We conclude that in general it will not be necessary to add another observing constraint for PWV homogeneity to ensure integrity of observations. For demanding observations requiring very low PWV, where the relative variation is higher, the optimum support could be provided by observing with the LHATPRO in the same line-of-sight simultaneously. Such a mode of operations has already been tested but will have to be justified in terms of scientific gain before implementation can be considered. We plan to extend our analysis of PWV variations covering a larger parameters space

Population dynamics in non-homogeneous environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alards, Kim M. J.; Tesser, Francesca; Toschi, Federico

2014-11-01

For organisms living in aquatic ecosystems the presence of fluid transport can have a strong influence on the dynamics of populations and on evolution of species. In particular, displacements due to self-propulsion, summed up with turbulent dispersion at larger scales, strongly influence the local densities and thus population and genetic dynamics. Real marine environments are furthermore characterized by a high degree of non-homogeneities. In the case of population fronts propagating in ``fast'' turbulence, with respect to the population duplication time, the flow effect can be studied by replacing the microscopic diffusivity with an effective turbulent diffusivity. In the opposite case of ``slow'' turbulence the advection by the flow has to be considered locally. Here we employ numerical simulations to study the influence of non-homogeneities in the diffusion coefficient of reacting individuals of different species expanding in a 2 dimensional space. Moreover, to explore the influence of advection, we consider a population expanding in the presence of simple velocity fields like cellular flows. The output is analyzed in terms of front roughness, front shape, propagation speed and, concerning the genetics, by means of heterozygosity and local and global extinction probabilities.

RELIABLE COMPUTATION OF HOMOGENEOUS AZEOTROPES. (R824731)

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract

It is important to determine the existence and composition of homogeneous azeotropes in the analysis of phase behavior and in the synthesis and design of separation systems, from both theoretical and practical standpoints. A new method for reliably locating an...

Reconstruction de la surface de Fermi dans l'etat normal d'un supraconducteur a haute Tc: Une etude du transport electrique en champ magnetique intense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Boeuf, David

Des mesures de resistance longitudinale et de resistance de Hall en champ magnetique intense transverse (perpendiculaire aux plans CuO2) ont ete effectuees au sein de monocristaux de YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) demacles, ordonnes et de grande purete, afin d'etudier l'etat fondamental des supraconducteurs a haute Tc dans le regime sous-dope. Cette etude a ete realisee en fonction du dopage et de l'orientation du courant d'excitation J par rapport a l'axe orthorhombique b de la structure cristalline. Les mesures en champ magnetique intense revelent par suppression de la supraconductivite des oscillations magnetiques des resistances longitudinale et de Hall dans YBa2Cu 3O6.51 et YBa2Cu4O8. La conformite du comportement de ces oscillations quantiques au formalisme de Lifshitz-Kosevich, apporte la preuve de l'existence d'une surface de Fermi fermee a caractere quasi-2D, abritant des quasiparticules coherentes respectant la statistique de Fermi-Dirac, dans la phase pseudogap d'YBCO. La faible frequence des oscillations quantiques, combinee avec l'etude de la partie monotone de la resistance de Hall en fonction de la temperature indique que la surface de Fermi d'YBCO sous-dope comprend une petite poche de Fermi occupee par des porteurs de charge negative. Cette particularite de la surface de Fermi dans le regime sous-dope incompatible avec les calculs de structure de bande est en fort contraste avec la structure electronique presente dans le regime surdope. Cette observation implique ainsi l'existence d'un point critique quantique dans le diagramme de phase d'YBCO, au voisinage duquel la surface de Fermi doit subir une reconstruction induite par l'etablissement d'une brisure de la symetrie de translation du reseau cristallin sous-jacent. Enfin, l'etude en fonction du dopage de la resistance de Hall et de la resistance longitudinale en champ magnetique intense suggere qu'un ordre du type onde de densite (DW) est responsable de la reconstruction de la surface de Fermi. L'analogie de

Genetic homogeneity of Fascioloides magna in Austria.

PubMed

Husch, Christian; Sattmann, Helmut; Hörweg, Christoph; Ursprung, Josef; Walochnik, Julia

2017-08-30

The large American liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, is an economically relevant parasite of both domestic and wild ungulates. F. magna was repeatedly introduced into Europe, for the first time already in the 19th century. In Austria, a stable population of F. magna has established in the Danube floodplain forests southeast of Vienna. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of F. magna in Austria. A total of 26 individuals from various regions within the known area of distribution were investigated for their cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) gene haplotypes. Interestingly, all 26 individuals revealed one and the same haplotype, namely concatenated haplotype Ha5. This indicates a homogenous population of F. magna in Austria and may argue for a single introduction. Alternatively, genetic homogeneity might also be explained by a bottleneck effect and/or genetic drift. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantum memory with a controlled homogeneous splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hétet, G.; Wilkowski, D.; Chanelière, T.

2013-04-01

We propose a quantum memory protocol where an input light field can be stored onto and released from a single ground state atomic ensemble by controlling dynamically the strength of an external static and homogeneous field. The technique relies on the adiabatic following of a polaritonic excitation onto a state for which the forward collective radiative emission is forbidden. The resemblance with the archetypal electromagnetically induced transparency is only formal because no ground state coherence-based slow-light propagation is considered here. As compared to the other grand category of protocols derived from the photon-echo technique, our approach only involves a homogeneous static field. We discuss two physical situations where the effect can be observed, and show that in the limit where the excited state lifetime is longer than the storage time; the protocols are perfectly efficient and noise free. We compare the technique with other quantum memories, and propose atomic systems where the experiment can be realized.

Theoretical investigation of mixing in warm clouds – Part 2: Homogeneous mixing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pinsky, Mark; Khain, Alexander; Korolev, Alexei

Evolution of monodisperse and polydisperse droplet size distributions (DSD) during homogeneous mixing is analyzed. Time-dependent universal analytical expressions for supersaturation and liquid water content are derived. For an initial monodisperse DSD, these quantities are shown to depend on a sole non-dimensional parameter. The evolution of moments and moment-related functions in the course of homogeneous evaporation of polydisperse DSD is analyzed using a parcel model. It is shown that the classic conceptual scheme, according to which homogeneous mixing leads to a decrease in droplet mass at constant droplet concentration, is valid only in cases of monodisperse or initially very narrow polydispersemore » DSD. In cases of wide polydisperse DSD, mixing and successive evaporation lead to a decrease of both mass and concentration, so the characteristic droplet sizes remain nearly constant. As this feature is typically associated with inhomogeneous mixing, we conclude that in cases of an initially wide DSD at cloud top, homogeneous mixing is nearly indistinguishable from inhomogeneous mixing.« less

Theoretical investigation of mixing in warm clouds – Part 2: Homogeneous mixing

DOE PAGES

Pinsky, Mark; Khain, Alexander; Korolev, Alexei; ...

2016-07-28

Evolution of monodisperse and polydisperse droplet size distributions (DSD) during homogeneous mixing is analyzed. Time-dependent universal analytical expressions for supersaturation and liquid water content are derived. For an initial monodisperse DSD, these quantities are shown to depend on a sole non-dimensional parameter. The evolution of moments and moment-related functions in the course of homogeneous evaporation of polydisperse DSD is analyzed using a parcel model. It is shown that the classic conceptual scheme, according to which homogeneous mixing leads to a decrease in droplet mass at constant droplet concentration, is valid only in cases of monodisperse or initially very narrow polydispersemore » DSD. In cases of wide polydisperse DSD, mixing and successive evaporation lead to a decrease of both mass and concentration, so the characteristic droplet sizes remain nearly constant. As this feature is typically associated with inhomogeneous mixing, we conclude that in cases of an initially wide DSD at cloud top, homogeneous mixing is nearly indistinguishable from inhomogeneous mixing.« less

Homogenous Surface Nucleation of Solid Polar Stratospheric Cloud Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabazadeh, A.; Hamill, P.; Salcedo, D.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A general surface nucleation rate theory is presented for the homogeneous freezing of crystalline germs on the surfaces of aqueous particles. While nucleation rates in a standard classical homogeneous freezing rate theory scale with volume, the rates in a surface-based theory scale with surface area. The theory is used to convert volume-based information on laboratory freezing rates (in units of cu cm, seconds) of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) and nitric acid dihydrate (NAD) aerosols into surface-based values (in units of sq cm, seconds). We show that a surface-based model is capable of reproducing measured nucleation rates of NAT and NAD aerosols from concentrated aqueous HNO3 solutions in the temperature range of 165 to 205 K. Laboratory measured nucleation rates are used to derive free energies for NAT and NAD germ formation in the stratosphere. NAD germ free energies range from about 23 to 26 kcal mole, allowing for fast and efficient homogeneous NAD particle production in the stratosphere. However, NAT germ formation energies are large (greater than 26 kcal mole) enough to prevent efficient NAT particle production in the stratosphere. We show that the atmospheric NAD particle production rates based on the surface rate theory are roughly 2 orders of magnitude larger than those obtained from a standard volume-based rate theory. Atmospheric volume and surface production of NAD particles will nearly cease in the stratosphere when denitrification in the air exceeds 40 and 78%, respectively. We show that a surface-based (volume-based) homogeneous freezing rate theory gives particle production rates, which are (not) consistent with both laboratory and atmospheric data on the nucleation of solid polar stratospheric cloud particles.

Etude vibroacoustique d'un systeme coque-plancher-cavite avec application a un fuselage simplifie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Missaoui, Jemai

L'objectif de ce travail est de developper des modeles semi-analytiques pour etudier le comportement structural, acoustique et vibro-acoustique d'un systeme coque-plancher-cavite. La connection entre la coque et le plancher est assuree en utilisant le concept de rigidite artificielle. Ce concept de modelisation flexible facilite le choix des fonctions de decomposition du mouvement de chaque sous-structure. Les resultats issus de cette etude vont permettre la comprehension des phenomenes physiques de base rencontres dans une structure d'avion. Une approche integro-modale est developpee pour calculer les caracteristiques modales acoustiques. Elle utilise une discretisation de la cavite irreguliere en sous-cavites acoustiques dont les bases de developpement sont connues a priori. Cette approche, a caractere physique, presente l'avantage d'etre efficace et precise. La validite de celle-ci a ete demontree en utilisant des resultats disponibles dans la litterature. Un modele vibro-acoustique est developpe dans un but d'analyser et de comprendre les effets structuraux et acoustiques du plancher dans la configuration. La validite des resultats, en termes de resonance et de fonction de transfert, est verifiee a l'aide des mesures experimentales realisees au laboratoire.

Homogeneity of Political Party Preferences between Spouses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiner, Terry S.

1978-01-01

A study investigated how political socialization within marriages affects political party affiliation. Findings indicated that the high degree of homogeneity of party preferences between spouses is due both to assortive mating and to influences of each spouse upon the other. For journal availability, see SO 506 355. (Author/DB)

Extension theorems for homogenization on lattice structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Robert E.

1992-01-01

When applying homogenization techniques to problems involving lattice structures, it is necessary to extend certain functions defined on a perforated domain to a simply connected domain. This paper provides general extension operators which preserve bounds on derivatives of order l. Only the special case of honeycomb structures is considered.

Onset conditions for gas phase reaction and nucleation in the CVD of transition metal oxides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, J.; Rosner, D. E.; Castillo, J.

1992-01-01

A combined experimental/theoretical study is presented of the onset conditions for gas phase reaction and particle nucleation in hot substrate/cold gas CVD of transition metal oxides. Homogeneous reaction onset conditions are predicted using a simple high activation energy reacting gas film theory. Experimental tests of the basic theory are underway using an axisymmetric impinging jet CVD reactor. No vapor phase ignition has yet been observed in the TiCl4/O2 system under accessible operating conditions (below substrate temperature Tw = 1700 K). The goal of this research is to provide CVD reactor design and operation guidelines for achieving acceptable deposit microstructures at the maximum deposition rate while simultaneously avoiding homogeneous reaction/nucleation and diffusional limitations.

Type of homogenization and fat loss during continuous infusion of human milk.

PubMed

García-Lara, Nadia Raquel; Escuder-Vieco, Diana; Alonso Díaz, Clara; Vázquez Román, Sara; De la Cruz-Bértolo, Javier; Pallás-Alonso, Carmen Rosa

2014-11-01

Substantial fat loss may occur during continuous feeding of human milk (HM). A decrease of fat loss has been described following homogenization. Well-established methods of homogenization of HM for routine use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) would be desirable. We compared the loss of fat based on the use of 3 different methods for homogenizing thawed HM during continuous feeding. Sixteen frozen donor HM samples were thawed, homogenized with ultrasound and separated into 3 aliquots ("baseline agitation," "hourly agitation," and "ultrasound"), and then frozen for 48 hours. Aliquots were thawed again and a baseline agitation was applied. Subsequently, aliquots baseline agitation and hourly agitation were drawn into a syringe, while ultrasound was applied to aliquot ultrasound before it was drawn into a syringe. The syringes were loaded into a pump (2 mL/h; 4 hours). At hourly intervals the hourly agitation infusion was stopped, the syringe was disconnected and gently shaken. During infusion, samples from the 3 groups were collected hourly for analysis of fat and caloric content. The 3 groups of homogenization showed similar fat content at the beginning of the infusion. For fat, mean (SD) hourly changes of -0.03 (0.01), -0.09 (0.01), and -0.09 (0.01) g/dL were observed for the hourly agitation, baseline agitation, and ultrasound groups, respectively. The decrease was smaller for the hourly agitation group (P < .001). When thawed HM is continuously infused, a smaller fat loss is observed when syringes are agitated hourly versus when ultrasound or a baseline homogenization is used. © The Author(s) 2014.

Study of an ultrasound-based process analytical tool for homogenization of nanoparticulate pharmaceutical vehicles.

PubMed

Cavegn, Martin; Douglas, Ryan; Akkermans, Guy; Kuentz, Martin

2011-08-01

There are currently no adequate process analyzers for nanoparticulate viscosity enhancers. This article aims to evaluate ultrasonic resonator technology as a monitoring tool for homogenization of nanoparticulate gels. Aqueous dispersions of colloidal microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and a mixture of clay particles with xanthan gum were compared with colloidal silicon dioxide in oil. The processing was conducted using a laboratory-scale homogenizing vessel. The study investigated first the homogenization kinetics of the different systems to focus then on process factors in the case of colloidal MCC. Moreover, rheological properties were analyzed offline to assess the structure of the resulting gels. Results showed the suitability of ultrasound velocimetry to monitor the homogenization process. The obtained data were fitted using a novel heuristic model. It was possible to identify characteristic homogenization times for each formulation. The subsequent study of the process factors demonstrated that ultrasonic process analysis was equally sensitive as offline rheological measurements in detecting subtle manufacturing changes. It can be concluded that the ultrasonic method was able to successfully assess homogenization of nanoparticulate viscosity enhancers. This novel technique can become a vital tool for development and production of pharmaceutical suspensions in the future. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Identification of hydrologically homogeneous regions in Ganga-Brahmaputra river basin using Self Organising Maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ojha, C. S. P.; Sharma, C.

2017-12-01

Identification of hydrologically homogeneous regions is crucial for topographically complex regions such as Himalayan river basins. Ganga-Brahmaputra river basin extends through three countries, i.e., India Nepal and China. High elevations and rugged topography impose challenge for in-situ gauges. So, it is always recommended to use data from hydrological similar site in absence of site records. We have tried to find out hydrologically homogeneous regions using Self-Organising-Map (SOM) in Ganga-Brahmaputra river basin. The station characteristics used for identification of homogeneous regions are annual precipitation, total wet season (July to September) precipitation, total dry season (January to March) precipitation, Latitude, Longitude and elevation. Precipitation data was obtained from Climate Research Unit (CRU). Number of cluster are find out using hierarchical k-means clustering. We found that the basin can be divided in 9 clusters. Mere division of regions in clusters does not clarify that identified cluster are homogeneous. The homogeneity of the clusters is found out using Hosking and Wallis heterogeneity test. All the clusters were found to be acceptably homogeneous with the value of Hosking-Wallis test static H<1.

Investigation of methods for hydroclimatic data homogenization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steirou, E.; Koutsoyiannis, D.

2012-04-01

We investigate the methods used for the adjustment of inhomogeneities of temperature time series covering the last 100 years. Based on a systematic study of scientific literature, we classify and evaluate the observed inhomogeneities in historical and modern time series, as well as their adjustment methods. It turns out that these methods are mainly statistical, not well justified by experiments and are rarely supported by metadata. In many of the cases studied the proposed corrections are not even statistically significant. From the global database GHCN-Monthly Version 2, we examine all stations containing both raw and adjusted data that satisfy certain criteria of continuity and distribution over the globe. In the United States of America, because of the large number of available stations, stations were chosen after a suitable sampling. In total we analyzed 181 stations globally. For these stations we calculated the differences between the adjusted and non-adjusted linear 100-year trends. It was found that in the two thirds of the cases, the homogenization procedure increased the positive or decreased the negative temperature trends. One of the most common homogenization methods, 'SNHT for single shifts', was applied to synthetic time series with selected statistical characteristics, occasionally with offsets. The method was satisfactory when applied to independent data normally distributed, but not in data with long-term persistence. The above results cast some doubts in the use of homogenization procedures and tend to indicate that the global temperature increase during the last century is between 0.4°C and 0.7°C, where these two values are the estimates derived from raw and adjusted data, respectively.

Some variance reduction methods for numerical stochastic homogenization.

PubMed

Blanc, X; Le Bris, C; Legoll, F

2016-04-28

We give an overview of a series of recent studies devoted to variance reduction techniques for numerical stochastic homogenization. Numerical homogenization requires that a set of problems is solved at the microscale, the so-called corrector problems. In a random environment, these problems are stochastic and therefore need to be repeatedly solved, for several configurations of the medium considered. An empirical average over all configurations is then performed using the Monte Carlo approach, so as to approximate the effective coefficients necessary to determine the macroscopic behaviour. Variance severely affects the accuracy and the cost of such computations. Variance reduction approaches, borrowed from other contexts in the engineering sciences, can be useful. Some of these variance reduction techniques are presented, studied and tested here. © 2016 The Author(s).

Etude spectroscopique des collisions moleculaires (hydrogene-azote et hydrogene-oxygene) a des energies de quelques MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plante, Jacinthe

1998-09-01

Les resultats presentes ici proviennent d'une etude systematique portant sur les collisions a vitesse constante, entre les projectiles d'hydrogene (H+, H2+ et H3+ a 1 MeV/nucleon) et deux cibles gazeuses (N2 et O2), soumises a differentes pressions. Les collisions sont analysees a l'aide des spectres d'emission (de 400 A a 6650 A) et des graphiques intensite/pression. Les spectres ont revele la presence des raies d'azote atomique, d'azote moleculaire, d'oxygene atomique, d'oxygene moleculaire et d'hydrogene atomique. Les raies d'hydrogene sont observees seulement avec les projectiles H2+ et H3+. Donc les processus responsables de la formation de ces raies sont des mecanismes de fragmentation des projectiles. Pour conclure, il existe une difference notable entre les projectiles et les differentes pressions. Les raies d'azote et d'oxygene augmentent selon la pression et les raies d'hydrogene atomique presentent une relation non lineaire avec la pression.

Contribution a l'etude et au developpement de nouvelles poudres de fonte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boisvert, Mathieu

" uphill " permet de conserver plus ou moins de graphite nodulaire a l'interieur des regions riches en silicium, alors que le reste du graphite precipite sous forme lamellaire/vermiculaire dans les regions interparticulaires. L'etude des poudres de fontes et la recherche des mecanismes regissant la morphologie du graphite dans les fontes coulees/moulees nous ont amenes a produire des poudres de fontes traitees au magnesium avant l'atomisation. Plusieurs resultats fondamentaux ont ete obtenus de la caracterisation des poudres traitees au magnesium et de leur comparaison avec des poudres de chimies similaires non traitees au magnesium. D'abord, il a ete possible d'observer des bifilms d'oxyde de silicium dans la structure du graphite primaire d'une poudre de fonte grise hypereutectique. Il s'agit des premieres images montrant la structure double de ces defauts, venant ainsi appuyer la theorie elaboree par le professeur John Campbell. Ensuite, il a ete montre que le traitement au magnesium forme une atmosphere protectrice gazeuse autogeneree qui empeche l'oxydation de la surface du bain liquide et donc, la formation et l'entrainement des bifilms. Le role du magnesium sur la morphologie du graphite est de diminuer le soufre en solution en formant des precipites de sulfure de magnesium et ainsi d'augmenter l'energie d'interface graphite-liquide. En reponse a cette grande energie d'interface graphite-liquide, le graphite cherche a minimiser son ratio surface/volume, ce qui favorise la formation de graphite spheroidal. De plus, deux types de germination ont ete observes dans la poudre de fonte hypereutectique traitee au magnesium. Le premier type est une germination heterogene sur un nombre limite de particules faites de magnesium, d'aluminium, de silicium et d'oxygene. Le deuxieme type est une germination homogene des nodules dans certaines regions du liquide plus riches en silicium. L'observation du centre reel tridimensionnel, en microscopie electronique en transmission en

Improved model for detection of homogeneous production batches of electronic components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazakovtsev, L. A.; Orlov, V. I.; Stashkov, D. V.; Antamoshkin, A. N.; Masich, I. S.

2017-10-01

Supplying the electronic units of the complex technical systems with electronic devices of the proper quality is one of the most important problems for increasing the whole system reliability. Moreover, for reaching the highest reliability of an electronic unit, the electronic devices of the same type must have equal characteristics which assure their coherent operation. The highest homogeneity of the characteristics is reached if the electronic devices are manufactured as a single production batch. Moreover, each production batch must contain homogeneous raw materials. In this paper, we propose an improved model for detecting the homogeneous production batches of shipped lot of electronic components based on implementing the kurtosis criterion for the results of non-destructive testing performed for each lot of electronic devices used in the space industry.

HOMOGENEOUS NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Hammond, R.P.; Busey, H.M.

1959-02-17

Nuclear reactors of the homogeneous liquid fuel type are discussed. The reactor is comprised of an elongated closed vessel, vertically oriented, having a critical region at the bottom, a lower chimney structure extending from the critical region vertically upwardly and surrounded by heat exchanger coils, to a baffle region above which is located an upper chimney structure containing a catalyst functioning to recombine radiolyticallydissociated moderator gages. In operation the liquid fuel circulates solely by convection from the critical region upwardly through the lower chimney and then downwardly through the heat exchanger to return to the critical region. The gases formed by radiolytic- dissociation of the moderator are carried upwardly with the circulating liquid fuel and past the baffle into the region of the upper chimney where they are recombined by the catalyst and condensed, thence returning through the heat exchanger to the critical region.

SU-E-T-76: Comparing Homogeneity Between Gafchromic Film EBT2 and EBT3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mizuno, H; Sumida, I; Ogawa, K

2014-06-01

Purpose: We found out that homogeneity of EBT2 was different among lot numbers in previous study. Variation in local homogeneity of EBT3 among several lot numbers has not been reported. In this study, we investigated film homogeneity of Gafcrhomic EBT3 films compared with EBT2 films. Methods: All sheets from five lots were cut into 12 pieces to investigate film homogeneity, and were irradiated at 0.5, 2, and 3 Gy. To investigate intra- and inter-sheet uniformity, five sheets from five lots were exposed to 2 Gy: intra-sheet uniformity was evaluated by the coefficient of variation of homogeneity for all pieces ofmore » a single sheet, and inter-sheet uniformity was evaluated by the coefficient of variation of homogeneity among the same piece numbers in the five sheets. To investigate the difference of ADC value in various doses, a single sheet from each of five lots was irradiated at 0.5 Gy and 3 Gy in addition to 2 Gy. A scan resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi) and color depth of 48-bit RGB were used. Films were analyzed by the inhouse software; Average of ADC value in center ROI and profile X and Y axis were measured. Results and Conclusion: Intra-sheet uniformity of non-irradiated EBT2 films were ranged from 0.1% to 0.4%, however that of irradiated EBT2 films were ranged from 0.2% to 1.5%. On the other hand, intra-sheet uniformity of irradiated and non-irradiated EBT3 films were from 0.2% to 0.6%. Inter-sheet uniformity of all films were less than 0.5%. It was interesting point that homogeneity of EBT3 between no-irradiated and irradiated films were similar value, whereas EBT2 had dose dependence of homogeneity in ADC value evaluation. These results suggested that EBT3 homogeneity was corrected by this feature.« less

Eulerian formulation of the interacting particle representation model of homogeneous turbulence

DOE PAGES

Campos, Alejandro; Duraisamy, Karthik; Iaccarino, Gianluca

2016-10-21

The Interacting Particle Representation Model (IPRM) of homogeneous turbulence incorporates information about the morphology of turbulent structures within the con nes of a one-point model. In the original formulation [Kassinos & Reynolds, Center for Turbulence Research: Annual Research Briefs, 31{51, (1996)], the IPRM was developed in a Lagrangian setting by evolving second moments of velocity conditional on a given gradient vector. In the present work, the IPRM is re-formulated in an Eulerian framework and evolution equations are developed for the marginal PDFs. Eulerian methods avoid the issues associated with statistical estimators used by Lagrangian approaches, such as slow convergence. Amore » specific emphasis of this work is to use the IPRM to examine the long time evolution of homogeneous turbulence. We first describe the derivation of the marginal PDF in spherical coordinates, which reduces the number of independent variables and the cost associated with Eulerian simulations of PDF models. Next, a numerical method based on radial basis functions over a spherical domain is adapted to the IPRM. Finally, results obtained with the new Eulerian solution method are thoroughly analyzed. The sensitivity of the Eulerian simulations to parameters of the numerical scheme, such as the size of the time step and the shape parameter of the radial basis functions, is examined. A comparison between Eulerian and Lagrangian simulations is performed to discern the capabilities of each of the methods. Finally, a linear stability analysis based on the eigenvalues of the discrete differential operators is carried out for both the new Eulerian solution method and the original Lagrangian approach.« less

Laser-assisted homogeneous charge ignition in a constant volume combustion chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Dhananjay Kumar; Weinrotter, Martin; Kofler, Henrich; Agarwal, Avinash Kumar; Wintner, Ernst

2009-06-01

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a very promising future combustion concept for internal combustion engines. There are several technical difficulties associated with this concept, and precisely controlling the start of auto-ignition is the most prominent of them. In this paper, a novel concept to control the start of auto-ignition is presented. The concept is based on the fact that most HCCI engines are operated with high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates in order to slow-down the fast combustion processes. Recirculated exhaust gas contains combustion products including moisture, which has a relative peak of the absorption coefficient around 3 μm. These water molecules absorb the incident erbium laser radiations ( λ=2.79 μm) and get heated up to expedite ignition. In the present experimental work, auto-ignition conditions are locally attained in an experimental constant volume combustion chamber under simulated EGR conditions. Taking advantage of this feature, the time when the mixture is thought to "auto-ignite" could be adjusted/controlled by the laser pulse width optimisation, followed by its resonant absorption by water molecules present in recirculated exhaust gas.

Versatile and Programmable DNA Logic Gates on Universal and Label-Free Homogeneous Electrochemical Platform.

PubMed

Ge, Lei; Wang, Wenxiao; Sun, Ximei; Hou, Ting; Li, Feng

2016-10-04

Herein, a novel universal and label-free homogeneous electrochemical platform is demonstrated, on which a complete set of DNA-based two-input Boolean logic gates (OR, NAND, AND, NOR, INHIBIT, IMPLICATION, XOR, and XNOR) is constructed by simply and rationally deploying the designed DNA polymerization/nicking machines without complicated sequence modulation. Single-stranded DNA is employed as the proof-of-concept target/input to initiate or prevent the DNA polymerization/nicking cyclic reactions on these DNA machines to synthesize numerous intact G-quadruplex sequences or binary G-quadruplex subunits as the output. The generated output strands then self-assemble into G-quadruplexes that render remarkable decrease to the diffusion current response of methylene blue and, thus, provide the amplified homogeneous electrochemical readout signal not only for the logic gate operations but also for the ultrasensitive detection of the target/input. This system represents the first example of homogeneous electrochemical logic operation. Importantly, the proposed homogeneous electrochemical logic gates possess the input/output homogeneity and share a constant output threshold value. Moreover, the modular design of DNA polymerization/nicking machines enables the adaptation of these homogeneous electrochemical logic gates to various input and output sequences. The results of this study demonstrate the versatility and universality of the label-free homogeneous electrochemical platform in the design of biomolecular logic gates and provide a potential platform for the further development of large-scale DNA-based biocomputing circuits and advanced biosensors for multiple molecular targets.

Exploring cosmic homogeneity with the BOSS DR12 galaxy sample

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ntelis, Pierros; Hamilton, Jean-Christophe; Busca, Nicolas Guillermo

2017-06-01

In this study, we probe the transition to cosmic homogeneity in the Large Scale Structure (LSS) of the Universe using the CMASS galaxy sample of BOSS spectroscopic survey which covers the largest effective volume to date, 3 h {sup −3} Gpc{sup 3} at 0.43 ≤ z ≤ 0.7. We study the scaled counts-in-spheres, N(< r ), and the fractal correlation dimension, D{sub 2}( r ), to assess the homogeneity scale of the universe using a Landy and Szalay inspired estimator. Defining the scale of transition to homogeneity as the scale at which D{sub 2}( r ) reaches 3 within 1%,more » i.e. D{sub 2}( r )>2.97 for r >R {sub H} , we find R {sub H} = (63.3±0.7) h {sup −1} Mpc, in agreement at the percentage level with the predictions of the ΛCDM model R {sub H} =62.0 h {sup −1} Mpc. Thanks to the large cosmic depth of the survey, we investigate the redshift evolution of the transition to homogeneity scale and find agreement with the ΛCDM prediction. Finally, we find that D{sub 2} is compatible with 3 at scales larger than 300 h {sup −1} Mpc in all redshift bins. These results consolidate the Cosmological Principle and represent a precise consistency test of the ΛCDM model.« less

Conditional Covariance Theory and DETECT for Polytomous Items. Research Report. ETS RR-04-50

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jinming

2004-01-01

This paper extends the theory of conditional covariances to polytomous items. It has been mathematically proven that under some mild conditions, commonly assumed in the analysis of response data, the conditional covariance of two items, dichotomously or polytomously scored, is positive if the two items are dimensionally homogeneous and negative…

High pressure homogenization to improve the stability of casein - hydroxypropyl cellulose aqueous systems.

PubMed

Ye, Ran; Harte, Federico

2014-03-01

The effect of high pressure homogenization on the improvement of the stability hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and micellar casein was investigated. HPC with two molecular weights (80 and 1150 kDa) and micellar casein were mixed in water to a concentration leading to phase separation (0.45% w/v HPC and 3% w/v casein) and immediately subjected to high pressure homogenization ranging from 0 to 300 MPa, in 100 MPa increments. The various dispersions were evaluated for stability, particle size, turbidity, protein content, and viscosity over a period of two weeks and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) at the end of the storage period. The stability of casein-HPC complexes was enhanced with the increasing homogenization pressure, especially for the complex containing high molecular weight HPC. The apparent particle size of complexes was reduced from ~200nm to ~130nm when using 300 MPa, corresponding to the sharp decrease of absorbance when compared to the non-homogenized controls. High pressure homogenization reduced the viscosity of HPC-casein complexes regardless of the molecular weight of HPC and STEM imagines revealed aggregates consistent with nano-scale protein polysaccharide interactions.

High pressure homogenization to improve the stability of casein - hydroxypropyl cellulose aqueous systems

PubMed Central

Ye, Ran; Harte, Federico

2013-01-01

The effect of high pressure homogenization on the improvement of the stability hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and micellar casein was investigated. HPC with two molecular weights (80 and 1150 kDa) and micellar casein were mixed in water to a concentration leading to phase separation (0.45% w/v HPC and 3% w/v casein) and immediately subjected to high pressure homogenization ranging from 0 to 300 MPa, in 100 MPa increments. The various dispersions were evaluated for stability, particle size, turbidity, protein content, and viscosity over a period of two weeks and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) at the end of the storage period. The stability of casein-HPC complexes was enhanced with the increasing homogenization pressure, especially for the complex containing high molecular weight HPC. The apparent particle size of complexes was reduced from ~200nm to ~130nm when using 300 MPa, corresponding to the sharp decrease of absorbance when compared to the non-homogenized controls. High pressure homogenization reduced the viscosity of HPC-casein complexes regardless of the molecular weight of HPC and STEM imagines revealed aggregates consistent with nano-scale protein polysaccharide interactions. PMID:24159250

Etudes optiques de nouveaux materiaux laser: Des orthosilicates dopes a l'ytterbium: Le yttrium (lutetium,scandium) pentoxide de silicium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denoyer, Aurelie

La decouverte et l'elaboration de nouveaux materiaux laser solides suscitent beaucoup d'interet parmi la communaute scientifique. En particulier les lasers dans la gamme de frequence du micron debouchent sur beaucoup d'applications, en telecommunication, en medecine, dans le domaine militaire, pour la, decoupe des metaux (lasers de puissance), en optique non lineaire (doublage de frequence, bistabilite optique). Le plus couramment utilise actuellement est le Nd:YAG dans cette famille de laser, mais des remplacants plus performants sont toujours recherches. Les lasers a base d'Yb3+ possedent beaucoup d'avantages compares aux lasers Nd3+ du fait de leur structure electronique simple et de leur deterioration moins rapide. Parmi les matrices cristallines pouvant accueillir l'ytterbium, les orthosilicates Yb:Y 2SiO5, Yb:Lu2SiO5 et Yb:Sc2SiO 5 se positionnent tres bien, du fait de leur bonne conductivite thermique et du fort eclatement de leur champ cristallin necessaire a l'elaboration de lasers quasi-3 niveaux. De plus l'etude fine et systematique des proprietes microscopiques de nouveaux materiaux s'avere toujours tres interessante du point de vue de la recherche fondamentale, c'est ainsi que de nouveaux modeles sont concus (par exemple pour le champ cristallin) ou que de nouvelles proprietes inhabituelles sont decouvertes, menant a de nouvelles applications. Ainsi d'autres materiaux dopes a l'ytterbium sont connus pour leurs proprietes de couplage electron-phonon, de couplage magnetique, d'emission cooperative ou encore de bistabilite optique, mais ces proprietes n'ont encore jamais ete mises en evidence dans Yb:Y 2SiO5, Yb:Lu2SiO5 et Yb:Sc2SiO 5. Ainsi, cette these a pour but l'etude des proprietes optiques et des interactions microscopiques dans Yb:Y2SiO 5, Yb:Lu2SiO5 et Yb:Sc2SiO5. Nous utilisons principalement les techniques d'absorption IR et de spectroscopie Raman pour determiner les excitations du champ cristallin et les modes de vibration dans le materiau

HOMOGENEOUS CATALYTIC OXIDATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN ALTERNATIVE SOLVENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Homogeneous Catalytic Oxidations of Hydrocarbons in Alternative Solvent Systems

Michael A. Gonzalez* and Thomas M. Becker, Sustainable Technology Division, Office of Research and Development; United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, ...

Femtosecond laser-induced ripple patterns for homogenous nanostructuring of pyrolytic carbon heart valve implant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stępak, Bogusz; Dzienny, Paulina; Franke, Volker; Kunicki, Piotr; Gotszalk, Teodor; Antończak, Arkadiusz

2018-04-01

Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are highly periodic wavy surface features which are frequently smaller than incident light wavelength that bring possibility of nanostructuring of many materials. In this paper the possibility of using them to homogeneously structure the surface of artificial heart valve made of PyC was examined. By changing laser irradiation parameters such like energy density and pulse separation the most suitable conditions were established for 1030 nm wavelength. A wide spectrum of periodicities and geometries was obtained. Interesting side effects like creating a thin shell-like layer were observed. Modified surfaces were examined using EDX and Raman spectroscopy to determine change in elemental composition of surface.

Standard deviation index for stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression with different homogeneities.

PubMed

Ran, Yang; Su, Rongtao; Ma, Pengfei; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhou, Pu; Si, Lei

2016-05-10

We present a new quantitative index of standard deviation to measure the homogeneity of spectral lines in a fiber amplifier system so as to find the relation between the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold and the homogeneity of the corresponding spectral lines. A theoretical model is built and a simulation framework has been established to estimate the SBS threshold when input spectra with different homogeneities are set. In our experiment, by setting the phase modulation voltage to a constant value and the modulation frequency to different values, spectral lines with different homogeneities can be obtained. The experimental results show that the SBS threshold increases negatively with the standard deviation of the modulated spectrum, which is in good agreement with the theoretical results. When the phase modulation voltage is confined to 10 V and the modulation frequency is set to 80 MHz, the standard deviation of the modulated spectrum equals 0.0051, which is the lowest value in our experiment. Thus, at this time, the highest SBS threshold has been achieved. This standard deviation can be a good quantitative index in evaluating the power scaling potential in a fiber amplifier system, which is also a design guideline in suppressing the SBS to a better degree.

Dynamic and Thermal Turbulent Time Scale Modelling for Homogeneous Shear Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwab, John R.; Lakshminarayana, Budugur

1994-01-01

A new turbulence model, based upon dynamic and thermal turbulent time scale transport equations, is developed and applied to homogeneous shear flows with constant velocity and temperature gradients. The new model comprises transport equations for k, the turbulent kinetic energy; tau, the dynamic time scale; k(sub theta), the fluctuating temperature variance; and tau(sub theta), the thermal time scale. It offers conceptually parallel modeling of the dynamic and thermal turbulence at the two equation level, and eliminates the customary prescription of an empirical turbulent Prandtl number, Pr(sub t), thus permitting a more generalized prediction capability for turbulent heat transfer in complex flows and geometries. The new model also incorporates constitutive relations, based upon invariant theory, that allow the effects of nonequilibrium to modify the primary coefficients for the turbulent shear stress and heat flux. Predictions of the new model, along with those from two other similar models, are compared with experimental data for decaying homogeneous dynamic and thermal turbulence, homogeneous turbulence with constant temperature gradient, and homogeneous turbulence with constant temperature gradient and constant velocity gradient. The new model offers improvement in agreement with the data for most cases considered in this work, although it was no better than the other models for several cases where all the models performed poorly.

Evaluation of the pentose phosphate pathway from 14CO2 data. Fallibility of a classic equation when applied to non-homogeneous tissues.

PubMed

Larrabee, M G

1990-11-15

A classic equation that has frequently been used to estimate the fraction of glucose metabolized by the pentose phosphate pathway, using 14CO2 data, is more simply re-derived with careful consideration of the assumptions involved and the conditions under which it is applicable. The equation is shown to be unreliable for non-homogeneous tissues, depending on the fraction of triose phosphate converted to CO2. The formula in question is as follows: ([1]CO2/G-[6]CO2/G)/(1-[6]CO2/G) = 3Fmet./(1 + 2Fmet.) where [1]CO2 and [6]CO2 are output rates of carbons 1 and 6 of glucose respectively to CO2, G is the rate of glucose uptake and Fmet. is the fraction of the glucose that is metabolized to CO2 and triose phosphate by the pentose phosphate pathway, allowing for recycling of an appropriate fraction of the fructose-6-phosphate produced by the pathway. This analysis illustrates the importance of suitably testing any equation that assumes homogeneity before application to non-homogeneous tissues.

Homogenization of locally resonant acoustic metamaterials towards an emergent enriched continuum.

PubMed

Sridhar, A; Kouznetsova, V G; Geers, M G D

This contribution presents a novel homogenization technique for modeling heterogeneous materials with micro-inertia effects such as locally resonant acoustic metamaterials. Linear elastodynamics is used to model the micro and macro scale problems and an extended first order Computational Homogenization framework is used to establish the coupling. Craig Bampton Mode Synthesis is then applied to solve and eliminate the microscale problem, resulting in a compact closed form description of the microdynamics that accurately captures the Local Resonance phenomena. The resulting equations represent an enriched continuum in which additional kinematic degrees of freedom emerge to account for Local Resonance effects which would otherwise be absent in a classical continuum. Such an approach retains the accuracy and robustness offered by a standard Computational Homogenization implementation, whereby the problem and the computational time are reduced to the on-line solution of one scale only.

Utilizing Hierarchical Clustering to improve Efficiency of Self-Organizing Feature Map to Identify Hydrological Homogeneous Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farsadnia, Farhad; Ghahreman, Bijan

2016-04-01

Hydrologic homogeneous group identification is considered both fundamental and applied research in hydrology. Clustering methods are among conventional methods to assess the hydrological homogeneous regions. Recently, Self-Organizing feature Map (SOM) method has been applied in some studies. However, the main problem of this method is the interpretation on the output map of this approach. Therefore, SOM is used as input to other clustering algorithms. The aim of this study is to apply a two-level Self-Organizing feature map and Ward hierarchical clustering method to determine the hydrologic homogenous regions in North and Razavi Khorasan provinces. At first by principal component analysis, we reduced SOM input matrix dimension, then the SOM was used to form a two-dimensional features map. To determine homogeneous regions for flood frequency analysis, SOM output nodes were used as input into the Ward method. Generally, the regions identified by the clustering algorithms are not statistically homogeneous. Consequently, they have to be adjusted to improve their homogeneity. After adjustment of the homogeneity regions by L-moment tests, five hydrologic homogeneous regions were identified. Finally, adjusted regions were created by a two-level SOM and then the best regional distribution function and associated parameters were selected by the L-moment approach. The results showed that the combination of self-organizing maps and Ward hierarchical clustering by principal components as input is more effective than the hierarchical method, by principal components or standardized inputs to achieve hydrologic homogeneous regions.

The contact of a homogeneous unitary Fermi gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Biswaroop; Patel, Parth; Yan, Zhenjie; Fletcher, Richard; Struck, Julian; Zwierlein, Martin

2017-04-01

The contact is a fundamental quantity that measures the strength of short-range correlations in quantum gases. As one of its most important implications, it provides a link between the microscopic two-particle correlation function at small distance and the macroscopic thermodynamic properties of the gas. In particular, pairing and superfluidity in a unitary Fermi gas can be expected to leave its mark in behavior of the contact. Here we present measurements on the temperature dependence of the contact of a unitary Fermi gas across the superfluid transition. By trapping ultracold 6Li atoms in a potential that is homogeneous in two directions and harmonic in the third, we obtain radiofrequency spectra of the homogeneous gas at a high signal-to-noise ratio. We compare our data to existing, but often mutually excluding theoretical calculations for the strongly interacting Fermi gas.

Early formation of preferential flow in a homogeneous snowpack observed by micro-CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avanzi, Francesco; Petrucci, Giacomo; Matzl, Margret; Schneebeli, Martin; De Michele, Carlo

2017-05-01

We performed X-ray microtomographic observations of wet-snow metamorphism during controlled continuous melting and melt-freeze events in the laboratory. Three blocks of snow were sieved into boxes and subjected to cyclic, superficial heating or heating-cooling to reproduce vertical water infiltration patterns in snow similarly to natural conditions. Periodically, samples were taken at different heights and scanned. Results suggest that wet-snow metamorphism dynamics are highly heterogeneous even in an initially homogeneous snowpack. Consistent with previous work, we observed an increase with time in the thickness of the ice structure, which is a measure of grain size. However, this was coupled with large temporal scatter between consecutive measurements of the specific surface area and of the statistical moments of grain thickness distributions. Because of marked differences in the right tail, grain thickness distributions did not show shape invariance with time, contrary to previous analyses. In our experiments, wet-snow metamorphism showed two strikingly different patterns: homogeneous coarsening superimposed by faster heterogeneous coarsening in areas that were affected by preferential percolation of water. Liquid water movement in snow and fast structural evolution may be thus intrinsically coupled by early formation of preferential flow at local scale. These observations suggest that further experiments are highly needed to fully understand wet-snow metamorphism and infiltration patterns in a natural snowpack.

On the time-homogeneous Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process in the foreign exchange rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Fonseca, Regina C. B.; Matsushita, Raul Y.; de Castro, Márcio T.; Figueiredo, Annibal

2015-10-01

Since Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions cannot be fulfilled by financial data, the time-homogeneous Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (THOU) process was introduced as a candidate model to describe time series of financial returns [1]. It is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process in which these assumptions are replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. We employ the OU and THOU processes to analyze daily foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. We confirm that the OU process does not fit the data, while in most cases the first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process. However, there are some exceptions in which the data do not follow linearity or time-homogeneity assumptions.

A facile approach to manufacturing non-ionic surfactant nanodipsersions using proniosome technology and high-pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Najlah, Mohammad; Hidayat, Kanar; Omer, Huner K; Mwesigwa, Enosh; Ahmed, Waqar; AlObaidy, Kais G; Phoenix, David A; Elhissi, Abdelbary

2015-03-01

In this study, a niosome nanodispersion was manufactured using high-pressure homogenization following the hydration of proniosomes. Using beclometasone dipropionate (BDP) as a model drug, the characteristics of the homogenized niosomes were compared with vesicles prepared via the conventional approach of probe-sonication. Particle size, zeta potential, and the drug entrapment efficiency were similar for both size reduction mechanisms. However, high-pressure homogenization was much more efficient than sonication in terms of homogenization output rate, avoidance of sample contamination, offering a greater potential for a large-scale manufacturing of noisome nanodispersions. For example, high-pressure homogenization was capable of producing small size niosomes (209 nm) using a short single-step of size reduction (6 min) as compared with the time-consuming process of sonication (237 nm in >18 min) and the BDP entrapment efficiency was 29.65% ± 4.04 and 36.4% ± 2.8. In addition, for homogenization, the output rate of the high-pressure homogenization was 10 ml/min compared with 0.83 ml/min using the sonication protocol. In conclusion, a facile, applicable, and highly efficient approach for preparing niosome nanodispersions has been established using proniosome technology and high-pressure homogenization.

Dynamic control of a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

DOEpatents

Duffy, Kevin P [Metamora, IL; Mehresh, Parag [Peoria, IL; Schuh, David [Peoria, IL; Kieser, Andrew J [Morton, IL; Hergart, Carl-Anders [Peoria, IL; Hardy, William L [Peoria, IL; Rodman, Anthony [Chillicothe, IL; Liechty, Michael P [Chillicothe, IL

2008-06-03

A homogenous charge compression ignition engine is operated by compressing a charge mixture of air, exhaust and fuel in a combustion chamber to an autoignition condition of the fuel. The engine may facilitate a transition from a first combination of speed and load to a second combination of speed and load by changing the charge mixture and compression ratio. This may be accomplished in a consecutive engine cycle by adjusting both a fuel injector control signal and a variable valve control signal away from a nominal variable valve control signal. Thereafter in one or more subsequent engine cycles, more sluggish adjustments are made to at least one of a geometric compression ratio control signal and an exhaust gas recirculation control signal to allow the variable valve control signal to be readjusted back toward its nominal variable valve control signal setting. By readjusting the variable valve control signal back toward its nominal setting, the engine will be ready for another transition to a new combination of engine speed and load.

Coherent perfect absorption in a homogeneously broadened two-level medium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Longhi, Stefano

2011-05-15

In recent works, it has been shown, rather generally, that the time-reversed process of lasing at threshold realizes a coherent perfect absorber (CPA). In a CPA, a lossy medium in an optical cavity with a specific degree of dissipation, equal in modulus to the gain of the lasing medium, can perfectly absorb coherent optical waves that are the time-reversed counterpart of the lasing field. Here, the time-reversed process of lasing is considered in detail for a homogeneously broadened two-level medium in an optical cavity and the conditions for CPA are derived. It is shown that, owing to the dispersive propertiesmore » of the two-level medium, exact time-reversal symmetry is broken and the frequency of the field at which CPA occurs is generally different than the one of the lasing mode. Moreover, at a large cooperation parameter, the observation of CPA in the presence of bistability requires one to operate in the upper branch of the hysteresis cycle.« less

Unified double- and single-sided homogeneous Green's function representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wapenaar, Kees; van der Neut, Joost; Slob, Evert

2016-06-01

In wave theory, the homogeneous Green's function consists of the impulse response to a point source, minus its time-reversal. It can be represented by a closed boundary integral. In many practical situations, the closed boundary integral needs to be approximated by an open boundary integral because the medium of interest is often accessible from one side only. The inherent approximations are acceptable as long as the effects of multiple scattering are negligible. However, in case of strongly inhomogeneous media, the effects of multiple scattering can be severe. We derive double- and single-sided homogeneous Green's function representations. The single-sided representation applies to situations where the medium can be accessed from one side only. It correctly handles multiple scattering. It employs a focusing function instead of the backward propagating Green's function in the classical (double-sided) representation. When reflection measurements are available at the accessible boundary of the medium, the focusing function can be retrieved from these measurements. Throughout the paper, we use a unified notation which applies to acoustic, quantum-mechanical, electromagnetic and elastodynamic waves. We foresee many interesting applications of the unified single-sided homogeneous Green's function representation in holographic imaging and inverse scattering, time-reversed wave field propagation and interferometric Green's function retrieval.

Two-dimensional arbitrarily shaped acoustic cloaks composed of homogeneous parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qi; Vipperman, Jeffrey S.

2017-10-01

Acoustic cloaking is an important application of acoustic metamaterials. Although the topic has received much attention, there are a number of areas where contributions are needed. In this paper, a design method for producing acoustic cloaks with arbitrary shapes that are composed of homogeneous parts is presented. The cloak is divided into sections, each of which, in turn, is further divided into two parts, followed by the application of transformation acoustics to derive the required properties for cloaking. With the proposed mapping relations, the properties of each part of the cloak are anisotropic but homogeneous, which can be realized using two alternating layers of homogeneous and isotropic materials. A hexagonal and an irregular cloak are presented as design examples. The full wave simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software show that the cloaks function well at reducing reflections and shadows. The variation of the cloak properties is investigated as a function of three important geometric parameters used in the transformations. A balance can be found between cloaking performance and materials properties that are physically realizable.

High temperature homogenization improves impact toughness of vitamin E-diffused, irradiated UHMWPE.

PubMed

Oral, Ebru; O'Brien, Caitlin; Doshi, Brinda; Muratoglu, Orhun K

2017-06-01

Diffusion of vitamin E into radiation cross-linked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is used to increase stability against oxidation of total joint implant components. The dispersion of vitamin E throughout implant preforms has been optimized by a two-step process of doping and homogenization. Both of these steps are performed below the peak melting point of the cross-linked polymer (<140°C) to avoid loss of crystallinity and strength. Recently, it was discovered that the exposure of UHMWPE to elevated temperatures, around 300°C, for a limited amount of time in nitrogen, could improve the toughness without sacrificing wear resistance. We hypothesized that high temperature homogenization of antioxidant-doped, radiation cross-linked UHMWPE could improve its toughness. We found that homogenization at 300°C for 8 h resulted in an increase in the impact toughness (74 kJ/m 2 compared to 67 kJ/m 2 ), the ultimate tensile strength (50 MPa compared to 43 MPa) and elongation at break (271% compared to 236%). The high temperature treatment did not compromise the wear resistance or the oxidative stability as measured by oxidation induction time. In addition, the desired homogeneity was achieved at a much shorter duration (8 h compared to >240 h) by using high temperature homogenization. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1343-1347, 2017. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experimental consideration of capillary chromatography based on tube radial distribution of ternary mixture carrier solvents under laminar flow conditions.

PubMed

Jinno, Naoya; Hashimoto, Masahiko; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhiko

2011-01-01

A capillary chromatography system has been developed based on the tube radial distribution of the carrier solvents using an open capillary tube and a water-acetonitrile-ethyl acetate mixture carrier solution. This tube radial distribution chromatography (TRDC) system works under laminar flow conditions. In this study, a phase diagram for the ternary mixture carrier solvents of water, acetonitrile, and ethyl acetate was constructed. The phase diagram that included a boundary curve between homogeneous and heterogeneous solutions was considered together with the component ratios of the solvents in the homogeneous carrier solutions required for the TRDC system. It was found that the TRDC system performed well with homogeneous solutions having component ratios of the solvents that were positioned near the homogeneous-heterogeneous solution boundary of the phase diagram. For preparing the carrier solutions of water-hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic solvents for the TRDC system, we used for the first time methanol, ethanol, 1,4-dioxane, and 1-propanol, instead of acetonitrile (hydrophilic organic solvent), as well as chloroform and 1-butanol, instead of ethyl acetate (hydrophobic organic solvent). The homogeneous ternary mixture carrier solutions were prepared near the homogeneous-heterogeneous solution boundary. Analyte mixtures of 2,6-naphthalenedisulfonic acid and 1-naphthol were separated with the TRDC system using these homogeneous ternary mixture carrier solutions. The pressure change in the capillary tube under laminar flow conditions might alter the carrier solution from homogeneous in the batch vessel to heterogeneous, thus affecting the tube radial distribution of the solvents in the capillary tube.

Tracking control of colloidal particles through non-homogeneous stationary flows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Híjar, Humberto, E-mail: humberto.hijar@lasallistas.org.mx

2013-12-21

We consider the problem of controlling the trajectory of a single colloidal particle in a fluid with steady non-homogeneous flow. We use a Langevin equation to describe the dynamics of this particle, where the friction term is assumed to be given by the Faxén's Theorem for the force on a sphere immersed in a stationary flow. We use this description to propose an explicit control force field to be applied on the particle such that it will follow asymptotically any given desired trajectory, starting from an arbitrary initial condition. We show that the dynamics of the controlled particle can bemore » mapped into a set of stochastic harmonic oscillators and that the velocity gradient of the solvent induces an asymmetric coupling between them. We study the particular case of a Brownian particle controlled through a plane Couette flow and show explicitly that the velocity gradient of the solvent renders the dynamics non-stationary and non-reversible in time. We quantify this effect in terms of the correlation functions for the position of the controlled particle, which turn out to exhibit contributions depending exclusively on the non-equilibrium character of the state of the solvent. In order to test the validity of our model, we perform simulations of the controlled particle moving in a simple shear flow, using a hybrid method combining molecular dynamics and multi-particle collision dynamics. We confirm numerically that the proposed guiding force allows for controlling the trajectory of the micro-sized particle by obligating it to follow diverse specific trajectories in fluids with homogeneous shear rates of different strengths. In addition, we find that the non-equilibrium correlation functions in simulations exhibit the same qualitative behavior predicted by the model, thus revealing the presence of the asymmetric non-equilibrium coupling mechanism induced by the velocity gradient.« less

Combustion of Coal Char Particles under Fluidized Bed Oxyfiring Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scala, Fabrizio; Chirone, Riccardo

In this work combustion of single coal char particles was studied at 850°C in a lab-scale fluidized bed under simulated oxyfiring conditions. The burning rate of the particles was followed as a function of time by continuously measuring the outlet CO and O2 concentrations. Some preliminary evaluations on the significance of homogeneous CO oxidation in the reactor and of carbon gasification by CO2 in the char were also carried out. Results showed that the carbon burning rate increases with oxygen concentration and char particle size. The particle temperature is approximately equal to the bed one up to an oxygen concentration of 2%, but it is considerably higher for larger oxygen concentrations. Both CO2 gasification of char and homogeneous CO oxidation are not negligible. The gasification reaction rate is slow and it is likely to be controlled by intrinsic kinetics. During purely gasification conditions the extent of carbon loss due to particle attrition by abrasion (estimated from the carbon mass balance) appears to be more important than under combustion conditions.

Influence of Interspecific Competition and Landscape Structure on Spatial Homogenization of Avian Assemblages

PubMed Central

Robertson, Oliver J.; McAlpine, Clive; House, Alan; Maron, Martine

2013-01-01

Human-induced biotic homogenization resulting from landscape change and increased competition from widespread generalists or ‘winners’, is widely recognized as a global threat to biodiversity. However, it remains unclear what aspects of landscape structure influence homogenization. This paper tests the importance of interspecific competition and landscape structure, for the spatial homogeneity of avian assemblages within a fragmented agricultural landscape of eastern Australia. We used field observations of the density of 128 diurnal bird species to calculate taxonomic and functional similarity among assemblages. We then examined whether taxonomic and functional similarity varied with patch type, the extent of woodland habitat, land-use intensity, habitat subdivision, and the presence of Manorina colonies (a competitive genus of honeyeaters). We found the presence of a Manorina colony was the most significant factor positively influencing both taxonomic and functional similarity of bird assemblages. Competition from members of this widespread genus of native honeyeater, rather than landscape structure, was the main cause of both taxonomic and functional homogenization. These species have not recently expanded their range, but rather have increased in density in response to agricultural landscape change. The negative impacts of Manorina honeyeaters on assemblage similarity were most pronounced in landscapes of moderate land-use intensity. We conclude that in these human-modified landscapes, increased competition from dominant native species, or ‘winners’, can result in homogeneous avian assemblages and the loss of specialist species. These interacting processes make biotic homogenization resulting from land-use change a global threat to biodiversity in modified agro-ecosystems. PMID:23724136

Do Algorithms Homogenize Students' Achievements in Secondary School Better than Teachers' Tracking Decisions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klapproth, Florian

2015-01-01

Two objectives guided this research. First, this study examined how well teachers' tracking decisions contribute to the homogenization of their students' achievements. Second, the study explored whether teachers' tracking decisions would be outperformed in homogenizing the students' achievements by statistical models of tracking decisions. These…

Fragility and super-strong character of non-stoichiometric chalcogenides: implications on melt homogenization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravindren, Sriram; Gunasekera, Kapila; Boolchand, Punit; Micoulaut, Matthieu

2014-03-01

The kinetics of homogenization of binary AsxSe100-x melts in the As concentration range 0% homogenize when the starting materials are reacted at 700°C. The enthalpy of relaxation at Tg - Δ Hnr(x) - shows a minimum in 27% homogeneous glasses, molar volumes vary non-monotonically with composition and the fragility index m displays a broad global minimum in 20% homogenization. In comparing these results with earlier reports, there is evidence that fragility decreases as melts are homogenized. Furthermore, a clear scaling of m vs. Tg is observed with a negative slope for Flexible glasses and a positive slope for Rigid and Stressed-rigid ones. The absence of a melting endotherm in non-stoichiometric As-Se compositions is reported. Fragilities of the Ge-As-Se are reported and a correlation observed with fragilities of As-Se and Ge-Se. Supported by NSF grant DMR 08-53957.

Sampling and Homogenization Strategies Significantly Influence the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens in Meat.

PubMed

Rohde, Alexander; Hammerl, Jens Andre; Appel, Bernd; Dieckmann, Ralf; Al Dahouk, Sascha

2015-01-01

Efficient preparation of food samples, comprising sampling and homogenization, for microbiological testing is an essential, yet largely neglected, component of foodstuff control. Salmonella enterica spiked chicken breasts were used as a surface contamination model whereas salami and meat paste acted as models of inner-matrix contamination. A systematic comparison of different homogenization approaches, namely, stomaching, sonication, and milling by FastPrep-24 or SpeedMill, revealed that for surface contamination a broad range of sample pretreatment steps is applicable and loss of culturability due to the homogenization procedure is marginal. In contrast, for inner-matrix contamination long treatments up to 8 min are required and only FastPrep-24 as a large-volume milling device produced consistently good recovery rates. In addition, sampling of different regions of the spiked sausages showed that pathogens are not necessarily homogenously distributed throughout the entire matrix. Instead, in meat paste the core region contained considerably more pathogens compared to the rim, whereas in the salamis the distribution was more even with an increased concentration within the intermediate region of the sausages. Our results indicate that sampling and homogenization as integral parts of food microbiology and monitoring deserve more attention to further improve food safety.

Sampling and Homogenization Strategies Significantly Influence the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens in Meat

PubMed Central

Rohde, Alexander; Hammerl, Jens Andre; Appel, Bernd; Dieckmann, Ralf; Al Dahouk, Sascha

2015-01-01

Efficient preparation of food samples, comprising sampling and homogenization, for microbiological testing is an essential, yet largely neglected, component of foodstuff control. Salmonella enterica spiked chicken breasts were used as a surface contamination model whereas salami and meat paste acted as models of inner-matrix contamination. A systematic comparison of different homogenization approaches, namely, stomaching, sonication, and milling by FastPrep-24 or SpeedMill, revealed that for surface contamination a broad range of sample pretreatment steps is applicable and loss of culturability due to the homogenization procedure is marginal. In contrast, for inner-matrix contamination long treatments up to 8 min are required and only FastPrep-24 as a large-volume milling device produced consistently good recovery rates. In addition, sampling of different regions of the spiked sausages showed that pathogens are not necessarily homogenously distributed throughout the entire matrix. Instead, in meat paste the core region contained considerably more pathogens compared to the rim, whereas in the salamis the distribution was more even with an increased concentration within the intermediate region of the sausages. Our results indicate that sampling and homogenization as integral parts of food microbiology and monitoring deserve more attention to further improve food safety. PMID:26539462

Influence of Homogenization on Microstructural Response and Mechanical Property of Al-Cu-Mn Alloy.

PubMed

Wang, Jian; Lu, Yalin; Zhou, Dongshuai; Sun, Lingyan; Li, Renxing; Xu, Wenting

2018-05-29

The evolution of the microstructures and properties of large direct chill (DC)-cast Al-Cu-Mn alloy ingots during homogenization was investigated. The results revealed that the Al-Cu-Mn alloy ingots had severe microsegregation and the main secondary phase was Al₂Cu, with minimal Al₇Cu₂Fe phase. Numerous primary eutectic phases existed in the grain boundary and the main elements were segregated at the interfaces along the interdendritic region. The grain boundaries became discontinuous, residual phases were effectively dissolved into the matrix, and the segregation degree of all elements was reduced dramatically during homogenization. In addition, the homogenized alloys exhibited improved microstructures with finer grain size, higher number density of dislocation networks, higher density of uniformly distributed θ' or θ phase (Al₂Cu), and higher volume fraction of high-angle grain boundaries compared to the nonhomogenized samples. After the optimal homogenization scheme treated at 535 °C for 10 h, the tensile strength and elongation% were about 24 MPa, 20.5 MPa, and 1.3% higher than those of the specimen without homogenization treatment.

Microstructural evolution during the homogenization heat treatment of 6XXX and 7XXX aluminum alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priya, Pikee

Homogenization heat treatment of as-cast billets is an important step in the processing of aluminum extrusions. Microstructural evolution during homogenization involves elimination of the eutectic morphology by spheroidisation of the interdendritic phases, minimization of the microsegregation across the grains through diffusion, dissolution of the low-melting phases, which enhances the surface finish of the extrusions, and precipitation of nano-sized dispersoids (for Cr-, Zr-, Mn-, Sc-containing alloys), which inhibit grain boundary motion to prevent recrystallization. Post-homogenization cooling reprecipitates some of the phases, changing the flow stress required for subsequent extrusion. These precipitates, however, are deleterious for the mechanical properties of the alloy and also hamper the age-hardenability and are hence dissolved during solution heat treatment. Microstructural development during homogenization and subsequent cooling occurs both at the length scale of the Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (SDAS) in micrometers and dispersoids in nanometers. Numerical tools to simulate microstructural development at both the length scales have been developed and validated against experiments. These tools provide easy and convenient means to study the process. A Cellular Automaton-Finite Volume-based model for evolution of interdendritic phases is coupled with a Particle Size Distribution-based model for precipitation of dispersoids across the grain. This comprehensive model has been used to study the effect of temperature, composition, as-cast microstructure, and cooling rates during post-homogenization quenching on microstructural evolution. The numerical study has been complimented with experiments involving Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction and Differential Scanning Calorimetry and a good agreement has with numerical results has been found. The current work aims to study the microstructural evolution during

More than Just Convenient: The Scientific Merits of Homogeneous Convenience Samples

PubMed Central

Jager, Justin; Putnick, Diane L.; Bornstein, Marc H.

2017-01-01

Despite their disadvantaged generalizability relative to probability samples, non-probability convenience samples are the standard within developmental science, and likely will remain so because probability samples are cost-prohibitive and most available probability samples are ill-suited to examine developmental questions. In lieu of focusing on how to eliminate or sharply reduce reliance on convenience samples within developmental science, here we propose how to augment their advantages when it comes to understanding population effects as well as subpopulation differences. Although all convenience samples have less clear generalizability than probability samples, we argue that homogeneous convenience samples have clearer generalizability relative to conventional convenience samples. Therefore, when researchers are limited to convenience samples, they should consider homogeneous convenience samples as a positive alternative to conventional or heterogeneous) convenience samples. We discuss future directions as well as potential obstacles to expanding the use of homogeneous convenience samples in developmental science. PMID:28475254

[Methods for enzymatic determination of triglycerides in liver homogenates].

PubMed

Höhn, H; Gartzke, J; Burck, D

1987-10-01

An enzymatic method is described for the determination of triacylglycerols in liver homogenate. In contrast to usual methods, higher reliability and selectivity are achieved by omitting the extraction step.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the As-Cast and As-Homogenized Mg-Zn-Sn-Mn-Ca Alloy Fabricated by Semicontinuous Casting

PubMed Central

Lu, Xing; Zhao, Guoqun; Zhou, Jixue; Zhang, Cunsheng; Yu, Junquan

2018-01-01

In this paper, a new type of low-cost Mg-3.36Zn-1.06Sn-0.33Mn-0.27Ca (wt %) alloy ingot with a diameter of 130 mm and a length of 4800 mm was fabricated by semicontinuous casting. The microstructure and mechanical properties at different areas of the ingot were investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy under different one-step and two-step homogenization conditions were studied. For the as-cast alloy, the average grain size and the second phase size decrease from the center to the surface of the ingot, while the area fraction of the second phase increases gradually. At one-half of the radius of the ingot, the alloy presents the optimum comprehensive mechanical properties along the axial direction, which is attributed to the combined effect of relatively small grain size, low second-phase fraction, and uniform microstructure. For the as-homogenized alloy, the optimum two-step homogenization process parameters were determined as 340 °C × 10 h + 520 °C × 16 h. After the optimum homogenization, the proper size and morphology of CaMgSn phase are conducive to improve the microstructure uniformity and the mechanical properties of the alloy. Besides, the yield strength of the alloy is reduced by 20.7% and the elongation is increased by 56.3%, which is more favorable for the subsequent hot deformation processing. PMID:29710818

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the As-Cast and As-Homogenized Mg-Zn-Sn-Mn-Ca Alloy Fabricated by Semicontinuous Casting.

PubMed

Lu, Xing; Zhao, Guoqun; Zhou, Jixue; Zhang, Cunsheng; Yu, Junquan

2018-04-29

In this paper, a new type of low-cost Mg-3.36Zn-1.06Sn-0.33Mn-0.27Ca (wt %) alloy ingot with a diameter of 130 mm and a length of 4800 mm was fabricated by semicontinuous casting. The microstructure and mechanical properties at different areas of the ingot were investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy under different one-step and two-step homogenization conditions were studied. For the as-cast alloy, the average grain size and the second phase size decrease from the center to the surface of the ingot, while the area fraction of the second phase increases gradually. At one-half of the radius of the ingot, the alloy presents the optimum comprehensive mechanical properties along the axial direction, which is attributed to the combined effect of relatively small grain size, low second-phase fraction, and uniform microstructure. For the as-homogenized alloy, the optimum two-step homogenization process parameters were determined as 340 °C × 10 h + 520 °C × 16 h. After the optimum homogenization, the proper size and morphology of CaMgSn phase are conducive to improve the microstructure uniformity and the mechanical properties of the alloy. Besides, the yield strength of the alloy is reduced by 20.7% and the elongation is increased by 56.3%, which is more favorable for the subsequent hot deformation processing.

Drag reduction in homogeneous turbulence by scale-dependent effective viscosity.

PubMed

Benzi, Roberto; Ching, Emily S C; Procaccia, Itamar

2004-08-01

We demonstrate, by using suitable shell models, that drag reduction in homogeneous turbulence is usefully discussed in terms of a scale-dependent effective viscosity. The essence of the phenomenon of drag reduction found in models that couple the velocity field to the polymers can be recaptured by an "equivalent" equation of motion for the velocity field alone, with a judiciously chosen scale-dependent effective viscosity that succinctly summarizes the important aspects of the interaction between the velocity and the polymer fields. Finally, we clarify the differences between drag reduction in homogeneous and in wall bounded flows.

Fourier-Accelerated Nodal Solvers (FANS) for homogenization problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leuschner, Matthias; Fritzen, Felix

2017-11-01

Fourier-based homogenization schemes are useful to analyze heterogeneous microstructures represented by 2D or 3D image data. These iterative schemes involve discrete periodic convolutions with global ansatz functions (mostly fundamental solutions). The convolutions are efficiently computed using the fast Fourier transform. FANS operates on nodal variables on regular grids and converges to finite element solutions. Compared to established Fourier-based methods, the number of convolutions is reduced by FANS. Additionally, fast iterations are possible by assembling the stiffness matrix. Due to the related memory requirement, the method is best suited for medium-sized problems. A comparative study involving established Fourier-based homogenization schemes is conducted for a thermal benchmark problem with a closed-form solution. Detailed technical and algorithmic descriptions are given for all methods considered in the comparison. Furthermore, many numerical examples focusing on convergence properties for both thermal and mechanical problems, including also plasticity, are presented.

Fresh broad (Vicia faba) tissue homogenate-based biosensor for determination of phenolic compounds.

PubMed

Ozcan, Hakki Mevlut; Sagiroglu, Ayten

2014-08-01

In this study, a novel fresh broad (Vicia faba) tissue homogenate-based biosensor for determination of phenolic compounds was developed. The biosensor was constructed by immobilizing tissue homogenate of fresh broad (Vicia faba) on to glassy carbon electrode. For the stability of the biosensor, general immobilization techniques were used to secure the fresh broad tissue homogenate in gelatin-glutaraldehyde cross-linking matrix. In the optimization and characterization studies, the amount of fresh broad tissue homogenate and gelatin, glutaraldehyde percentage, optimum pH, optimum temperature and optimum buffer concentration, thermal stability, interference effects, linear range, storage stability, repeatability and sample applications (Wine, beer, fruit juices) were also investigated. Besides, the detection ranges of thirteen phenolic compounds were obtained with the help of the calibration graphs. A typical calibration curve for the sensor revealed a linear range of 5-60 μM catechol. In reproducibility studies, variation coefficient (CV) and standard deviation (SD) were calculated as 1.59%, 0.64×10(-3) μM, respectively.

Method to study the effect of blend flowability on the homogeneity of acetaminophen.

PubMed

Llusá, Marcos; Pingali, Kalyana; Muzzio, Fernando J

2013-02-01

Excipient selection is key to product development because it affects their processability and physical properties, which ultimately affect the quality attributes of the pharmaceutical product. To study how the flowability of lubricated formulations affects acetaminophen (APAP) homogeneity. The formulations studied here contain one of two types of cellulose (Avicel 102 or Ceollus KG-802), one of three grades of Mallinckrodt APAP (fine, semi-fine, or micronized), lactose (Fast-Flo) and magnesium stearate. These components are mixed in a 300-liter bin blender. Blend flowability is assessed with the Gravitational Displacement Rheometer. APAP homogeneity is assessed with off-line NIR. Excluding blends dominated by segregation, there is a trend between APAP homogeneity and blend flow index. Blend flowability is affected by the type of microcrystalline cellulose and by the APAP grade. The preliminary results suggest that the methodology used in this paper is adequate to study of the effect of blend flow index on APAP homogeneity.

Bamboo-like 3C-SiC nanowires with periodical fluctuating diameter: Homogeneous synthesis, synergistic growth mechanism, and their luminescence properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Meng; Zhao, Jian; Li, Zhenjiang, E-mail: zhenjiangli@qust.edu.cn

Herein, bamboo-like 3C-SiC nanowires have been successfully fabricated on homogeneous 6H-SiC substrate by a simple chemical vapor reaction (CVR) approach. The obtained 3C-SiC nanostructure with periodical fluctuating diameter, is composed of two alternating structure units, the typical normal-sized stem segment with perfect crystallinity and obvious projecting nodes segment having high-density stacking faults. The formation of the interesting morphology is significantly subjected to the peculiar growth condition provided by the homogeneous substrate as well as the varying growth elastic energy. Furthermore, the photoluminescence (PL) performance measured on the bamboo-like SiC nanowire shows an intensive emission peaks centered at 451 nm andmore » 467 nm, which has been expected to make a positive progress toward the optical application of the SiC-based one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, such as light emission diode (LED). - Graphical abstract: Based on the synergistic growth mechanism from homogeneous substrate and elastic energy, bamboo-like 3C-SiC nanowires with periodically fluctuating diameter have been synthesized on 6H-SiC. The blue-violet light emission properties of the bamboo-like nanowires have also been investigated for exploring their peculiar optical application. - Highlights: • Bamboo-like 3C-SiC nanowires with periodically fluctuating diameter have been synthesized on 6H-SiC. • A synergistic growth mechanism from homogeneous substrate and elastic energy has been proposed firstly. • The blue-violet light emission properties of the products displayed peculiar optical application.« less

Motion through a non-homogeneous porous medium: Hydrodynamic permeability of a membrane composed of cylindrical particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Pramod Kumar

2018-01-01

The present problem is concerned with the flow of a viscous steady incompressible fluid through a non-homogeneous porous medium. Here, the non-homogeneous porous medium is a membrane built up by cylindrical particles. The flow outside the membrane is governed by the Stokes equation and the flow through the non-homogeneous porous membrane composed by cylindrical particles is governed by Darcy's law. In this work, we discussed the effect of various fluid parameters like permeability parameter k0, discontinuity coefficient at fluid-non homogeneous porous interface, viscosity ratio of viscous incompressible fluid region and non-homogeneous porous region, etc. on hydrodynamic permeability of a membrane, stress and on velocity profile. The comparative study for hydrodynamic permeability of membrane built up by non-homogeneous porous cylindrical particles and porous cylindrical shell enclosing a cylindrical cavity has been studied. The effects of various fluid parameters on the streamlines flow patterns are also discussed.

Stability analysis of nonlinear Roesser-type two-dimensional systems via a homogenous polynomial technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tie-Yan; Zhao, Yan; Xie, Xiang-Peng

2012-12-01

This paper is concerned with the problem of stability analysis of nonlinear Roesser-type two-dimensional (2D) systems. Firstly, the fuzzy modeling method for the usual one-dimensional (1D) systems is extended to the 2D case so that the underlying nonlinear 2D system can be represented by the 2D Takagi—Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model, which is convenient for implementing the stability analysis. Secondly, a new kind of fuzzy Lyapunov function, which is a homogeneous polynomially parameter dependent on fuzzy membership functions, is developed to conceive less conservative stability conditions for the TS Roesser-type 2D system. In the process of stability analysis, the obtained stability conditions approach exactness in the sense of convergence by applying some novel relaxed techniques. Moreover, the obtained result is formulated in the form of linear matrix inequalities, which can be easily solved via standard numerical software. Finally, a numerical example is also given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Enhanced Detection of Vibrio Cholerae in Oyster Homogenate Based on Centrifugal Removal of Inhibitory Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, Donita; DePaola, Angelo; Young, Ronald B.

1998-01-01

The disease cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae, has been associated with consumption of contaminated seafood, including raw oysters. Detection of V. cholerae in foods typically involves blending the oysters, diluting the homogenate in alkaline peptone water (APW), overnight enrichment, and isolation on selective agar. Unfortunately, the oyster homogenate must be diluted to large volumes because lower dilutions inhibit the growth of V. cholerae. The goals of this study were to develop an alternative to large dilutions and to evaluate the basis for the inhibition observed in lower dilutions of oyster homogenates. Centrifugation of oyster homogenates at 10,000 x g for 15 min, followed by enrichment of the resulting pellet in APW, was found to eliminate the inhibition of V. cholerae growth. Inhibition appears not to be due to competing microflora but to a component(s) released when V. cholerae grows in the presence of oyster homogenate. The inhibitory component(s) kills the V. cholerae after the cell concentration reaches > 10(exp 8) cells/mL, rather than initially preventing their growth. The pH also declines from 8.0 to 5.5 during this period; however, the pH decline by itself appears not to cause V. cholerae death. Seven strains of V. cholerae (01 and non-01) and two strains of V. vulnificus were susceptible to the inhibitory agent(s). However, other Vibrio and non-Vibrio species tested were not inhibited by the oyster homogenates. Based on digestion of oyster homogenates with pronase, trypsin and lipase, the inhibitory reaction involves a protein(s). In a preliminary trial with oyster homogenate seeded with 1 cfu/g of V. cholerae, the modified centrifugation technique detected a slightly higher percentage of samples at a 1:10 dilution than the standard FDA Bacteriological Analytical Method (BAM) detected in uncentrifuged oyster homogenate at a 1:100 dilution. V. cholerae in seeded samples could also be detected more frequently by the modified centrifugation method

Prediction of fat globule particle size in homogenized milk using Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra.

PubMed

Di Marzo, Larissa; Cree, Patrick; Barbano, David M

2016-11-01

Our objective was to develop partial least square models using data from Fourier transform mid-infrared (MIR) spectra to predict the particle size distributions d(0.5) and d(0.9), surface volume mean diameter D[3,2], and volume moment mean diameter D[4,3] of milk fat globules and validate the models. The goal of the study was to produce a method built into the MIR milk analyzer that could be used to warn the instrument operator that the homogenizer is near failure and needs to be replaced to ensure quality of results. Five homogenizers with different homogenization efficiency were used to homogenize pasteurized modified unhomogenized milks and farm raw bulk milks. Homogenized milks were collected from the homogenizer outlet and then run through an MIR milk analyzer without an in-line homogenizer to collect a MIR spectrum. A separate portion of each homogenized milk was analyzed with a laser light-scattering particle size analyzer to obtain reference values. The study was replicated 3 times with 3 independent sets of modified milks and bulk tank farm milks. Validation of the models was done with a set of 34 milks that were not used in the model development. Partial least square regression models were developed and validated for predicting the following milk fat globule particle size distribution parameters from MIR spectra: d(0.5) and d(0.9), surface volume mean diameter D[3,2], and volume moment mean diameter D[4,3]. The basis for the ability to model particle size distribution of milk fat emulsions was hypothesized to be the result of the partial least square modeling detecting absorbance shifts in MIR spectra of milk fat due to the Christiansen effect. The independent sample validation of particle size prediction methods found more variation in d(0.9) and D[4,3] predictions than the d(0.5) and D[3,2] predictions relative to laser light-scattering reference values, and this may be due to variation in particle size among different pump strokes. The accuracy of the

Critical assessment of Reynolds stress turbulence models using homogeneous flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shabbir, Aamir; Shih, Tsan-Hsing

1992-01-01

In modeling the rapid part of the pressure correlation term in the Reynolds stress transport equations, extensive use has been made of its exact properties which were first suggested by Rotta. These, for example, have been employed in obtaining the widely used Launder, Reece and Rodi (LRR) model. Some recent proposals have dropped one of these properties to obtain new models. We demonstrate, by computing some simple homogeneous flows, that doing so does not lead to any significant improvements over the LRR model and it is not the right direction in improving the performance of existing models. The reason for this, in our opinion, is that violation of one of the exact properties can not bring in any new physics into the model. We compute thirteen homogeneous flows using LRR (with a recalibrated rapid term constant), IP and SSG models. The flows computed include the flow through axisymmetric contraction; axisymmetric expansion; distortion by plane strain; and homogeneous shear flows with and without rotation. Results show that for most general representation for a model linear in the anisotropic tensor, performs either better or as good as the other two models of the same level.

Oscillatory Dynamics of One-Dimensional Homogeneous Granular Chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starosvetsky, Yuli; Jayaprakash, K. R.; Hasan, Md. Arif; Vakakis, Alexander F.

The acoustics of the homogeneous granular chains has been studied extensively both numerically and experimentally in the references cited in the previous chapters. This chapter focuses on the oscillatory behavior of finite dimensional homogeneous granular chains. It is well known that normal vibration modes are the building blocks of the vibrations of linear systems due to the applicability of the principle of superposition. One the other hand, nonlinear theory is deprived of such a general superposition principle (although special cases of nonlinear superpositions do exist), but nonlinear normal modes ‒ NNMs still play an important role in the forced and resonance dynamics of these systems. In their basic definition [1], NNMs were defined as time-periodic nonlinear oscillations of discrete or continuous dynamical systems where all coordinates (degrees-of-freedom) oscillate in-unison with the same frequency; further extensions of this definition have been considered to account for NNMs of systems with internal resonances [2]...

Self-formed waterfall plunge pools in homogeneous rock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheingross, Joel S.; Lo, Daniel Y.; Lamb, Michael P.

2017-01-01

Waterfalls are ubiquitous, and their upstream propagation can set the pace of landscape evolution, yet no experimental studies have examined waterfall plunge pool erosion in homogeneous rock. We performed laboratory experiments, using synthetic foam as a bedrock simulant, to produce self-formed waterfall plunge pools via particle impact abrasion. Plunge pool vertical incision exceeded lateral erosion by approximately tenfold until pools deepened to the point that the supplied sediment could not be evacuated and deposition armored the pool bedrock floor. Lateral erosion of plunge pool sidewalls continued after sediment deposition, but primarily at the downstream pool wall, which might lead to undermining of the plunge pool lip, sediment evacuation, and continued vertical pool floor incision in natural streams. Undercutting of the upstream pool wall was absent, and our results suggest that vertical drilling of successive plunge pools is a more efficient waterfall retreat mechanism than the classic model of headwall undercutting and collapse in homogeneous rock.

Impact de la preparation des anodes crues et des conditions de cuisson sur la fissuration dans des anodes denses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amrani, Salah

fabriquees industriellement. Cette technique a consiste a determiner le profil des differentes proprietes physiques. En effet, la methode basee sur la mesure de la distribution de la resistivite electrique sur la totalite de l'echantillon est la technique qui a ete utilisee pour localiser la fissuration et les macro-pores. La microscopie optique et l'analyse d'image ont, quant a elles, permis de caracteriser les zones fissurees tout en determinant la structure des echantillons analyses a l'echelle microscopique. D'autres tests ont ete menes, et ils ont consiste a etudier des echantillons cylindriques d'anodes de 50 mm de diametre et de 130 mm de longueur. Ces derniers ont ete cuits dans un four a UQAC a differents taux de chauffage dans le but de pouvoir determiner l'influence des parametres de cuisson sur la formation de la fissuration dans ce genre de carottes. La caracterisation des echantillons d'anodes cuites a ete faite a l'aide de la microscopie electronique a balayage et de l'ultrason. La derniere partie des travaux realises a l'UQAC contient une etude sur la caracterisation des anodes fabriquees au laboratoire sous differentes conditions d'operation. L'evolution de la qualite de ces anodes a ete faite par l'utilisation de plusieurs techniques. L'evolution de la temperature de refroidissement des anodes crues de laboratoire a ete mesuree; et un modele mathematique a ete developpe et valide avec les donnees experimentales. Cela a pour objectif d'estimer la vitesse de refroidissement ainsi que le stress thermique. Toutes les anodes fabriquees ont ete caracterisees avant la cuisson par la determination de certaines proprietes physiques (resistivite electrique, densite apparente, densite optique et pourcentage de defauts). La tomographie et la distribution de la resistivite electrique, qui sont des techniques non destructives, ont ete employees pour evaluer les defauts internes des anodes. Pendant la cuisson des anodes de laboratoire, l'evolution de la resistivite

A homogeneous cooling scheme investigation for high power slab laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Jianguo; Lin, Weiran; Fan, Zhongwei; Chen, Yanzhong; Ge, Wenqi; Yu, Jin; Liu, Hao; Mo, Zeqiang; Fan, Lianwen; Jia, Dan

2017-10-01

The forced convective heat transfer with the advantages of reliability and durability is widely used in cooling the laser gain medium. However, a flow direction induced temperature gradient always appears. In this paper, a novel cooling configuration based on longitudinal forced convective heat transfer is presented. In comparison with two different types of configurations, it shows a more efficient heat transfer and more homogeneous temperature distribution. The investigation of the flow rate reveals that the higher flow rate the better cooling performance. Furthermore, the simulation results with 20 L/min flow rate shows an adequate temperature level and temperature homogeneity which keeps a lower hydrostatic pressure in the flow path.

Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group

PubMed Central

Eskridge, Brent E.; Valle, Elizabeth; Schlupp, Ingo

2015-01-01

Large scale coordination without dominant, consistent leadership is frequent in nature. How individuals emerge from within the group as leaders, however transitory this position may be, has become an increasingly common question asked. This question is further complicated by the fact that in many of these aggregations, differences between individuals are minor and the group is largely considered to be homogeneous. In the simulations presented here, we investigate the emergence of leadership in the extreme situation in which all individuals are initially identical. Using a mathematical model developed using observations of natural systems, we show that the addition of a simple concept of leadership tendencies which is inspired by observations of natural systems and is affected by experience can produce distinct leaders and followers using a nonlinear feedback loop. Most importantly, our results show that small differences in experience can promote the rapid emergence of stable roles for leaders and followers. Our findings have implications for our understanding of adaptive behaviors in initially homogeneous groups, the role experience can play in shaping leadership tendencies, and the use of self-assessment in adapting behavior and, ultimately, self-role-assignment. PMID:26226381

Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.

PubMed

Eskridge, Brent E; Valle, Elizabeth; Schlupp, Ingo

2015-01-01

Large scale coordination without dominant, consistent leadership is frequent in nature. How individuals emerge from within the group as leaders, however transitory this position may be, has become an increasingly common question asked. This question is further complicated by the fact that in many of these aggregations, differences between individuals are minor and the group is largely considered to be homogeneous. In the simulations presented here, we investigate the emergence of leadership in the extreme situation in which all individuals are initially identical. Using a mathematical model developed using observations of natural systems, we show that the addition of a simple concept of leadership tendencies which is inspired by observations of natural systems and is affected by experience can produce distinct leaders and followers using a nonlinear feedback loop. Most importantly, our results show that small differences in experience can promote the rapid emergence of stable roles for leaders and followers. Our findings have implications for our understanding of adaptive behaviors in initially homogeneous groups, the role experience can play in shaping leadership tendencies, and the use of self-assessment in adapting behavior and, ultimately, self-role-assignment.

Genetic progress in homogeneous regions of wheat cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.

PubMed

Follmann, D N; Cargnelutti Filho, A; Lúcio, A D; de Souza, V Q; Caraffa, M; Wartha, C A

2017-03-30

The State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) stands out as the largest wheat producer in Brazil. Wheat is the most emphasized winter cereal in RS, attracting public and private investments directed to wheat genetic breeding. The study of genetic progress should be performed routinely at breeding programs to study the behavior of cultivars developed for homogeneous regions of cultivation. The objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate the genetic progress of wheat grain yield in RS; 2) to evaluate the influence of cultivar competition trial stratification in homogeneous regions of cultivation on the study of genetic progress. Grain yield data of 122 wheat cultivars evaluated in 137 trials arranged in randomized block design with three or four replications were used. Field trials were carried out in 23 locations in RS divided into two homogeneous regions during the period from 2002 to 2013. Genetic progress for RS and homogeneous regions was studied utilizing the method proposed by Vencovsky. Annual genetic progress for wheat grain yield during the period of 12 years in the State of RS was 2.86%, oscillating between homogeneous regions of cultivation. The difference of annual genetic progress in region 1 (1.82%) in relation to region 2 (4.38%) justifies the study of genetic progress by homogeneous regions of cultivation.

MO-F-CAMPUS-I-02: Accuracy in Converting the Average Breast Dose Into the Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) Using the F-Factor in Cone Beam Breast CT- a Monte Carlo Study Using Homogeneous and Quasi-Homogeneous Phantoms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lai, C; Zhong, Y; Wang, T

2015-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the accuracy in estimating the mean glandular dose (MGD) for homogeneous breast phantoms by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor in cone beam breast CT. Methods: EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo codes were used to estimate the MGDs. 13-cm in diameter, 10-cm high hemi-ellipsoids were used to simulate pendant-geometry breasts. Two different types of hemi-ellipsoidal models were employed: voxels in quasi-homogeneous phantoms were designed as either adipose or glandular tissue while voxels in homogeneous phantoms were designed as the mixture of adipose and glandular tissues. Breast compositions of 25% and 50% volume glandular fractions (VGFs), definedmore » as the ratio of glandular tissue voxels to entire breast voxels in the quasi-homogeneous phantoms, were studied. These VGFs were converted into glandular fractions by weight and used to construct the corresponding homogeneous phantoms. 80 kVp x-rays with a mean energy of 47 keV was used in the simulation. A total of 109 photons were used to image the phantoms and the energies deposited in the phantom voxels were tallied. Breast doses in homogeneous phantoms were averaged over all voxels and then used to calculate the MGDs using the F-factors evaluated at the mean energy of the x-rays. The MGDs for quasi-homogeneous phantoms were computed directly by averaging the doses over all glandular tissue voxels. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were normalized to the free-in-air dose at the iso-center and compared. Results: The normalized MGDs were 0.756 and 0.732 mGy/mGy for the 25% and 50% VGF homogeneous breasts and 0.761 and 0.733 mGy/mGy for the corresponding quasi-homogeneous breasts, respectively. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were similar within 1% in this study. Conclusion: MGDs for homogeneous breast models may be adequately estimated by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor.« less

An epidemic model to evaluate the homogeneous mixing assumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turnes, P. P.; Monteiro, L. H. A.

2014-11-01

Many epidemic models are written in terms of ordinary differential equations (ODE). This approach relies on the homogeneous mixing assumption; that is, the topological structure of the contact network established by the individuals of the host population is not relevant to predict the spread of a pathogen in this population. Here, we propose an epidemic model based on ODE to study the propagation of contagious diseases conferring no immunity. The state variables of this model are the percentages of susceptible individuals, infectious individuals and empty space. We show that this dynamical system can experience transcritical and Hopf bifurcations. Then, we employ this model to evaluate the validity of the homogeneous mixing assumption by using real data related to the transmission of gonorrhea, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and obesity.

Homogeneous molybdenum disulfide tunnel diode formed via chemical doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaochi; Qu, Deshun; Choi, Min Sup; Lee, Changmin; Kim, Hyoungsub; Yoo, Won Jong

2018-04-01

We report on a simple, controllable chemical doping method to fabricate a lateral homogeneous MoS2 tunnel diode. MoS2 was doped to degenerate n- (1.6 × 1013 cm-2) and p-type (1.1 × 1013 cm-2) by benzyl viologen and AuCl3, respectively. The n- and p-doping can be patterned on the same MoS2 flake, and the high doping concentration can be maintained by Al2O3 masking together with vacuum annealing. A forward rectifying p-n diode and a band-to-band tunneling induced backward rectifying diode were realized by modulating the doping concentration of both the n- and p-sides. Our approach is a universal stratagem to fabricate diverse 2D homogeneous diodes with various functions.

Homogeneous Entropy-Driven Amplified Detection of Biomolecular Interactions.

PubMed

Kim, Donghyuk; Garner, Omai B; Ozcan, Aydogan; Di Carlo, Dino

2016-08-23

While a range of artificial biochemical circuits is likely to play a significant role in biological engineering, one of the challenges in the field is the design of circuits that can transduce between biomolecule classes (e.g., moving beyond nucleic acid only circuits). Herein, we design a transduction mechanism whereby a protein signal is transduced into an amplified nucleic acid output using DNA nanotechnology. In this system, a protein is recognized by nucleic acid bound recognition elements to form a catalytic complex that drives a hybridization/displacement reaction on a multicomponent nucleic acid substrate, releasing multiple target single-stranded oligonucleotides in an amplified fashion. Amplification power and simple one-pot reaction conditions lead us to apply the scheme in an assay format, achieving homogeneous and rapid (∼10 min) analyte detection that is also robust (operable in whole blood and plasma). In addition, we demonstrate the assay in a microfluidic digital assay format leading to improved quantification and sensitivity approaching single-molecule levels. The present scheme we believe will have a significant impact on a range of applications from fundamental molecular interaction studies to design of artificial circuits in vivo to high-throughput, multiplexed assays for screening or point-of-care diagnostics.

Effect of homogenization and pasteurization on the structure and stability of whey protein in milk.

PubMed

Qi, Phoebe X; Ren, Daxi; Xiao, Yingping; Tomasula, Peggy M

2015-05-01

The effect of homogenization alone or in combination with high-temperature, short-time (HTST) pasteurization or UHT processing on the whey fraction of milk was investigated using highly sensitive spectroscopic techniques. In pilot plant trials, 1-L quantities of whole milk were homogenized in a 2-stage homogenizer at 35°C (6.9 MPa/10.3 MPa) and, along with skim milk, were subjected to HTST pasteurization (72°C for 15 s) or UHT processing (135°C for 2 s). Other whole milk samples were processed using homogenization followed by either HTST pasteurization or UHT processing. The processed skim and whole milk samples were centrifuged further to remove fat and then acidified to pH 4.6 to isolate the corresponding whey fractions, and centrifuged again. The whey fractions were then purified using dialysis and investigated using the circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared, and Trp intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. Results demonstrated that homogenization combined with UHT processing of milk caused not only changes in protein composition but also significant secondary structural loss, particularly in the amounts of apparent antiparallel β-sheet and α-helix, as well as diminished tertiary structural contact. In both cases of homogenization alone and followed by HTST treatments, neither caused appreciable chemical changes, nor remarkable secondary structural reduction. But disruption was evident in the tertiary structural environment of the whey proteins due to homogenization of whole milk as shown by both the near-UV circular dichroism and Trp intrinsic fluorescence. In-depth structural stability analyses revealed that even though processing of milk imposed little impairment on the secondary structural stability, the tertiary structural stability of whey protein was altered significantly. The following order was derived based on these studies: raw whole>HTST, homogenized, homogenized and pasteurized>skimmed and pasteurized, and skimmed UHT>homogenized

Homogeneity study of a GaAs:Cr pixelated sensor by means of X-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billoud, T.; Leroy, C.; Papadatos, C.; Pichotka, M.; Pospisil, S.; Roux, J. S.

2018-04-01

Direct conversion semiconductor detectors have become an indispensable tool in radiation detection by now. In order to obtain a high detection efficiency, especially when detecting X or γ rays, high-Z semiconductor sensors are necessary. Like other compound semiconductors GaAs, compensated by chromium (GaAs:Cr), suffers from a number of defects that affect the charge collection efficiency and homogeneity of the material. A precise knowledge of this problem is important to predict the performance of such detectors and eventually correct their response in specific applications. In this study we analyse the homogeneity and mobility-lifetime products (μe τe) of a 500 μ m thick GaAs:Cr pixelated sensor connected to a Timepix chip. The detector is irradiated by 23 keV X-rays, each pixel recording the number of photon interactions and the charge they induce on its electrode. The μe τe products are extracted on a per-pixel basis, using the Hecht equation corrected for the small pixel effect. The detector shows a good time stability in the experimental conditions. Significant inhomogeneities are observed in photon counting and charge collection efficiencies. An average μe τe of 1.0 ṡ 10‑4 cm2V‑1 is found, and compared with values obtained by other methods for the same material. Solutions to improve the response are discussed.

Total lipid extraction of homogenized and intact lean fish muscles using pressurized fluid extraction and batch extraction techniques.

PubMed

Isaac, Giorgis; Waldebäck, Monica; Eriksson, Ulla; Odham, Göran; Markides, Karin E

2005-07-13

The reliability and efficiency of pressurized fluid extraction (PFE) technique for the extraction of total lipid content from cod and the effect of sample treatment on the extraction efficiency have been evaluated. The results were compared with two liquid-liquid extraction methods, traditional and modified methods according to Jensen. Optimum conditions were found to be with 2-propanol/n-hexane (65:35, v/v) as a first and n-hexane/diethyl ether (90:10, v/v) as a second solvent, 115 degrees C, and 10 min of static time. PFE extracts were cleaned up using the same procedure as in the methods according to Jensen. When total lipid yields obtained from homogenized cod muscle using PFE were compared yields obtained with original and modified Jensen methods, PFE gave significantly higher yields, approximately 10% higher (t test, P < 0.05). Infrared and NMR spectroscopy suggested that the additional material that inflates the gravimetric results is rather homogeneous and is primarily consists of phospholipid with headgroups of inositidic and/or glycosidic nature. The comparative study demonstrated that PFE is an alternative suitable technique to extract total lipid content from homogenized cod (lean fish) and herring (fat fish) muscle showing a precision comparable to that obtained with the traditional and modified Jensen methods. Despite the necessary cleanup step, PFE showed important advantages in the solvent consumption was cut by approximately 50% and automated extraction was possible.

Properties of lotus seed starch-glycerin monostearin complexes formed by high pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Chen, Bingyan; Zeng, Shaoxiao; Zeng, Hongliang; Guo, Zebin; Zhang, Yi; Zheng, Baodong

2017-07-01

Starch-lipid complexes were prepared using lotus seed starch (LS) and glycerin monostearate (GMS) via a high pressure homogenization (HPH) process, and the effect of HPH on the physicochemical properties of LS-GMS complexes was investigated. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and complex index analysis showed that LS-GMS complexes were formed at 40MPa by HPH and the complex index increased with the increase of homogenization pressure. Scanning electron microscopy displayed LS-GMS complexes present more nest-shape structure with increasing homogenization pressure. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry results revealed that V-type crystalline polymorph was formed between LS and GMS, with higher homogenization pressure producing an increasingly stable complex. LS-GMS complex inhibited starch granules swelling, solubility and pasting development, which further reduced peak and breakdown viscosity. During storage, LS-GMS complexes prepared by 70-100MPa had higher Avrami exponent values and lower recrystallization rates compared with native starch, which suggested a lower retrogradation trendency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Occurrence analysis of daily rainfalls by using non-homogeneous Poissonian processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirangelo, B.; Ferrari, E.; de Luca, D. L.

2009-09-01

In recent years several temporally homogeneous stochastic models have been applied to describe the rainfall process. In particular stochastic analysis of daily rainfall time series may contribute to explain the statistic features of the temporal variability related to the phenomenon. Due to the evident periodicity of the physical process, these models have to be used only to short temporal intervals in which occurrences and intensities of rainfalls can be considered reliably homogeneous. To this aim, occurrences of daily rainfalls can be considered as a stationary stochastic process in monthly periods. In this context point process models are widely used for at-site analysis of daily rainfall occurrence; they are continuous time series models, and are able to explain intermittent feature of rainfalls and simulate interstorm periods. With a different approach, periodic features of daily rainfalls can be interpreted by using a temporally non-homogeneous stochastic model characterized by parameters expressed as continuous functions in the time. In this case, great attention has to be paid to the parsimony of the models, as regards the number of parameters and the bias introduced into the generation of synthetic series, and to the influence of threshold values in extracting peak storm database from recorded daily rainfall heights. In this work, a stochastic model based on a non-homogeneous Poisson process, characterized by a time-dependent intensity of rainfall occurrence, is employed to explain seasonal effects of daily rainfalls exceeding prefixed threshold values. In particular, variation of rainfall occurrence intensity ? (t) is modelled by using Fourier series analysis, in which the non-homogeneous process is transformed into a homogeneous and unit one through a proper transformation of time domain, and the choice of the minimum number of harmonics is evaluated applying available statistical tests. The procedure is applied to a dataset of rain gauges located in

Stability of hyperbolic-parabolic mixed type equations with partial boundary condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Huashui; Feng, Zhaosheng

2018-06-01

In this paper, we are concerned with the hyperbolic-parabolic mixed type equations with the non-homogeneous boundary condition. If it is degenerate on the boundary, the part of the boundary whose boundary value should be imposed, is determined by the entropy condition from the convection term. If there is no convection term in the equation, we show that the stability of solutions can be proved without any boundary condition. If the equation is completely degenerate, we show that the stability of solutions can be established just based on the partial boundary condition.

Linear scaling relationships and volcano plots in homogeneous catalysis - revisiting the Suzuki reaction.

PubMed

Busch, Michael; Wodrich, Matthew D; Corminboeuf, Clémence

2015-12-01

Linear free energy scaling relationships and volcano plots are common tools used to identify potential heterogeneous catalysts for myriad applications. Despite the striking simplicity and predictive power of volcano plots, they remain unknown in homogeneous catalysis. Here, we construct volcano plots to analyze a prototypical reaction from homogeneous catalysis, the Suzuki cross-coupling of olefins. Volcano plots succeed both in discriminating amongst different catalysts and reproducing experimentally known trends, which serves as validation of the model for this proof-of-principle example. These findings indicate that the combination of linear scaling relationships and volcano plots could serve as a valuable methodology for identifying homogeneous catalysts possessing a desired activity through a priori computational screening.

Field homogeneity improvement of maglev NdFeB magnetic rails from joints.

PubMed

Li, Y J; Dai, Q; Deng, C Y; Sun, R X; Zheng, J; Chen, Z; Sun, Y; Wang, H; Yuan, Z D; Fang, C; Deng, Z G

2016-01-01

An ideal magnetic rail should provide a homogeneous magnetic field along the longitudinal direction to guarantee the reliable friction-free operation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev vehicles. But in reality, magnetic field inhomogeneity may occur due to lots of reasons; the joint gap is the most direct one. Joint gaps inevitably exist between adjacent segments and influence the longitudinal magnetic field homogeneity above the rail since any magnetic rails are consisting of many permanent magnet segments. To improve the running performance of maglev systems, two new rail joints are proposed based on the normal rail joint, which are named as mitered rail joint and overlapped rail joint. It is found that the overlapped rail joint has a better effect to provide a competitive homogeneous magnetic field. And the further structure optimization has been done to ensure maglev vehicle operation as stable as possible when passing through those joint gaps. The results show that the overlapped rail joint with optimal parameters can significantly reduce the magnetic field inhomogeneity comparing with the other two rail joints. In addition, an appropriate gap was suggested when balancing the thermal expansion of magnets and homogenous magnetic field, which is considered valuable references for the future design of the magnetic rails.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ZIRCONIUM NITRIDE IN THE HOMOGENEITY REGION (in Ukrainian)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samsonov, G.V.; Verkhoglyadova, T.S.

1962-01-01

The x-ray method was used to determine the homogeneity region of zirconium nitride as 40 to 50 at.% (9.5 to 13.3% by weight) of nitrogen. It is also shown that part of the ionic bond in the zirconium nitride lattice increases with a decrease in the nitrogen content in this region, this increase being higher than in the homogeneity region of titunium nitride due to the smaller degree of unfilling of the electron d-shell of the zirconium atom in comparison with that of the titanium atom. (auth)

Multifractal spectra in homogeneous shear flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deane, A. E.; Keefe, L. R.

1988-01-01

Employing numerical simulations of 3-D homogeneous shear flow, the associated multifractal spectra of the energy dissipation, scalar dissipation and vorticity fields were calculated. The results for (128) cubed simulations of this flow, and those obtained in recent experiments that analyzed 1- and 2-D intersections of atmospheric and laboratory flows, are in some agreement. A two-scale Cantor set model of the energy cascade process which describes the experimental results from 1-D intersections quite well, describes the 3-D results only marginally.

A physically constrained classical description of the homogeneous nucleation of ice in water.

PubMed

Koop, Thomas; Murray, Benjamin J

2016-12-07

Liquid water can persist in a supercooled state to below 238 K in the Earth's atmosphere, a temperature range where homogeneous nucleation becomes increasingly probable. However, the rate of homogeneous ice nucleation in supercooled water is poorly constrained, in part, because supercooled water eludes experimental scrutiny in the region of the homogeneous nucleation regime where it can exist only fleetingly. Here we present a new parameterization of the rate of homogeneous ice nucleation based on classical nucleation theory. In our approach, we constrain the key terms in classical theory, i.e., the diffusion activation energy and the ice-liquid interfacial energy, with physically consistent parameterizations of the pertinent quantities. The diffusion activation energy is related to the translational self-diffusion coefficient of water for which we assess a range of descriptions and conclude that the most physically consistent fit is provided by a power law. The other key term is the interfacial energy between the ice embryo and supercooled water whose temperature dependence we constrain using the Turnbull correlation, which relates the interfacial energy to the difference in enthalpy between the solid and liquid phases. The only adjustable parameter in our model is the absolute value of the interfacial energy at one reference temperature. That value is determined by fitting this classical model to a selection of laboratory homogeneous ice nucleation data sets between 233.6 K and 238.5 K. On extrapolation to temperatures below 233 K, into a range not accessible to standard techniques, we predict that the homogeneous nucleation rate peaks between about 227 and 231 K at a maximum nucleation rate many orders of magnitude lower than previous parameterizations suggest. This extrapolation to temperatures below 233 K is consistent with the most recent measurement of the ice nucleation rate in micrometer-sized droplets at temperatures of 227-232 K on very short time scales

Direct current dielectric barrier assistant discharge to get homogeneous plasma in capacitive coupled discharge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Yinchang, E-mail: ycdu@mail.ustc.edu.cn; Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, D-85748 Garching; Li, Yangfang

In this paper, we propose a method to get more homogeneous plasma in the geometrically asymmetric capacitive coupled plasma (CCP) discharge. The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is used for the auxiliary discharge system to improve the homogeneity of the geometrically asymmetric CCP discharge. The single Langmuir probe measurement shows that the DBD can increase the electron density in the low density volume, where the DBD electrodes are mounted, when the pressure is higher than 5 Pa. By this manner, we are able to improve the homogeneity of the plasma production and increase the overall density in the target volume. At last,more » the finite element simulation results show that the DC bias, applied to the DBD electrodes, can increase the homogeneity of the electron density in the CCP discharge. The simulation results show a good agreement with the experiment results.« less

Segmenting Demographically Homogeneous Radio Audiences: An Exploratory Investigation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Planchon, John M.

The possibility that the benefits sought by radio listeners could be used to further define demographically homogeneous audiences for marketing purposes was investigated by surveying a segment of college undergraduate listeners. Twenty-five interviews were conducted to determine where, why, what time of day, and to what station an individual…

Generating and controlling homogeneous air turbulence using random jet arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Douglas; Petersen, Alec; Amili, Omid; Coletti, Filippo

2016-12-01

The use of random jet arrays, already employed in water tank facilities to generate zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence, is extended to air as a working fluid. A novel facility is introduced that uses two facing arrays of individually controlled jets (256 in total) to force steady homogeneous turbulence with negligible mean flow, shear, and strain. Quasi-synthetic jet pumps are created by expanding pressurized air through small straight nozzles and are actuated by fast-response low-voltage solenoid valves. Velocity fields, two-point correlations, energy spectra, and second-order structure functions are obtained from 2D PIV and are used to characterize the turbulence from the integral-to-the Kolmogorov scales. Several metrics are defined to quantify how well zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence is approximated for a wide range of forcing and geometric parameters. With increasing jet firing time duration, both the velocity fluctuations and the integral length scales are augmented and therefore the Reynolds number is increased. We reach a Taylor-microscale Reynolds number of 470, a large-scale Reynolds number of 74,000, and an integral-to-Kolmogorov length scale ratio of 680. The volume of the present homogeneous turbulence, the largest reported to date in a zero-mean-flow facility, is much larger than the integral length scale, allowing for the natural development of the energy cascade. The turbulence is found to be anisotropic irrespective of the distance between the jet arrays. Fine grids placed in front of the jets are effective at modulating the turbulence, reducing both velocity fluctuations and integral scales. Varying the jet-to-jet spacing within each array has no effect on the integral length scale, suggesting that this is dictated by the length scale of the jets.

Study of the Tributyl Phosphate--30 Percent Dodecane Solvent; ETUDE DU SOLVANT PHOSPHATE TRIBUTYLIQUE 30 PERCENT--DODECANE (in French)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leroy, P.

1967-07-01

This study, originating mainly from a literature survey, gives the principal chemical and physical features of the tributyl-phosphate (TBP) agent diluted at 30 volumes per cent in dodecane. The mixture is a very commonly used extractant in nuclear fuel processing. In this paper, the main following points are reported: -) the components (TBP and diluents) -) the TBP-diluents systems (non-loaded), -) the TBP-diluents-water systems, -) TBP-diluents-water-nitric acid systems, and -) industrial solvents. (author) [French] Cette etude, d'origine bibliographique, regroupe les caracteristiques physico-chimiques essentielles du phosphate tributylique (TBP) dilue a 30% en volume dans du dodecane. Ce melange constitue un agentmore » d'extraction tres utilise dans le traitement des combustibles nucleaires. Les principaux points traites sont les suivants: -) les constituants (TBP et diluants), -) les systemes TBP-diluants non charges, -) les systemes TBP-diluants-eau, -) les systemes TBP-diluants-eau-acide nitrique, et -) les solvants industriels. (auteur)« less

Homogenization kinetics of a nickel-based superalloy produced by powder bed fusion laser sintering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Fan; Levine, Lyle E.; Allen, Andrew J.

2017-04-01

Additively manufactured (AM) metal components often exhibit fine dendritic microstructures and elemental segregation due to the initial rapid solidification and subsequent melting and cooling during the build process, which without homogenization would adversely affect materials performance. In this letter, we report in situ observation of the homogenization kinetics of an AM nickel-based superalloy using synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering. The identified kinetic time scale is in good agreement with thermodynamic diffusion simulation predictions using microstructural dimensions acquired by ex situ scanning electron microscopy. These findings could serve as a recipe for predicting, observing, and validating homogenization treatments in AM materials.

Homogenization Kinetics of a Nickel-based Superalloy Produced by Powder Bed Fusion Laser Sintering.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; Levine, Lyle E; Allen, Andrew J; Campbell, Carelyn E; Lass, Eric A; Cheruvathur, Sudha; Stoudt, Mark R; Williams, Maureen E; Idell, Yaakov

2017-04-01

Additively manufactured (AM) metal components often exhibit fine dendritic microstructures and elemental segregation due to the initial rapid solidification and subsequent melting and cooling during the build process, which without homogenization would adversely affect materials performance. In this letter, we report in situ observation of the homogenization kinetics of an AM nickel-based superalloy using synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering. The identified kinetic time scale is in good agreement with thermodynamic diffusion simulation predictions using microstructural dimensions acquired by ex situ scanning electron microscopy. These findings could serve as a recipe for predicting, observing, and validating homogenization treatments in AM materials.

Modeling for cardiac excitation propagation based on the Nernst-Planck equation and homogenization.

PubMed

Okada, Jun-ichi; Sugiura, Seiryo; Hisada, Toshiaki

2013-06-01

The bidomain model is a commonly used mathematical model of the electrical properties of the cardiac muscle that takes into account the anisotropy of both the intracellular and extracellular spaces. However, the equations contain self-contradiction such that the update of ion concentrations does not consider intracellular or extracellular ion movements due to the gradient of electric potential and the membrane charge as capacitive currents in spite of the fact that those currents are taken into account in forming Kirchhoff's first law. To overcome this problem, we start with the Nernst-Planck equation, the ionic conservation law, and the electroneutrality condition at the cellular level, and by introducing a homogenization method and assuming uniformity of variables at the microscopic scale, we derive rational bidomain equations at the macroscopic level.

Inhomogeneous and homogeneous linewidths in Er 3+-doped chalcogenide glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bigot, L.; Jurdyc, A.-M.; Jacquier, B.; Adam, J.-L.

2003-10-01

The erbium 4I 13/2- 4I 15/2 transition around 1.5 μm is of prim interest for telecommunications and depends on the erbium ions surrounding. In glasses, the broadening of a transition comes from two contributions: inhomogeneous (due to the disorder) and homogeneous (due to the electron phonon interaction) broadening. Resonant Fluorescence Line Narrowing (RFLN) is a useful tool to separate this two parameters. We will show in this paper that the 4I 13/2- 4I 15/2 transition in chalcogenide glass (GeGaSSb) presents a strong homogeneous character and a smaller inhomogeneous contribution compared to aluminosilicate and fluoride glasses. Consequences on gain saturation will also be discussed.

Fracture and fatigue analysis of functionally graded and homogeneous materials using singular integral equation approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Huaqing

There are two major objectives of this thesis work. One is to study theoretically the fracture and fatigue behavior of both homogeneous and functionally graded materials, with or without crack bridging. The other is to further develop the singular integral equation approach in solving mixed boundary value problems. The newly developed functionally graded materials (FGMs) have attracted considerable research interests as candidate materials for structural applications ranging from aerospace to automobile to manufacturing. From the mechanics viewpoint, the unique feature of FGMs is that their resistance to deformation, fracture and damage varies spatially. In order to guide the microstructure selection and the design and performance assessment of components made of functionally graded materials, in this thesis work, a series of theoretical studies has been carried out on the mode I stress intensity factors and crack opening displacements for FGMs with different combinations of geometry and material under various loading conditions, including: (1) a functionally graded layer under uniform strain, far field pure bending and far field axial loading, (2) a functionally graded coating on an infinite substrate under uniform strain, and (3) a functionally graded coating on a finite substrate under uniform strain, far field pure bending and far field axial loading. In solving crack problems in homogeneous and non-homogeneous materials, a very powerful singular integral equation (SEE) method has been developed since 1960s by Erdogan and associates to solve mixed boundary value problems. However, some of the kernel functions developed earlier are incomplete and possibly erroneous. In this thesis work, mode I fracture problems in a homogeneous strip are reformulated and accurate singular Cauchy type kernels are derived. Very good convergence rates and consistency with standard data are achieved. Other kernel functions are subsequently developed for mode I fracture in

Apparatus for unilateral generation of a homogeneous magnetic field

DOEpatents

Fukushima, Eiichi; Rath, Alan R.; Roeder, Stephen B. W.

1988-01-01

An apparatus for unilaterally producing a substantially homogeneous magnetic field. The apparatus includes two circular electromagnet coils, a small coil and a large coil, which are coaxial with one another and which are separated by a distance equal to one-half the difference in the radius of the two coils. By appropriate selection of electrical currents, which are passed through the coil in opposite directions, a region of homogeneous magnetic field is formed. This region is centered on the common axis of the two coils, at a point on the axis which is at a distance from the small coil equal to one-half the radius of the small coil, and which is on the opposite side of the small coil from the large coil. The apparatus has particular application in the field of diagnostic medical NMR and other NMR applications.

Apparatus for unilateral generation of a homogeneous magnetic field

DOEpatents

Fukushima, E.; Rath, A.R.; Roeder, S.B.W.

1984-05-01

An apparatus for unilaterally producing a substantially homogeneous magnetic field. The apparatus includes two circular electromagnet coils, a small coil and a large coil, which are coaxial with one another and which are separated by a distance equal to one-half the difference in the radius of the two coils. By appropriate selection of electrical currents, which are passed through the coils in opposite directions, a region of homogeneous magnetic field is formed. This region is centered on the common axis of the two coils, at a point on the axis which is at a distance from the small coil equal to one-half the radius of the small coil, and which is on the opposite side of the small coil from the large coil. The apparatus has particular application in the field of diagnostic medical NMR and other NMR applications.

Political homogeneity can nurture threats to research validity.

PubMed

Chambers, John R; Schlenker, Barry R

2015-01-01

Political homogeneity within a scientific field nurtures threats to the validity of many research conclusions by allowing ideologically compatible values to influence interpretations, by minimizing skepticism, and by creating premature consensus. Although validity threats can crop in any research, the usual corrective activities in science are more likely to be minimized and delayed.

Mechanisms and Rates of U(VI) Reduction by Fe(II) in Homogeneous Aqueous Solution and the Role of U(V) Disproportionation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collins, Richard N.; Rosso, Kevin M.

eliminated by homogeneous disproportionation, this pathway is irrelevant at environmental conditions.« less

Unified double- and single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representations

PubMed Central

van der Neut, Joost; Slob, Evert

2016-01-01

In wave theory, the homogeneous Green’s function consists of the impulse response to a point source, minus its time-reversal. It can be represented by a closed boundary integral. In many practical situations, the closed boundary integral needs to be approximated by an open boundary integral because the medium of interest is often accessible from one side only. The inherent approximations are acceptable as long as the effects of multiple scattering are negligible. However, in case of strongly inhomogeneous media, the effects of multiple scattering can be severe. We derive double- and single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representations. The single-sided representation applies to situations where the medium can be accessed from one side only. It correctly handles multiple scattering. It employs a focusing function instead of the backward propagating Green’s function in the classical (double-sided) representation. When reflection measurements are available at the accessible boundary of the medium, the focusing function can be retrieved from these measurements. Throughout the paper, we use a unified notation which applies to acoustic, quantum-mechanical, electromagnetic and elastodynamic waves. We foresee many interesting applications of the unified single-sided homogeneous Green’s function representation in holographic imaging and inverse scattering, time-reversed wave field propagation and interferometric Green’s function retrieval. PMID:27436983

Study of homogeneity and inhomogeneity phantom in CUDA EGS for small field dosimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yani, Sitti; Rhani, Mohamad Fahdillah; Haryanto, Freddy; Arif, Idam

2017-02-01

CUDA EGS was CUDA implementation to simulate transport photon in a material based on Monte Carlo algorithm for X-ray imaging. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inhomogeneities in inhomogeneity phantom for small field dosimetry (1×1, 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 and 5×5 cm2). Two phantoms, homogeneity and inhomogeneity phantom were used. The interaction in homogeneity and inhomogeneity phantom was dominated by Compton interaction and multiple scattering. The CUDA EGS can represent the inhomogeneity effect in small field dosimetry by combining the grayscale curve between homogeneity and inhomogeneity phantom. The grayscale curve in inhomogeneity phantom is not asymmetric because of the existence of different material in phantom.

Homogenous charge compression ignition engine having a cylinder including a high compression space

DOEpatents

Agama, Jorge R.; Fiveland, Scott B.; Maloney, Ronald P.; Faletti, James J.; Clarke, John M.

2003-12-30

The present invention relates generally to the field of homogeneous charge compression engines. In these engines, fuel is injected upstream or directly into the cylinder when the power piston is relatively close to its bottom dead center position. The fuel mixes with air in the cylinder as the power piston advances to create a relatively lean homogeneous mixture that preferably ignites when the power piston is relatively close to the top dead center position. However, if the ignition event occurs either earlier or later than desired, lowered performance, engine misfire, or even engine damage, can result. Thus, the present invention divides the homogeneous charge between a controlled volume higher compression space and a lower compression space to better control the start of ignition.

Controllable synthesis of nickel bicarbonate nanocrystals with high homogeneity for a high-performance supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jianmin; Liu, Xin; Wang, Zhuang; Bian, Zhenpan; Jin, Cuihong; Sun, Xiao; Yin, Baipeng; Wu, Tianhui; Wang, Lin; Tang, Shoufeng; Wang, Hongchao; Gao, Faming

2017-08-01

The electrochemical performance of supercapacitors might be associated with the homogeneous structure of the electrode materials. However, the relationship between the degree of uniformity for the electrode materials and the electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor is not clear. Herein, we synthesize two types of nickel bicarbonate nanocrystals with different degrees of uniformity to investigate this relationship. As the electroactive material, the nickel bicarbonate nanocrystals with a homogeneous structure could provide a larger space and offer more exposed atoms for the electrochemical reaction than the nanocrystals with a heterogeneous structure. The homogeneous nickel bicarbonate nanocrystals exhibit better electrochemical performance and show excellent specific capacitance (1596 F g-1 at 2 A g-1 and 1260 F g-1 at 30 A g-1), which is approximately twice that of the heterogeneous nickel bicarbonate nanocrystals. The cycling stability for the homogeneity (˜80%) is higher than the inhomogeneity (˜61%) at a high current density of 5 A g-1.

Numerical Study of Microstructural Evolution During Homogenization of Al-Si-Mg-Fe-Mn Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priya, Pikee; Johnson, David R.; Krane, Matthew J. M.

2016-09-01

Microstructural evolution during homogenization of Al-Si-Mg-Fe-Mn alloys occurs in two stages at different length scales: while holding at the homogenization temperature (diffusion on the scale of the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) in micrometers) and during quenching to room temperature (dispersoid precipitation at the nanometer to submicron scale). Here a numerical study estimates microstructural changes during both stages. A diffusion-based model developed to simulate evolution at the SDAS length scale predicts homogenization times and microstructures matching experiments. That model is coupled with a Kampmann Wagner Neumann-based precipitate nucleation and growth model to study the effect of temperature, composition, as-cast microstructure, and cooling rates during posthomogenization quenching on microstructural evolution. A homogenization schedule of 853 K (580 °C) for 8 hours, followed by cooling at 250 K/h, is suggested to optimize microstructures for easier extrusion, consisting of minimal α-Al(FeMn)Si, no β-AlFeSi, and Mg2Si dispersoids <1 μm size.

Predicting equilibrium states with Reynolds stress closures in channel flow and homogeneous shear flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abid, R.; Speziale, C. G.

1993-01-01

Turbulent channel flow and homogeneous shear flow have served as basic building block flows for the testing and calibration of Reynolds stress models. A direct theoretical connection is made between homogeneous shear flow in equilibrium and the log-layer of fully-developed turbulent channel flow. It is shown that if a second-order closure model is calibrated to yield good equilibrium values for homogeneous shear flow it will also yield good results for the log-layer of channel flow provided that the Rotta coefficient is not too far removed from one. Most of the commonly used second-order closure models introduce an ad hoc wall reflection term in order to mask deficient predictions for the log-layer of channel flow that arise either from an inaccurate calibration of homogeneous shear flow or from the use of a Rotta coefficient that is too large. Illustrative model calculations are presented to demonstrate this point which has important implications for turbulence modeling.

Predicting equilibrium states with Reynolds stress closures in channel flow and homogeneous shear flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abid, R.; Speziale, C. G.

1992-01-01

Turbulent channel flow and homogeneous shear flow have served as basic building block flows for the testing and calibration of Reynolds stress models. A direct theoretical connection is made between homogeneous shear flow in equilibrium and the log-layer of fully-developed turbulent channel flow. It is shown that if a second-order closure model is calibrated to yield good equilibrium values for homogeneous shear flow it will also yield good results for the log-layer of channel flow provided that the Rotta coefficient is not too far removed from one. Most of the commonly used second-order closure models introduce an ad hoc wall reflection term in order to mask deficient predictions for the log-layer of channel flow that arise either from an inaccurate calibration of homogeneous shear flow or from the use of a Rotta coefficient that is too large. Illustrative model calculations are presented to demonstrate this point which has important implications for turbulence modeling.

A Homogenization Approach for Design and Simulation of Blast Resistant Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheyka, Michael

Structural composites have been used in aerospace and structural engineering due to their high strength to weight ratio. Composite laminates have been successfully and extensively used in blast mitigation. This dissertation examines the use of the homogenization approach to design and simulate blast resistant composites. Three case studies are performed to examine the usefulness of different methods that may be used in designing and optimizing composite plates for blast resistance. The first case study utilizes a single degree of freedom system to simulate the blast and a reliability based approach. The first case study examines homogeneous plates and the optimal stacking sequence and plate thicknesses are determined. The second and third case studies use the homogenization method to calculate the properties of composite unit cell made of two different materials. The methods are integrated with dynamic simulation environments and advanced optimization algorithms. The second case study is 2-D and uses an implicit blast simulation, while the third case study is 3-D and simulates blast using the explicit blast method. Both case studies 2 and 3 rely on multi-objective genetic algorithms for the optimization process. Pareto optimal solutions are determined in case studies 2 and 3. Case study 3 is an integrative method for determining optimal stacking sequence, microstructure and plate thicknesses. The validity of the different methods such as homogenization, reliability, explicit blast modeling and multi-objective genetic algorithms are discussed. Possible extension of the methods to include strain rate effects and parallel computation is also examined.

Homogeneous ice nucleation and supercooled liquid water in orographic wave clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Miloshevich, Larry M.

1993-01-01

This study investigates ice nucleation mechanisms in cold lenticular wave clouds, a cloud type characterized by quasi-steady-state air motions and microphysical properties. It is concluded that homogeneous ice nucleation is responsible for the ice production in these clouds at temperatures below about -33 C. The lack of ice nucleation observed above -33 C indicates a dearth of ice-forming nuclei, and hence heterogeneous ice nucleation, in these clouds. Aircraft measurements in the temperature range -31 to -41 C show the following complement of simultaneous and abrupt changes in cloud properties that indicate a transition from the liquid phase to ice: disappearance of liquid water; decrease in relative humidity from near water saturation to ice saturation; increase in mean particle size; change in particle concentration; and change in temperature due to the release of latent heat. A numerical model of cloud particle growth and homogeneous ice nucleation is used to aid in interpretation of our in situ measurements. The abrupt changes in observed cloud properties compare favorably, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with results from the homogeneous ice nucleation model. It is shown that the homogeneous ice nucleation rates from the measurements are consistent with the temperature-dependent rates employed by the model (within a factor of 100, corresponding to about 1 C in temperature) in the temperature range -35 deg to -38 C. Given the theoretical basis of the modeled rates, it may be reasonable to apply them throughout the -30 to -50 C temperature range considered by the theory.

Effective surface and boundary conditions for heterogeneous surfaces with mixed boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jianwei; Veran-Tissoires, Stéphanie; Quintard, Michel

2016-01-01

To deal with multi-scale problems involving transport from a heterogeneous and rough surface characterized by a mixed boundary condition, an effective surface theory is developed, which replaces the original surface by a homogeneous and smooth surface with specific boundary conditions. A typical example corresponds to a laminar flow over a soluble salt medium which contains insoluble material. To develop the concept of effective surface, a multi-domain decomposition approach is applied. In this framework, velocity and concentration at micro-scale are estimated with an asymptotic expansion of deviation terms with respect to macro-scale velocity and concentration fields. Closure problems for the deviations are obtained and used to define the effective surface position and the related boundary conditions. The evolution of some effective properties and the impact of surface geometry, Péclet, Schmidt and Damköhler numbers are investigated. Finally, comparisons are made between the numerical results obtained with the effective models and those from direct numerical simulations with the original rough surface, for two kinds of configurations.

Effect of high-pressure homogenization on droplet size distribution and rheological properties of ice cream mixes.

PubMed

Innocente, N; Biasutti, M; Venir, E; Spaziani, M; Marchesini, G

2009-05-01

The effect of different homogenization pressures (15/3 MPa and 97/3 MPa) on fat globule size and distribution as well as on structure-property relationships of ice cream mixes was investigated. Dynamic light scattering, steady shear, and dynamic rheological analyses were performed on mixes with different fat contents (5 and 8%) and different aging times (4 and 20 h). The homogenization of ice cream mixes determined a change from bimodal to monomodal particle size distributions and a reduction in the mean particle diameter. Mean fat globule diameters were reduced at higher pressure, but the homogenization effect on size reduction was less marked with the highest fat content. The rheological behavior of mixes was influenced by both the dispersed and the continuous phases. Higher fat contents caused greater viscosity and dynamic moduli. The lower homogenization pressure (15/3 MPa) mainly affected the dispersed phase and resulted in a more pronounced viscosity reduction in the higher fat content mixes. High-pressure homogenization (97/3 MPa) greatly enhanced the viscoelastic properties and the apparent viscosity. Rheological results indicated that unhomogenized and 15/3 MPa homogenized mixes behaved as weak gels. The 97/3 MPa treatment led to stronger gels, perhaps as the overall result of a network rearrangement or interpenetrating network formation, and the fat globules were found to behave as interactive fillers. High-pressure homogenization determined the apparent viscosity of 5% fat to be comparable to that of 8% fat unhomogenized mix.

Autoregressive Processes in Homogenization of GNSS Tropospheric Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klos, A.; Bogusz, J.; Teferle, F. N.; Bock, O.; Pottiaux, E.; Van Malderen, R.

2016-12-01

Offsets due to changes in hardware equipment or any other artificial event are all a subject of a task of homogenization of tropospheric data estimated within a processing of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observables. This task is aimed at identifying exact epochs of offsets and estimate their magnitudes since they may artificially under- or over-estimate trend and its uncertainty delivered from tropospheric data and used in climate studies. In this research, we analysed a common data set of differences of Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) from GPS and ERA-Interim (1995-2010) provided for a homogenization group working within ES1206 COST Action GNSS4SWEC. We analysed daily IWV records of GPS and ERA-Interim in terms of trend, seasonal terms and noise model with Maximum Likelihood Estimation in Hector software. We found that this data has a character of autoregressive process (AR). Basing on this analysis, we performed Monte Carlo simulations of 25 years long data with two different noise types: white as well as combination of white and autoregressive and also added few strictly defined offsets. This synthetic data set of exactly the same character as IWV from GPS and ERA-Interim was then subjected to a task of manual and automatic/statistical homogenization. We made blind tests and detected possible epochs of offsets manually. We found that simulated offsets were easily detected in series with white noise, no influence of seasonal signal was noticed. The autoregressive series were much more problematic when offsets had to be determined. We found few epochs, for which no offset was simulated. This was mainly due to strong autocorrelation of data, which brings an artificial trend within. Due to regime-like behaviour of AR it is difficult for statistical methods to properly detect epochs of offsets, which was previously reported by climatologists.

Homogeneity of Moral Judgment? Apprentices Solving Business Conflicts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beck, Klaus; Heinrichs, Karin; Minnameier, Gerhard; Parche-Kawik, Kirsten

In an ongoing longitudinal study that started in 1994, the moral development of business apprentices is being studied. The focal point of this project is a critical analysis of L. Kohlberg's thesis of homogeneity, according to which people should judge every moral issue from the point of view of their "modal" stage (the most frequently…

Two stroke homogenous charge compression ignition engine with pulsed air supplier

DOEpatents

Clarke, John M.

2003-08-05

A two stroke homogenous charge compression ignition engine includes a volume pulsed air supplier, such as a piston driven pump, for efficient scavenging. The usage of a homogenous charge tends to decrease emissions. The use of a volume pulsed air supplier in conjunction with conventional poppet type intake and exhaust valves results in a relatively efficient scavenging mode for the engine. The engine preferably includes features that permit valving event timing, air pulse event timing and injection event timing to be varied relative to engine crankshaft angle. The principle use of the invention lies in improving diesel engines.

Heat treatment of unclarified Escherichia coli homogenate improved the recovery efficiency of recombinant hepatitis B core antigen.

PubMed

Ng, Michelle Y T; Tan, Wen Siang; Abdullah, Norhafizah; Ling, Tau Chuan; Tey, Beng Ti

2006-10-01

Heat precipitation procedure has been regularly incorporated as a selective purification step in various thermostable proteins expressed in different hosts. This method is efficient in precipitation of most of the host proteins and also deactivates various host proteases that can be harmful to the desired gene products. In this study, introduction of heat treatment procedure in the purification of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) produced in Escherichia coli has been investigated. Thermal treatment of the cell homogenate at 60 degrees C for 30 min prior to subsequent clarification steps has resulted in 1.4 times and 18% higher in purity and recovery yield, respectively, compared to the non-heat-treated cell homogenate. In direct capture of HBcAg by using anion-exchangers from unclarified feedstock, pre-conditioning the feedstock by heat treatment at 60 degrees C for 45 min has increased the recovery yield of HBcAg by 2.9-fold and 42% in purity compared to that treated for 10 min. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis showed that the antigenicity of the core particles was not affected by the heat treatment process.

GOLGI FRACTIONS PREPARED FROM RAT LIVER HOMOGENATES

PubMed Central

Ehrenreich, J. H.; Bergeron, J. J. M.; Siekevitz, P.; Palade, G. E.

1973-01-01

In devising a new procedure for the isolation of Golgi fractions from rat liver homogenates, we have taken advantage of the overloading with very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles that occurs in the Golgi elements of hepatocytes ∼90 min after ethanol is administered (0.6 g/100 g body weight) by stomach tube to the animals. The VLDLs act as morphological markers as well as density modifiers of these elements. The starting preparation is a total microsomal fraction prepared from liver homogenized (1:5) in 0.25 M sucrose. This fraction is resuspended in 1.15 M sucrose and loaded at the bottom of a discontinuous sucrose density gradient. Centrifugation at ∼13 x 106 g·min yields by flotation three Golgi fractions of density >1.041 and <1.173. The light and intermediate fractions consist essentially of VLDL-loaded Golgi vacuoles and cisternae. Nearly empty, often collapsed, Golgi cisternae are the main component of the heavy fraction. A procedure which subjects the Golgi fractions to hypotonic shock and shearing in a French press at pH 8.5 allows the extraction of the content of the Golgi elements and the subsequent isolation of their membranes by differential centrifugation. PMID:4356571

Modified Homogeneous Data Set of Coronal Intensities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorotovič, I.; Minarovjech, M.; Lorenc, M.; Rybanský, M.

2014-07-01

The Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences has published the intensities, recalibrated with respect to a common intensity scale, of the 530.3 nm (Fe xiv) green coronal line observed at ground-based stations up to the year 2008. The name of this publication is Homogeneous Data Set (HDS). We have developed a method that allows one to successfully substitute the ground-based observations by satellite observations and, thus, continue with the publication of the HDS. For this purpose, the observations of the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, were exploited. Among other data the EIT instrument provides almost daily 28.4 nm (Fe xv) emission-line snapshots of the corona. The Fe xiv and Fe xv data (4051 observation days) taken in the period 1996 - 2008 have been compared and good agreement was found. The method to obtain the individual data for the HDS follows from the correlation analysis described in this article. The resulting data, now under the name of Modified Homogeneous Data Set (MHDS), are identical up to 1996 to those in the HDS. The MHDS can be used further for studies of the coronal solar activity and its cycle. These data are available at http://www.suh.sk.

Primary healthcare solo practices: homogeneous or heterogeneous?

PubMed

Pineault, Raynald; Borgès Da Silva, Roxane; Provost, Sylvie; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; Boivin, Antoine; Couture, Audrey; Prud'homme, Alexandre

2014-01-01

Introduction. Solo practices have generally been viewed as forming a homogeneous group. However, they may differ on many characteristics. The objective of this paper is to identify different forms of solo practice and to determine the extent to which they are associated with patient experience of care. Methods. Two surveys were carried out in two regions of Quebec in 2010: a telephone survey of 9180 respondents from the general population and a postal survey of 606 primary healthcare (PHC) practices. Data from the two surveys were linked through the respondent's usual source of care. A taxonomy of solo practices was constructed (n = 213), using cluster analysis techniques. Bivariate and multilevel analyses were used to determine the relationship of the taxonomy with patient experience of care. Results. Four models were derived from the taxonomy. Practices in the "resourceful networked" model contrast with those of the "resourceless isolated" model to the extent that the experience of care reported by their patients is more favorable. Conclusion. Solo practice is not a homogeneous group. The four models identified have different organizational features and their patients' experience of care also differs. Some models seem to offer a better organizational potential in the context of current reforms.

Primary Healthcare Solo Practices: Homogeneous or Heterogeneous?

PubMed Central

Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; Boivin, Antoine; Prud'homme, Alexandre

2014-01-01

Introduction. Solo practices have generally been viewed as forming a homogeneous group. However, they may differ on many characteristics. The objective of this paper is to identify different forms of solo practice and to determine the extent to which they are associated with patient experience of care. Methods. Two surveys were carried out in two regions of Quebec in 2010: a telephone survey of 9180 respondents from the general population and a postal survey of 606 primary healthcare (PHC) practices. Data from the two surveys were linked through the respondent's usual source of care. A taxonomy of solo practices was constructed (n = 213), using cluster analysis techniques. Bivariate and multilevel analyses were used to determine the relationship of the taxonomy with patient experience of care. Results. Four models were derived from the taxonomy. Practices in the “resourceful networked” model contrast with those of the “resourceless isolated” model to the extent that the experience of care reported by their patients is more favorable. Conclusion. Solo practice is not a homogeneous group. The four models identified have different organizational features and their patients' experience of care also differs. Some models seem to offer a better organizational potential in the context of current reforms. PMID:24523964

The Fourier transforms for the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation and Landau equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Fei; Liu, Fang

2018-03-01

In this paper, we study the Fourier transforms for two equations arising in the kinetic theory. The first equation is the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation. The Fourier transform of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation has been first addressed by Bobylev (Sov Sci Rev C Math Phys 7:111-233, 1988) in the Maxwellian case. Alexandre et al. (Arch Ration Mech Anal 152(4):327-355, 2000) investigated the Fourier transform of the gain operator for the Boltzmann operator in the cut-off case. Recently, the Fourier transform of the Boltzmann equation is extended to hard or soft potential with cut-off by Kirsch and Rjasanow (J Stat Phys 129:483-492, 2007). We shall first establish the relation between the results in Alexandre et al. (2000) and Kirsch and Rjasanow (2007) for the Fourier transform of the Boltzmann operator in the cut-off case. Then we give the Fourier transform of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation in the non cut-off case. It is shown that our results cover previous works (Bobylev 1988; Kirsch and Rjasanow 2007). The second equation is the spatially homogeneous Landau equation, which can be obtained as a limit of the Boltzmann equation when grazing collisions prevail. Following the method in Kirsch and Rjasanow (2007), we can also derive the Fourier transform for Landau equation.

Homogenization Theory for the Prediction of Obstructed Solute Diffusivity in Macromolecular Solutions

PubMed Central

Donovan, Preston; Chehreghanianzabi, Yasaman; Rathinam, Muruhan; Zustiak, Silviya Petrova

2016-01-01

The study of diffusion in macromolecular solutions is important in many biomedical applications such as separations, drug delivery, and cell encapsulation, and key for many biological processes such as protein assembly and interstitial transport. Not surprisingly, multiple models for the a-priori prediction of diffusion in macromolecular environments have been proposed. However, most models include parameters that are not readily measurable, are specific to the polymer-solute-solvent system, or are fitted and do not have a physical meaning. Here, for the first time, we develop a homogenization theory framework for the prediction of effective solute diffusivity in macromolecular environments based on physical parameters that are easily measurable and not specific to the macromolecule-solute-solvent system. Homogenization theory is useful for situations where knowledge of fine-scale parameters is used to predict bulk system behavior. As a first approximation, we focus on a model where the solute is subjected to obstructed diffusion via stationary spherical obstacles. We find that the homogenization theory results agree well with computationally more expensive Monte Carlo simulations. Moreover, the homogenization theory agrees with effective diffusivities of a solute in dilute and semi-dilute polymer solutions measured using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Lastly, we provide a mathematical formula for the effective diffusivity in terms of a non-dimensional and easily measurable geometric system parameter. PMID:26731550

Homogenization Theory for the Prediction of Obstructed Solute Diffusivity in Macromolecular Solutions.

PubMed

Donovan, Preston; Chehreghanianzabi, Yasaman; Rathinam, Muruhan; Zustiak, Silviya Petrova

2016-01-01

The study of diffusion in macromolecular solutions is important in many biomedical applications such as separations, drug delivery, and cell encapsulation, and key for many biological processes such as protein assembly and interstitial transport. Not surprisingly, multiple models for the a-priori prediction of diffusion in macromolecular environments have been proposed. However, most models include parameters that are not readily measurable, are specific to the polymer-solute-solvent system, or are fitted and do not have a physical meaning. Here, for the first time, we develop a homogenization theory framework for the prediction of effective solute diffusivity in macromolecular environments based on physical parameters that are easily measurable and not specific to the macromolecule-solute-solvent system. Homogenization theory is useful for situations where knowledge of fine-scale parameters is used to predict bulk system behavior. As a first approximation, we focus on a model where the solute is subjected to obstructed diffusion via stationary spherical obstacles. We find that the homogenization theory results agree well with computationally more expensive Monte Carlo simulations. Moreover, the homogenization theory agrees with effective diffusivities of a solute in dilute and semi-dilute polymer solutions measured using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Lastly, we provide a mathematical formula for the effective diffusivity in terms of a non-dimensional and easily measurable geometric system parameter.

Wear behavioral study of as cast and 7 hr homogenized Al25Mg2Si2Cu4Ni alloy at constant load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harlapur, M. D.; Sondur, D. G.; Akkimardi, V. G.; Mallapur, D. G.

2018-04-01

In the current study, the wear behavior of as cast and 7 hr homogenized Al25Mg2Si2Cu4Ni alloy has been investigated. Microstructure, SEM and EDS results confirm the presence of different intermetallic and their effects on wear properties of Al25Mg2Si2Cu4Ni alloy in as cast as well as aged condition. Alloying main elements like Si, Cu, Mg and Ni partly dissolve in the primary α-Al matrix and to some amount present in the form of intermetallic phases. SEM structure of as cast alloy shows blocks of Mg2Si which is at random distributed in the aluminium matrix. Precipitates of Al2Cu in the form of Chinese script are also observed. Also `Q' phase (Al-Si-Cu-Mg) be distributed uniformly into the aluminium matrix. Few coarsened platelets of Ni are seen. In case of 7 hr homogenized samples blocks of Mg2Si get rounded at the corners, Platelets of Ni get fragmented and distributed uniformly in the aluminium matrix. Results show improved volumetric wear resistance and reduced coefficient of friction after homogenizing heat treatment.

Spectral Imaging from Uavs Under Varying Illumination Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakala, T.; Honkavaara, E.; Saari, H.; Mäkynen, J.; Kaivosoja, J.; Pesonen, L.; Pölönen, I.

2013-08-01

Rapidly developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have provided the remote sensing community with a new rapidly deployable tool for small area monitoring. The progress of small payload UAVs has introduced greater demand for light weight aerial payloads. For applications requiring aerial images, a simple consumer camera provides acceptable data. For applications requiring more detailed spectral information about the surface, a new Fabry-Perot interferometer based spectral imaging technology has been developed. This new technology produces tens of successive images of the scene at different wavelength bands in very short time. These images can be assembled in spectral data cubes with stereoscopic overlaps. On field the weather conditions vary and the UAV operator often has to decide between flight in sub optimal conditions and no flight. Our objective was to investigate methods for quantitative radiometric processing of images taken under varying illumination conditions, thus expanding the range of weather conditions during which successful imaging flights can be made. A new method that is based on insitu measurement of irradiance either in UAV platform or in ground was developed. We tested the methods in a precision agriculture application using realistic data collected in difficult illumination conditions. Internal homogeneity of the original image data (average coefficient of variation in overlapping images) was 0.14-0.18. In the corrected data, the homogeneity was 0.10-0.12 with a correction based on broadband irradiance measured in UAV, 0.07-0.09 with a correction based on spectral irradiance measurement on ground, and 0.05-0.08 with a radiometric block adjustment based on image data. Our results were very promising, indicating that quantitative UAV based remote sensing could be operational in diverse conditions, which is prerequisite for many environmental remote sensing applications.

Homogenization of the Brush Problem with a Source Term in L 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudiello, Antonio; Guibé, Olivier; Murat, François

2017-07-01

We consider a domain which has the form of a brush in 3 D or the form of a comb in 2 D, i.e. an open set which is composed of cylindrical vertical teeth distributed over a fixed basis. All the teeth have a similar fixed height; their cross sections can vary from one tooth to another and are not supposed to be smooth; moreover the teeth can be adjacent, i.e. they can share parts of their boundaries. The diameter of every tooth is supposed to be less than or equal to ɛ, and the asymptotic volume fraction of the teeth (as ɛ tends to zero) is supposed to be bounded from below away from zero, but no periodicity is assumed on the distribution of the teeth. In this domain we study the asymptotic behavior (as ɛ tends to zero) of the solution of a second order elliptic equation with a zeroth order term which is bounded from below away from zero, when the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition is satisfied on the whole of the boundary. First, we revisit the problem where the source term belongs to L 2. This is a classical problem, but our homogenization result takes place in a geometry which is more general that the ones which have been considered before. Moreover we prove a corrector result which is new. Then, we study the case where the source term belongs to L 1. Working in the framework of renormalized solutions and introducing a definition of renormalized solutions for degenerate elliptic equations where only the vertical derivative is involved (such a definition is new), we identify the limit problem and prove a corrector result.

Homogeneous-oxide stack in IGZO thin-film transistors for multi-level-cell NAND memory application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Hao; Wei, Yehui; Zhang, Xinlei; Jiang, Ran

2017-11-01

A nonvolatile charge-trap-flash memory that is based on amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors was fabricated with a homogeneous-oxide structure for a multi-level-cell application. All oxide layers, i.e., tunneling layer, charge trapping layer, and blocking layer, were fabricated with Al2O3 films. The fabrication condition (including temperature and deposition method) of the charge trapping layer was different from those of the other oxide layers. This device demonstrated a considerable large memory window of 4 V between the states fully erased and programmed with the operation voltage less than 14 V. This kind of device shows a good prospect for multi-level-cell memory applications.

Homogeneous Grouping and the Individualization of Instruction in Remedial Reading in an Intermediate School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Thomas F.

A remedial reading program designed for intermediate-grade students who read from 1 to 7 years below grade level was studied. The program provided individualized instruction within classes homogeneously grouped on the basis of reading level only. Six seventh-grade classes were studied, with three acting as homogeneously grouped experimental…

CO2-assisted high pressure homogenization: a solvent-free process for polymeric microspheres and drug-polymer composites.

PubMed

Kluge, Johannes; Mazzotti, Marco

2012-10-15

The study explores the enabling role of near-critical CO(2) as a reversible plasticizer in the high pressure homogenization of polymer particles, aiming at their comminution as well as at the formation of drug-polymer composites. First, the effect of near-critical CO(2) on the homogenization of aqueous suspensions of poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) was investigated. Applying a pressure drop of 900 bar and up to 150 passes across the homogenizer, it was found that particles processed in the presence of CO(2) were generally of microspherical morphology and at all times significantly smaller than those obtained in the absence of a plasticizer. The smallest particles, exhibiting a median x(50) of 1.3 μm, were obtained by adding a small quantity of ethyl acetate, which exerts on PLGA an additional plasticizing effect during the homogenization step. Further, the study concerns the possibility of forming drug-polymer composites through simultaneous high pressure homogenization of the two relevant solids, and particularly the effect of near-critical CO(2) on this process. Therefore, PLGA was homogenized together with crystalline S-ketoprofen (S-KET), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, at a drug to polymer ratio of 1:10, a pressure drop of 900 bar and up to 150 passes across the homogenizer. When the process was carried out in the presence of CO(2), an impregnation efficiency of 91% has been reached, corresponding to 8.3 wt.% of S-KET in PLGA; moreover, composite particles were of microspherical morphology and significantly smaller than those obtained in the absence of CO(2). The formation of drug-polymer composites through simultaneous homogenization of the two materials is thus greatly enhanced by the presence of CO(2), which increases the efficiency for both homogenization and impregnation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Some low homogenization pressures improve certain probiotic characteristics of yogurt culture bacteria and Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-K.

PubMed

Muramalla, T; Aryana, K J

2011-08-01

Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus are dairy cultures widely used in the manufacture of cultured dairy products. Commonly used homogenization pressures in the dairy industry are 13.80 MPa or less. It is not known whether low homogenization pressures can stimulate bacteria to improve their probiotic characteristics. Objectives were to determine the effect of homogenization at 0, 3.45, 6.90, 10.34, and 13.80 MPa on acid tolerance, bile tolerance, protease activity, and growth of L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LB-12, S. salivarius ssp. thermophilus ST-M5, and L. acidophilus LA-K. The cultures were individually inoculated in cool autoclaved skim milk (4°C) and homogenized for 5 continuous passes. Growth and bile tolerance of samples were determined hourly for 10h of incubation. Acid tolerance was determined every 20 min for 120 min of incubation. Protease activity was determined at 0, 12, and 24h of incubation. All homogenization pressures studied improved acid tolerance of L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LB-12 but had no beneficial effect on protease activity and had negative effects on growth and bile tolerance. A pressure of 6.90 MPa improved acid tolerance, bile tolerance, and protease activity of S. salivarius ssp. thermophilus ST-M5, but none of the homogenization pressures studied had an effect on its growth. Homogenization pressures of 13.80 and 6.90 MPa improved acid tolerance and bile tolerance, respectively, of L. acidophilus LA-K but had no effect on protease activity and its growth. Some low homogenization pressures positively influenced some characteristics of yogurt culture bacteria and L. acidophilus LA-K. Culture pretreatment with some low homogenization pressures can be recommended for improvement of certain probiotic characteristics. Copyright © 2011 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effective inactivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in minimally processed Makgeolli using low-pressure homogenization-based pasteurization.

PubMed

Bak, Jin Seop

2015-01-01

In order to address the limitations associated with the inefficient pasteurization platform used to make Makgeolli, such as the presence of turbid colloidal dispersions in suspension, commercially available Makgeolli was minimally processed using a low-pressure homogenization-based pasteurization (LHBP) process. This continuous process demonstrates that promptly reducing the exposure time to excessive heat using either large molecules or insoluble particles can dramatically improve internal quality and decrease irreversible damage. Specifically, optimal homogenization increased concomitantly with physical parameters such as colloidal stability (65.0% of maximum and below 25-μm particles) following two repetitions at 25.0 MPa. However, biochemical parameters such as microbial population, acidity, and the presence of fermentable sugars rarely affected Makgeolli quality. Remarkably, there was a 4.5-log reduction in the number of Saccharomyces cerevisiae target cells at 53.5°C for 70 sec in optimally homogenized Makgeolli. This value was higher than the 37.7% measured from traditionally pasteurized Makgeolli. In contrast to the analytical similarity among homogenized Makgeollis, our objective quality evaluation demonstrated significant differences between pasteurized (or unpasteurized) Makgeolli and LHBP-treated Makgeolli. Low-pressure homogenization-based pasteurization, Makgeolli, minimal processing-preservation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suspension stability.

Analytical Solution for Time-drawdown Response to Constant Pumping from a Homogeneous, Confined Horizontal Aquifer with Unidirectional Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parrish, K. E.; Zhang, J.; Teasdale, E.

2007-12-01

An exact analytical solution to the ordinary one-dimensional partial differential equation is derived for transient groundwater flow in a homogeneous, confined, horizontal aquifer using Laplace transformation. The theoretical analysis is based on the assumption that the aquifer is homogeneous and one-dimensional (horizontal); confined between impermeable formations on top and bottom; and of infinite horizontal extent and constant thickness. It is also assumed that there is only a single pumping well penetrating the entire aquifer; flow is everywhere horizontal within the aquifer to the well; the well is pumping with a constant discharge rate; the well diameter is infinitesimally small; and the hydraulic head is uniform throughout the aquifer before pumping. Similar to the Theis solution, this solution is suited to determine transmissivity and storativity for a two- dimensional, vertically confined aquifer, such as a long vertically fractured zone of high permeability within low permeable rocks or a long, high-permeability trench inside a low-permeability porous media. In addition, it can be used to analyze time-drawdown responses to pumping and injection in similar settings. The solution can also be used to approximate the groundwater flow for unconfined conditions if (1) the variation of transmissivity is negligible (groundwater table variation is small in comparison to the saturated thickness); and (2) the unsaturated flow is negligible. The errors associated with the use of the solution to unconfined conditions depend on the accuracies of the above two assumptions. The solution can also be used to assess the impacts of recharge from a seasonal river or irrigation canal on the groundwater system by assuming uniform, time- constant recharge along the river or canal. This paper presents the details for derivation of the analytical solution. The analytical solution is compared to numerical simulation results with example cases. Its accuracy is also assessed and

Symmetry Breaking Drift of Particles Settling in Homogeneous Shear Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Hinsberg, M. A. T.; Clercx, H. J. H.; Toschi, Federico

2016-08-01

We investigate the influence of shear on the gravitational settling of heavy inertial particles in homogeneous shear turbulence (HST). In addition to the well-known enhanced settling velocity, observed for heavy inertial particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT), a horizontal drift velocity is also observed in the shearing direction due to the presence of a nonzero mean vorticity (introducing symmetry breaking due to the mean shear). This drift velocity is due to the combination of shear, gravity, and turbulence, and all three of these elements are needed for this effect to occur. We extend the mechanism responsible for the enhanced settling velocity in HIT to the case of HST. Two separate regimes are observed, characterized by positive or negative drift velocity, depending on the particle settling velocity.

Modification of enzymes by use of high-pressure homogenization.

PubMed

Dos Santos Aguilar, Jessika Gonçalves; Cristianini, Marcelo; Sato, Helia Harumi

2018-07-01

High-pressure is an emerging and relatively new technology that can modify various molecules. High-pressure homogenization (HPH) has been used in several studies on protein modification, especially in enzymes used or found in food, from animal, plant or microbial resources. According to the literature, the enzymatic activity can be modulated under pressure causing inactivation, stabilization or activation of the enzymes, which, depending on the point of view could be very useful. Homogenization can generate changes in the structure of the enzyme modifying various chemical bonds (mainly weak bonds) causing different denaturation levels and, consequently, affecting the catalytic activity. This review aims to describe the various alterations due to HPH treatment in enzymes, to show the influence of high-pressure on proteins and to report the HPH effects on the enzymatic activity of different enzymes employed in the food industry and research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Homogeneity study of fixed-point continuous marine environmental and meteorological data: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jinkun; Yang, Yang; Miao, Qingsheng; Dong, Mingmei; Wan, Fangfang

2018-02-01

The principle of inhomogeneity and the classification of homogeneity test methods are briefly described, and several common inhomogeneity methods and relative merits are described in detail. Then based on the applications of the different homogeneity methods to the ground meteorological data and marine environment data, the present status and the progress are reviewed. At present, the homogeneity research of radiosonde and ground meteorological data is mature at home and abroad, and the research and application in the marine environmental data should also be given full attention. To carry out a variety of test and correction methods combined with the use of multi-mode test system, will make the results more reasonable and scientific, and also can be used to provide accurate first-hand information for the coastal climate change researches.

II. MORE THAN JUST CONVENIENT: THE SCIENTIFIC MERITS OF HOMOGENEOUS CONVENIENCE SAMPLES.

PubMed

Jager, Justin; Putnick, Diane L; Bornstein, Marc H

2017-06-01

Despite their disadvantaged generalizability relative to probability samples, nonprobability convenience samples are the standard within developmental science, and likely will remain so because probability samples are cost-prohibitive and most available probability samples are ill-suited to examine developmental questions. In lieu of focusing on how to eliminate or sharply reduce reliance on convenience samples within developmental science, here we propose how to augment their advantages when it comes to understanding population effects as well as subpopulation differences. Although all convenience samples have less clear generalizability than probability samples, we argue that homogeneous convenience samples have clearer generalizability relative to conventional convenience samples. Therefore, when researchers are limited to convenience samples, they should consider homogeneous convenience samples as a positive alternative to conventional (or heterogeneous) convenience samples. We discuss future directions as well as potential obstacles to expanding the use of homogeneous convenience samples in developmental science. © 2017 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Effect of Homogenization on the Corrosion Behavior of Al-Mg Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yin; Hung, Yuanchun; Du, Zhiyong; Xiao, Zhengbing; Jia, Guangze

2018-04-01

The effect of homogenization on the corrosion behavior of 5083-O aluminum alloy is presented in this paper. The intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion were used to characterize the discussed corrosion behavior of 5083-O aluminum alloy. The variations in the morphology, the kind and distribution of the precipitates, and the dislocation configurations in the samples after the homogenization were evaluated using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of the highly active grain boundary character distribution and the types of constituent particles on the corrosion are discussed on the basis of experimental observations. The results indicated that the corrosion behavior of 5083-O alloy was closely related to the microstructure obtained by the heat treatment. Homogenization carried out after casting had the optimal effect on the overall corrosion resistance of the material. Nevertheless, all samples could satisfy the requirements of corrosion resistance in marine applications.

Substrate specificity and pH dependence of homogeneous wheat germ acid phosphatase.

PubMed

Van Etten, R L; Waymack, P P

1991-08-01

The broad substrate specificity of a homogeneous isoenzyme of wheat germ acid phosphatase (WGAP) was extensively investigated by chromatographic, electrophoretic, NMR, and kinetic procedures. WGAP exhibited no divalent metal ion requirement and was unaffected upon incubation with EDTA or o-phenanthroline. A comparison of two catalytically homogeneous isoenzymes revealed little difference in substrate specificity. The specificity of WGAP was established by determining the Michaelis constants for a wide variety of substrates. p-Nitrophenyl phosphate, pyrophosphate, tripolyphosphate, and ATP were preferred substrates while lesser activities were seen toward sugar phosphates, trimetaphosphate, phosphoproteins, and (much less) phosphodiesters. An extensive table of Km and Vmax values is given. The pathway for the hydrolysis of trimetaphosphate was examined by colorimetric and 31P NMR methods and it was found that linear tripolyphosphate is not a free intermediate in the enzymatic reaction. In contrast to literature reports, homogeneous wheat germ acid phosphatase exhibits no measurable carboxylesterase activity, nor does it hydrolyze phenyl phosphonothioate esters or phytic acid at significant rates.

Recent Regional Climate State and Change - Derived through Downscaling Homogeneous Large-scale Components of Re-analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Von Storch, H.; Klehmet, K.; Geyer, B.; Li, D.; Schubert-Frisius, M.; Tim, N.; Zorita, E.

2015-12-01

Global re-analyses suffer from inhomogeneities, as they process data from networks under development. However, the large-scale component of such re-analyses is mostly homogeneous; additional observational data add in most cases to a better description of regional details and less so on large-scale states. Therefore, the concept of downscaling may be applied to homogeneously complementing the large-scale state of the re-analyses with regional detail - wherever the condition of homogeneity of the large-scales is fulfilled. Technically this can be done by using a regional climate model, or a global climate model, which is constrained on the large scale by spectral nudging. This approach has been developed and tested for the region of Europe, and a skillful representation of regional risks - in particular marine risks - was identified. While the data density in Europe is considerably better than in most other regions of the world, even here insufficient spatial and temporal coverage is limiting risk assessments. Therefore, downscaled data-sets are frequently used by off-shore industries. We have run this system also in regions with reduced or absent data coverage, such as the Lena catchment in Siberia, in the Yellow Sea/Bo Hai region in East Asia, in Namibia and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Also a global (large scale constrained) simulation has been. It turns out that spatially detailed reconstruction of the state and change of climate in the three to six decades is doable for any region of the world.The different data sets are archived and may freely by used for scientific purposes. Of course, before application, a careful analysis of the quality for the intended application is needed, as sometimes unexpected changes in the quality of the description of large-scale driving states prevail.

Cooperative Learning: Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Grouping of Iranian EFL Learners in a Writing Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamani, Mona

2016-01-01

One of the important aspects of learning and teaching through cooperation is the group composition or grouping "who with whom". An unresolved issue is that of the superiority of heterogeneity or homogeneity in the structure of the groups. The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact that homogeneous and heterogeneous…

Etude experimentale des excitations topologiques de l'effet Hall quantique a nu = 1 dans les heterostructures semiconductrices a double puits quantique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlebois, Serge

De nombreux travaux theoriques et experimentaux ont ete publies sur les excitations topologiques de gaz electroniques bidimensionnels (GE2D), appellees skyrmions, dans le regime de l'effet Hall quantique a remplissage unitaire. On attend des excitations semblables appellees bimerons dans les systemes formes de deux GE2D couples. Contrairement au cas des GE2D simples, aucune experience n'a, a notre connaissance, presente la mesure d'une propriete specifique aux bimerons. Nous presentons dans cette these des travaux experimentaux ayant pour objectif l'etude d'excitations topologiques dans les heterostructures a double puits quantique. Une manifestation attendue (les bimerons est la presence d'une anisotropie dans la conductivite a travers une constriction. Nous avons concu un dispositif original a point de contact a trois grilles non-coplanaires. Ce dispositif a trois grilles a la particularite de permettre la creation d'une constriction etroite dans le double GE2D tout en permettant l'equilibrage de la densite electronique entre les deux puits dans l'etroit canal de conduction. Nous avons fabrique ce dispositif de taille submicronique par electrolithographie sur des heterostructures a double puits. Les dispositifs ainsi fabriques ont ete etudies a basse temperature (0.3K) et ont montre un fonctionnement conforme aux attentes. Les travaux n'ont pas permis de mettre en evidence une anisotropie de transport revelatrice de l'existence de bimerons. Cette these est a notre connaissance la premiere etude experimentale visant la realisation de l'experience d'anisotropie de transport et est ainsi une contribution significative a l'avancement des connaissances dans ce domaine. Les travaux theoriques que nous presentons ont permis de montrer l'effet des excitations topologiques sur la capacite grille-GE2D du systeme. Ces travaux ouvrent la voie de la detection des bimerons par l'intermediaire de la mesure de la capacite grille-GE2D ou encore de la susceptibilite electrique du

Etude hyperfrequence et ultrasonore des supraconducteurs organiques kappa-(ET)(2)X (X = copper(thiocyanogen), copper[N(CN)(2)]bromine)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frikach, Kamal

2001-09-01

Dans ce travail je presente une etude de l'impedance de surface, ainsi que de l'attenuation et la variation de la vitesse ultrasonores dans les etats normal et supraconducteur sur les composes organiques k-(ET)2X (X = Cu(SCN) 2, Cu[N(CN)2]Br). A partir des mesures d'impedance de surface, les deux composantes sigma 1 et sigma2 de la conductivite complexe sont extraites en utilisant le modele de Drude. Ces mesures montrent que la symetrie du parametre d'ordre dans ces composes est differente de celle du cas BCS. Afin de comprendre le profil de sigma1 (T) nous avons etudie les fluctuations supraconductrices a partir de la paraconductivite sigma'( T). Cette etude est rendue possible grace a la structure quasi-2D des composes k-(ET)2X dans lesquelles les fluctuations supraconductrices sont fortes. Ces dernieres sont observees sur deux decades de temperatures dans le Cu(SCN)2. L'application du modele de Aslamazov-Larkin 2D et 3D montre la possibilite du passage du regime 2D a haute temperature au regime 3D au voisinage de Tc. En se basant sur ce resultat, nous avons calcule la paraconductivite en utilisant une approche a l'ordre d'une boucle a partir du modele de Lawrence-Doniach. En tenant compte de la correction par la self energie dans la limite dynamique (17 GHz), l'ajustement de la paraconductivite calculee est en bon accord avec les donnees experimentales. Le couplage interplan obtenu est compatible avec le caractere quasi-2D des composes organiques. Le temps de relaxation des quasi-particules dans l'etat supraconducteur est ensuite extrait pour la premiere fois dans ces composes dont le comportement en fonction de la temperature est compatible avec la presence des noeuds dans le gap. Dans l'etat normal, la variation de la vitesse ultrasonore presente un comportement anormal caracterise par un fort ramollissement a T = 38 K et 50 K dans k-(ET) 2Cu(SCN)2 et k-(ET)2Cu[N(CN) 2]Br respectivement dont l'amplitude est independante du champ magnetique jusqu'a H = Hc 2

Parameter transferability within homogeneous regions and comparisons with predictions from a priori parameters in the eastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chouaib, Wafa; Alila, Younes; Caldwell, Peter V.

2018-05-01

The need for predictions of flow time-series persists at ungauged catchments, motivating the research goals of our study. By means of the Sacramento model, this paper explores the use of parameter transfer within homogeneous regions of similar climate and flow characteristics and makes comparisons with predictions from a priori parameters. We assessed the performance using the Nash-Sutcliffe (NS), bias, mean monthly hydrograph and flow duration curve (FDC). The study was conducted on a large dataset of 73 catchments within the eastern US. Two approaches to the parameter transferability were developed and evaluated; (i) the within homogeneous region parameter transfer using one donor catchment specific to each region, (ii) the parameter transfer disregarding the geographical limits of homogeneous regions, where one donor catchment was common to all regions. Comparisons between both parameter transfers enabled to assess the gain in performance from the parameter regionalization and its respective constraints and limitations. The parameter transfer within homogeneous regions outperformed the a priori parameters and led to a decrease in bias and increase in efficiency reaching a median NS of 0.77 and a NS of 0.85 at individual catchments. The use of FDC revealed the effect of bias on the inaccuracy of prediction from parameter transfer. In one specific region, of mountainous and forested catchments, the prediction accuracy of the parameter transfer was less satisfactory and equivalent to a priori parameters. In this region, the parameter transfer from the outsider catchment provided the best performance; less-biased with smaller uncertainty in medium flow percentiles (40%-60%). The large disparity of energy conditions explained the lack of performance from parameter transfer in this region. Besides, the subsurface stormflow is predominant and there is a likelihood of lateral preferential flow, which according to its specific properties further explained the reduced

On Euler's Theorem for Homogeneous Functions and Proofs Thereof.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tykodi, R. J.

1982-01-01

Euler's theorem for homogenous functions is useful when developing thermodynamic distinction between extensive and intensive variables of state and when deriving the Gibbs-Duhem relation. Discusses Euler's theorem and thermodynamic applications. Includes six-step instructional strategy for introducing the material to students. (Author/JN)

Boundary element modelling of dynamic behavior of piecewise homogeneous anisotropic elastic solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Igumnov, L. A.; Markov, I. P.; Litvinchuk, S. Yu

2018-04-01

A traditional direct boundary integral equations method is applied to solve three-dimensional dynamic problems of piecewise homogeneous linear elastic solids. The materials of homogeneous parts are considered to be generally anisotropic. The technique used to solve the boundary integral equations is based on the boundary element method applied together with the Radau IIA convolution quadrature method. A numerical example of suddenly loaded 3D prismatic rod consisting of two subdomains with different anisotropic elastic properties is presented to verify the accuracy of the proposed formulation.

Bounded energy states in homogeneous turbulent shear flow: An alternative view

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernard, Peter S.; Speziale, Charles G.

1990-01-01

The equilibrium structure of homogeneous turbulent shear flow is investigated from a theoretical standpoint. Existing turbulence models, in apparent agreement with physical and numerical experiments, predict an unbounded exponential time growth of the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate; only the anisotropy tensor and turbulent time scale reach a structural equilibrium. It is shown that if vortex stretching is accounted for in the dissipation rate transport equation, then there can exist equilibrium solutions, with bounded energy states, where the turbulence production is balanced by its dissipation. Illustrative calculations are present for a k-epsilon model modified to account for vortex stretching. The calculations indicate an initial exponential time growth of the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate for elapsed times that are as large as those considered in any of the previously conducted physical or numerical experiments on homogeneous shear flow. However, vortex stretching eventually takes over and forces a production-equals-dissipation equilibrium with bounded energy states. The validity of this result is further supported by an independent theoretical argument. It is concluded that the generally accepted structural equilibrium for homogeneous shear flow with unbounded component energies is in need of re-examination.

Understanding homogeneous nucleation in solidification of aluminum by molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahata, Avik; Asle Zaeem, Mohsen; Baskes, Michael I.

2018-02-01

Homogeneous nucleation from aluminum (Al) melt was investigated by million-atom molecular dynamics simulations utilizing the second nearest neighbor modified embedded atom method potentials. The natural spontaneous homogenous nucleation from the Al melt was produced without any influence of pressure, free surface effects and impurities. Initially isothermal crystal nucleation from undercooled melt was studied at different constant temperatures, and later superheated Al melt was quenched with different cooling rates. The crystal structure of nuclei, critical nucleus size, critical temperature for homogenous nucleation, induction time, and nucleation rate were determined. The quenching simulations clearly revealed three temperature regimes: sub-critical nucleation, super-critical nucleation, and solid-state grain growth regimes. The main crystalline phase was identified as face-centered cubic, but a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) and an amorphous solid phase were also detected. The hcp phase was created due to the formation of stacking faults during solidification of Al melt. By slowing down the cooling rate, the volume fraction of hcp and amorphous phases decreased. After the box was completely solid, grain growth was simulated and the grain growth exponent was determined for different annealing temperatures.

Homogeneous spectral spanning of terahertz semiconductor lasers with radio frequency modulation.

PubMed

Wan, W J; Li, H; Zhou, T; Cao, J C

2017-03-08

Homogeneous broadband and electrically pumped semiconductor radiation sources emitting in the terahertz regime are highly desirable for various applications, including spectroscopy, chemical sensing, and gas identification. In the frequency range between 1 and 5 THz, unipolar quantum cascade lasers employing electron inter-subband transitions in multiple-quantum-well structures are the most powerful semiconductor light sources. However, these devices are normally characterized by either a narrow emission spectrum due to the narrow gain bandwidth of the inter-subband optical transitions or an inhomogeneous broad terahertz spectrum from lasers with heterogeneous stacks of active regions. Here, we report the demonstration of homogeneous spectral spanning of long-cavity terahertz semiconductor quantum cascade lasers based on a bound-to-continuum and resonant phonon design under radio frequency modulation. At a single drive current, the terahertz spectrum under radio frequency modulation continuously spans 330 GHz (~8% of the central frequency), which is the record for single plasmon waveguide terahertz lasers with a bound-to-continuum design. The homogeneous broadband terahertz sources can be used for spectroscopic applications, i.e., GaAs etalon transmission measurement and ammonia gas identification.

Directed Thermal Diffusions through Metamaterial Source Illusion with Homogeneous Natural Media

PubMed Central

Xu, Guoqiang; Zhang, Haochun; Jin, Liang

2018-01-01

Owing to the utilization of transformation optics, many significant research and development achievements have expanded the applications of illusion devices into thermal fields. However, most of the current studies on relevant thermal illusions used to reshape the thermal fields are dependent of certain pre-designed geometric profiles with complicated conductivity configurations. In this paper, we propose a methodology for designing a new class of thermal source illusion devices for achieving directed thermal diffusions with natural homogeneous media. The employments of the space rotations in the linear transformation processes allow the directed thermal diffusions to be independent of the geometric profiles, and the utilization of natural homogeneous media improve the feasibility. Four schemes, with fewer types of homogeneous media filling the functional regions, are demonstrated in transient states. The expected performances are observed in each scheme. The related performance are analyzed by comparing the thermal distribution characteristics and the illusion effectiveness on the measured lines. The findings obtained in this paper see applications in the development of directed diffusions with minimal thermal loss, used in novel “multi-beam” thermal generation, thermal lenses, solar receivers, and waveguide. PMID:29671833

Homogeneous spectral spanning of terahertz semiconductor lasers with radio frequency modulation

PubMed Central

Wan, W. J.; Li, H.; Zhou, T.; Cao, J. C.

2017-01-01

Homogeneous broadband and electrically pumped semiconductor radiation sources emitting in the terahertz regime are highly desirable for various applications, including spectroscopy, chemical sensing, and gas identification. In the frequency range between 1 and 5 THz, unipolar quantum cascade lasers employing electron inter-subband transitions in multiple-quantum-well structures are the most powerful semiconductor light sources. However, these devices are normally characterized by either a narrow emission spectrum due to the narrow gain bandwidth of the inter-subband optical transitions or an inhomogeneous broad terahertz spectrum from lasers with heterogeneous stacks of active regions. Here, we report the demonstration of homogeneous spectral spanning of long-cavity terahertz semiconductor quantum cascade lasers based on a bound-to-continuum and resonant phonon design under radio frequency modulation. At a single drive current, the terahertz spectrum under radio frequency modulation continuously spans 330 GHz (~8% of the central frequency), which is the record for single plasmon waveguide terahertz lasers with a bound-to-continuum design. The homogeneous broadband terahertz sources can be used for spectroscopic applications, i.e., GaAs etalon transmission measurement and ammonia gas identification. PMID:28272492

Etude energetique et modelisation d'un Systeme Hybride Eolien-Diesel avec stockage d'Air Comprime (SHEDAC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, Nicolas

Actuellement le Canada et plus specialement le Quebec, comptent une multitude de sites isoles dont !'electrification est assuree essentiellement par des generatrices diesel a cause, principalement, de l'eloignement du reseau central de disuibution electrique. Bien que consideree comme une source fiable et continue, 1 'utilisation des generatrices diesel devient de plus en plus problematique d'un point de vue energetique, economique et environnemental. Dans le but d'y resoudre et de proposer une methode d'approvisionnement plus performante, mains onereuse et plus respectueuse de l'environnement, l'usage des energies renouvelables est devenu indispensable. Differents travaux ont alors demontre que le couplage de ces energies avec des generauices diesel, formant des systemes hybrides, semble etre une des meilleures solutions. Parmi elles, le systeme hybride eolien-diesel avec stockage par air comprime (SHEDAC) se presente comme une configuration optimale pour 1 'electrification des sites isoles. En effet, differentes etudes ont permis de mettre en avant l'efficacite du stockage par air comprime, par rapport a d'autres technologies de stockage, en complement d'un systeme hybride eolien-diesel. Plus precisement, ce systeme se compose de sous-systemes qui sont: des eoliennes, des generatrices diesel et une chaine de compression et de stockage d'air comprime qui est ensuite utilisee pour suralimenter les generatrices. Ce processus permet ainsi de reduire Ia consommation en carburant tout en agrandissant la part d'energie renouvelable dans Ia production electrique. A ce jour, divers travaux de recherche ont pennis de demontrer I' efficacite d 'un tel systeme et de presenter une variete de configurations possibles. A travers ce memoire, un logiciel de dimensionnement energetique y est elabore dans le but d'unifom1iser !'approche energetique de cette technologie. Cet outil se veut etre une innovation dans le domaine puisqu'il est actuellement impossible de dimensionner un

Numerical experiments in homogeneous turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogallo, R. S.

1981-01-01

The direct simulation methods developed by Orszag and Patternson (1972) for isotropic turbulence were extended to homogeneous turbulence in an incompressible fluid subjected to uniform deformation or rotation. The results of simulations for irrotational strain (plane and axisymmetric), shear, rotation, and relaxation toward isotropy following axisymmetric strain are compared with linear theory and experimental data. Emphasis is placed on the shear flow because of its importance and because of the availability of accurate and detailed experimental data. The computed results are used to assess the accuracy of two popular models used in the closure of the Reynolds-stress equations. Data from a variety of the computed fields and the details of the numerical methods used in the simulation are also presented.

Effect of homogenous-heterogeneous reactions on MHD Prandtl fluid flow over a stretching sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Imad; Malik, M. Y.; Hussain, Arif; Salahuddin, T.

An analysis is performed to explore the effects of homogenous-heterogeneous reactions on two-dimensional flow of Prandtl fluid over a stretching sheet. In present analysis, we used the developed model of homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions in boundary layer flow. The mathematical configuration of presented flow phenomenon yields the nonlinear partial differential equations. Using scaling transformations, the governing partial differential equations (momentum equation and homogenous-heterogeneous reactions equations) are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations (ODE's). Then, resulting non-linear ODE's are solved by computational scheme known as shooting method. The quantitative and qualitative manners of concerned physical quantities (velocity, concentration and drag force coefficient) are examined under prescribed physical constrained through figures and tables. It is observed that velocity profile enhances verses fluid parameters α and β while Hartmann number reduced it. The homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions parameters have reverse effects on concentration profile. Concentration profile shows retarding behavior for large values of Schmidt number. Skin fraction coefficient enhances with increment in Hartmann number H and fluid parameter α .

Compressible homogeneous shear: Simulation and modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarkar, S.; Erlebacher, G.; Hussaini, M. Y.

1992-01-01

Compressibility effects were studied on turbulence by direct numerical simulation of homogeneous shear flow. A primary observation is that the growth of the turbulent kinetic energy decreases with increasing turbulent Mach number. The sinks provided by compressible dissipation and the pressure dilatation, along with reduced Reynolds shear stress, are shown to contribute to the reduced growth of kinetic energy. Models are proposed for these dilatational terms and verified by direct comparison with the simulations. The differences between the incompressible and compressible fields are brought out by the examination of spectra, statistical moments, and structure of the rate of strain tensor.

Compressible homogeneous shear - Simulation and modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarkar, S.; Erlebacher, G.; Hussaini, M. Y.

1991-01-01

Compressibility effects were studied on turbulence by direct numerical simulation of homogeneous shear flow. A primary observation is that the growth of the turbulent kinetic energy decreases with increasing turbulent Mach number. The sinks provided by compressible dissipation and the pressure dilatation, along with reduced Reynolds shear stress, are shown to contribute to the reduced growth of kinetic energy. Models are proposed for these dilatational terms and verified by direct comparison with the simulations. The differences between the incompressible and compressible fields are brought out by the examination of spectra, statistical moments, and structure of the rate of strain tensor.

Homogeneous quantum electrodynamic turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shebalin, John V.

1992-01-01

The electromagnetic field equations and Dirac equations for oppositely charged wave functions are numerically time-integrated using a spatial Fourier method. The numerical approach used, a spectral transform technique, is based on a continuum representation of physical space. The coupled classical field equations contain a dimensionless parameter which sets the strength of the nonlinear interaction (as the parameter increases, interaction volume decreases). For a parameter value of unity, highly nonlinear behavior in the time-evolution of an individual wave function, analogous to ideal fluid turbulence, is observed. In the truncated Fourier representation which is numerically implemented here, the quantum turbulence is homogeneous but anisotropic and manifests itself in the nonlinear evolution of equilibrium modal spatial spectra for the probability density of each particle and also for the electromagnetic energy density. The results show that nonlinearly interacting fermionic wave functions quickly approach a multi-mode, dynamic equilibrium state, and that this state can be determined by numerical means.

Kinetics of homogeneous nucleation on many-component systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirschfelder, J. O.

1974-01-01

Reiss's (1950) classical treatment of the kinetics of homogeneous nucleation in a system containing two chemical components is extended to many-component systems. The formulation is analogous to the pseudostationary-state theory of chemical reaction rates, with the free energy as a function of the composition of the embryo taking the place of the potential energy as a function of interatomic distances.

Kinetics of homogeneous nucleation in many component systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirschfelder, J. O.

1974-01-01

Reiss's classical treatment of the kinetics of homogeneous nucleation in a system containing two chemical components is extended to many-component systems. The formulation is analogous to the pseudo-stationary state theory of chemical reaction rates with the free energy as a function of the composition of the embryo taking the place of the potential energy as a function of interatomic distances.

Assessing the homogenization of urban land management with an application to US residential lawn care

PubMed Central

Polsky, Colin; Grove, J. Morgan; Knudson, Chris; Groffman, Peter M.; Bettez, Neil; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Hall, Sharon J.; Heffernan, James B.; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Larson, Kelli L.; Morse, Jennifer L.; Neill, Christopher; Nelson, Kristen C.; Ogden, Laura A.; O’Neil-Dunne, Jarlath; Pataki, Diane E.; Roy Chowdhury, Rinku; Steele, Meredith K.

2014-01-01

Changes in land use, land cover, and land management present some of the greatest potential global environmental challenges of the 21st century. Urbanization, one of the principal drivers of these transformations, is commonly thought to be generating land changes that are increasingly similar. An implication of this multiscale homogenization hypothesis is that the ecosystem structure and function and human behaviors associated with urbanization should be more similar in certain kinds of urbanized locations across biogeophysical gradients than across urbanization gradients in places with similar biogeophysical characteristics. This paper introduces an analytical framework for testing this hypothesis, and applies the framework to the case of residential lawn care. This set of land management behaviors are often assumed—not demonstrated—to exhibit homogeneity. Multivariate analyses are conducted on telephone survey responses from a geographically stratified random sample of homeowners (n = 9,480), equally distributed across six US metropolitan areas. Two behaviors are examined: lawn fertilizing and irrigating. Limited support for strong homogenization is found at two scales (i.e., multi- and single-city; 2 of 36 cases), but significant support is found for homogenization at only one scale (22 cases) or at neither scale (12 cases). These results suggest that US lawn care behaviors are more differentiated in practice than in theory. Thus, even if the biophysical outcomes of urbanization are homogenizing, managing the associated sustainability implications may require a multiscale, differentiated approach because the underlying social practices appear relatively varied. The analytical approach introduced here should also be productive for other facets of urban-ecological homogenization. PMID:24616515

Nano-catalysts: Bridging the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis

EPA Science Inventory

Functionalized nanoparticles have emerged as sustainable alternatives to conventional materials, as robust, high-surface-area heterogeneous catalyst supports. We envisioned a catalyst system, which can bridge the homogenous and heterogeneous system. Postsynthetic surface modifica...

Exploring the Kibble-Zurek mechanism with homogeneous Bose gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beugnon, Jérôme; Navon, Nir

2017-01-01

Out-of-equilibrium phenomena are a subject of considerable interest in many fields of physics. Ultracold quantum gases, which are extremely clean, well-isolated and highly controllable systems, offer ideal platforms to investigate this topic. The recent progress in tailoring trapping potentials now allows the experimental production of homogeneous samples in custom geometries, which is a key advance for studies of the emergence of coherence in interacting quantum systems. Here we review recent experiments in which temperature quenches have been performed across the Bose-Einstein condensation phase transition in an annular geometry and in homogeneous 3D and quasi-2D gases. Combined, these experiments comprehensively explore and validate the Kibble-Zurek (KZ) scenario through complementary measurements of correlation functions and density of topological defects. They allow the measurement of KZ scaling laws, the direct confirmation of the ‘freeze-out’ hypothesis that underlies the KZ theory, and the extraction of critical exponents of the Bose-Einstein condensation transition.

Using homogenization, sonication and thermo-sonication to inactivate fungi

PubMed Central

Bevilacqua, Antonio; Sinigaglia, Milena; Corbo, Maria Rosaria

2016-01-01

Ultrasound (US), Thermo-sonication (TS) and High Pressure Homogenization (HPH) were studied as tools to inactivate the spores of Penicillium spp. and Mucor spp. inoculated in distilled water. For US, the power ranged from 40% to 100%, pulse from 2 to 10 s, and duration of the treatment from 2 to 10 min. TS was performed combining US (40–80% of power, for 8 min and pulse of 2 s) with a thermal treatment (50, 55 and 60°C at 4, 8 and 12 min). Homogenization was done at 30–150 MPa for 1, 2 and 3 times. Power was the most important factors to determine the antifungal effect of US and TS towards the conidia of Penicillium spp.; on the other hand, in US treatments Mucor spp. was also affected by pulse and time. HPH exerted a significant antifungal effect only if the highest pressures were applied for 2–3 times. PMID:27375964

Homogeneous AlGaN/GaN superlattices grown on free-standing (1100) GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shao, Jiayi; Malis, Oana; Physics Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

Two-dimensional and homogeneous growth of m-plane AlGaN by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been realized on free-standing (1100) GaN substrates by implementing high metal-to-nitrogen (III/N) flux ratio. AlN island nucleation, often reported for m-plane AlGaN under nitrogen-rich growth conditions, is suppressed at high III/N flux ratio, highlighting the important role of growth kinetics for adatom incorporation. The homogeneity and microstructure of m-plane AlGaN/GaN superlattices are assessed via a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The predominant defects identified in dark field TEM characterization are short basal plane stacking faults (SFs) bounded by eithermore » Frank-Shockley or Frank partial dislocations. In particular, the linear density of SFs is approximately 5 × 10{sup −5} cm{sup −1}, and the length of SFs is less than 15 nm.« less

Averaging principle for second-order approximation of heterogeneous models with homogeneous models.

PubMed

Fibich, Gadi; Gavious, Arieh; Solan, Eilon

2012-11-27

Typically, models with a heterogeneous property are considerably harder to analyze than the corresponding homogeneous models, in which the heterogeneous property is replaced by its average value. In this study we show that any outcome of a heterogeneous model that satisfies the two properties of differentiability and symmetry is O(ε(2)) equivalent to the outcome of the corresponding homogeneous model, where ε is the level of heterogeneity. We then use this averaging principle to obtain new results in queuing theory, game theory (auctions), and social networks (marketing).

Averaging principle for second-order approximation of heterogeneous models with homogeneous models

PubMed Central

Fibich, Gadi; Gavious, Arieh; Solan, Eilon

2012-01-01

Typically, models with a heterogeneous property are considerably harder to analyze than the corresponding homogeneous models, in which the heterogeneous property is replaced by its average value. In this study we show that any outcome of a heterogeneous model that satisfies the two properties of differentiability and symmetry is O(ɛ2) equivalent to the outcome of the corresponding homogeneous model, where ɛ is the level of heterogeneity. We then use this averaging principle to obtain new results in queuing theory, game theory (auctions), and social networks (marketing). PMID:23150569

A homogeneous focusing system for diode lasers and its applications in metal surface modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fei; Zhong, Lijing; Tang, Xiahui; Xu, Chengwen; Wan, Chenhao

2018-06-01

High power diode lasers are applied in many different areas, including surface modification, welding and cutting. It is an important technical trend in laser processing of metals in the future. This paper aims to analyze the impact of the shape and homogeneity of the focal spot of the diode laser on surface modification. A focusing system using the triplet lenses for a direct output diode laser which can be used to eliminate coma aberrations is studied. A rectangular stripe with an aspect ratio from 8:1 to 25:1 is obtained, in which the power is homogeneously distributed along the fast axis, the power is 1117.6 W and the peak power intensity is 1.1587 × 106 W/cm2. This paper also presents a homogeneous focusing system by use of a Fresnel lens, in which the incident beam size is 40 × 40 mm2, the focal length is 380 mm, and the dimension of the obtained focal spot is 2 × 10 mm2. When the divergence angle of the incident light is in the range of 12.5-20 mrad and the pitch is 1 mm, the obtained homogeneity in the focal spot is the optimum (about 95.22%). Experimental results show that the measured focal spot size is 2.04 × 10.39 mm2. This research presents a novel design of homogeneous focusing systems for high power diode lasers.

Concordance and discordance between taxonomic and functional homogenization: responses of soil mite assemblages to forest conversion.

PubMed

Mori, Akira S; Ota, Aino T; Fujii, Saori; Seino, Tatsuyuki; Kabeya, Daisuke; Okamoto, Toru; Ito, Masamichi T; Kaneko, Nobuhiro; Hasegawa, Motohiro

2015-10-01

The compositional characteristics of ecological assemblages are often simplified; this process is termed "biotic homogenization." This process of biological reorganization occurs not only taxonomically but also functionally. Testing both aspects of homogenization is essential if ecosystem functioning supported by a diverse mosaic of functional traits in the landscape is concerned. Here, we aimed to infer the underlying processes of taxonomic/functional homogenization at the local scale, which is a scale that is meaningful for this research question. We recorded species of litter-dwelling oribatid mites along a gradient of forest conversion from a natural forest to a monoculture larch plantation in Japan (in total 11 stands), and collected data on the functional traits of the recorded species to quantify functional diversity. We calculated the taxonomic and functional β-diversity, an index of biotic homogenization. We found that both the taxonomic and functional β-diversity decreased with larch dominance (stand homogenization). After further deconstructing β-diversity into the components of turnover and nestedness, which reflect different processes of community organization, a significant decrease in the response to larch dominance was observed only for the functional turnover. As a result, there was a steeper decline in the functional β-diversity than the taxonomic β-diversity. This discordance between the taxonomic and functional response suggests that species replacement occurs between species that are functionally redundant under environmental homogenization, ultimately leading to the stronger homogenization of functional diversity. The insights gained from community organization of oribatid mites suggest that the functional characteristics of local assemblages, which support the functionality of ecosystems, are of more concern in human-dominated forest landscapes.

Reaction-space analysis of homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion with varying levels of fuel stratification under positive and negative valve overlap conditions

DOE PAGES

Kodavasal, Janardhan; Lavoie, George A.; Assanis, Dennis N.; ...

2015-10-26

Full-cycle computational fluid dynamics simulations with gasoline chemical kinetics were performed to determine the impact of breathing and fuel injection strategies on thermal and compositional stratification, combustion and emissions during homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion. The simulations examined positive valve overlap and negative valve overlap strategies, along with fueling by port fuel injection and direct injection. The resulting charge mass distributions were analyzed prior to ignition using ignition delay as a reactivity metric. The reactivity stratification arising from differences in the distributions of fuel–oxygen equivalence ratio (Φ FO), oxygen molar fraction (χ O2) and temperature (T) was determined for threemore » parametric studies. In the first study, the reactivity stratification and burn duration for positive valve overlap valve events with port fuel injection and early direct injection were nearly identical and were dominated by wall-driven thermal stratification. nitrogen oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were negligible for both injection strategies. In the second study, which examined negative valve overlap valve events with direct injection and port fuel injection, reactivity stratification increased for direct injection as the Φ FO and T distributions associated with direct fuel injection into the hot residual gas were positively correlated; however, the latent heat absorbed from the hot residual gas by the evaporating direct injection fuel jet reduced the overall thermal and reactivity stratification. These stratification effects were offsetting, resulting in similar reactivity stratification and burn durations for the two injection strategies. The higher local burned gas temperatures with direct injection resulted in an order of magnitude increase in NO, while incomplete combustion of locally over-lean regions led to a sevenfold increase in CO emissions compared to port fuel injection. The final

Class Management and Homogeneous Grouping in Kindergarten Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Guanglei; Pelletier, Janette; Hong, Yihua; Corter, Carl

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is two-fold. Firstly the authors examine, given the amount of time allocated to literacy instruction, whether homogeneous grouping helps improve class manageability over the kindergarten year and whether individual students' externalizing problem behaviors will decrease in tandem. Secondly, they investigate whether the…

Homogeneous and heterogenized iridium water oxidation catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macchioni, Alceo

2014-10-01

The development of an efficient catalyst for the oxidative splitting of water into molecular oxygen, protons and electrons is of key importance for producing solar fuels through artificial photosynthesis. We are facing the problem by means of a rational approach aimed at understanding how catalytic performance may be optimized by the knowledge of the reaction mechanism of water oxidation and the fate of the catalytic site under the inevitably harsh oxidative conditions. For the purposes of our study we selected iridium water oxidation catalysts, exhibiting remarkable performance (TOF > 5 s-1 and TON > 20000). In particular, we recently focused our attention on [Cp*Ir(N,O)X] (N,O = 2-pyridincarboxylate; X = Cl or NO3) and [IrCl(Hedta)]Na water oxidation catalysts. The former exhibited a remarkable TOF whereas the latter showed a very high TON. Furthermore, [IrCl(Hedta)]Na was heterogenized onto TiO2 taking advantage of the presence of a dandling -COOH functionality. The heterogenized catalyst maintained approximately the same catalytic activity of the homogeneous analogous with the advantage that could be reused many times. Mechanistic studies were performed in order to shed some light on the rate-determining step and the transformation of catalysts when exposed to "oxidative stress". It was found that the last oxidative step, preceding oxygen liberation, is the rate-determining step when a small excess of sacrificial oxidant is used. In addition, several intermediates of the oxidative transformation of the catalyst were intercepted and characterized by NMR, X-Ray diffractometry and ESI-MS.

Cheese milk low homogenization enhanced early lipolysis and volatiles compounds production in hard cooked cheeses.

PubMed

Vélez, María A; Hynes, Erica R; Meinardi, Carlos A; Wolf, Verónica I; Perotti, María C

2017-06-01

Homogenization applied to cheese milk has shown to increase lipolysis but its use is not spread as it can induce detrimental effects. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of low-pressure homogenization of the cream followed by pre-incubation of cheese milk on the composition, ripening index, lipolysis and volatile profiles of hard cooked cheeses. For that, control and experimental miniature Reggianito cheeses were made and analyzed during ripening (3, 45 and 90days). Homogenization had no impact on composition and proteolysis. An acceleration of the lipolysis reaction was clearly noticed in cheeses made with homogenized milk at the beginning of ripening, while both type of cheeses reached similar levels at 90days. We found the level of several compounds derived from fatty acid catabolism were noticeably influenced by the treatment applied: straight-chain aldehydes such as hexanal, heptanal and nonanal and methylketones from C 5 to C 9 were preferentially formed in experimental cheeses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated healthcare information system for end-to-end standardized exchange and homogeneous management of digital ECG formats.

PubMed

Trigo, Jesús Daniel; Martínez, Ignacio; Alesanco, Alvaro; Kollmann, Alexander; Escayola, Javier; Hayn, Dieter; Schreier, Günter; García, José

2012-07-01

This paper investigates the application of the enterprise information system (EIS) paradigm to standardized cardiovascular condition monitoring. There are many specifications in cardiology, particularly in the ECG standardization arena. The existence of ECG formats, however, does not guarantee the implementation of homogeneous, standardized solutions for ECG management. In fact, hospital management services need to cope with various ECG formats and, moreover, several different visualization applications. This heterogeneity hampers the normalization of integrated, standardized healthcare information systems, hence the need for finding an appropriate combination of ECG formats and a suitable EIS-based software architecture that enables standardized exchange and homogeneous management of ECG formats. Determining such a combination is one objective of this paper. The second aim is to design and develop the integrated healthcare information system that satisfies the requirements posed by the previous determination. The ECG formats selected include ISO/IEEE11073, Standard Communications Protocol for Computer-Assisted Electrocardiography, and an ECG ontology. The EIS-enabling techniques and technologies selected include web services, simple object access protocol, extensible markup language, or business process execution language. Such a selection ensures the standardized exchange of ECGs within, or across, healthcare information systems while providing modularity and accessibility.

Non-periodic homogenization of 3-D elastic media for the seismic wave equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cupillard, Paul; Capdeville, Yann

2018-05-01

Because seismic waves have a limited frequency spectrum, the velocity structure of the Earth that can be extracted from seismic records has a limited resolution. As a consequence, one obtains smooth images from waveform inversion, although the Earth holds discontinuities and small scales of various natures. Within the last decade, the non-periodic homogenization method shed light on how seismic waves interact with small geological heterogeneities and `see' upscaled properties. This theory enables us to compute long-wave equivalent density and elastic coefficients of any media, with no constraint on the size, the shape and the contrast of the heterogeneities. In particular, the homogenization leads to the apparent, structure-induced anisotropy. In this paper, we implement this method in 3-D and show 3-D tests for the very first time. The non-periodic homogenization relies on an asymptotic expansion of the displacement and the stress involved in the elastic wave equation. Limiting ourselves to the order 0, we show that the practical computation of an upscaled elastic tensor basically requires (i) to solve an elastostatic problem and (ii) to low-pass filter the strain and the stress associated with the obtained solution. The elastostatic problem consists in finding the displacements due to local unit strains acting in all directions within the medium to upscale. This is solved using a parallel, highly optimized finite-element code. As for the filtering, we rely on the finite-element quadrature to perform the convolution in the space domain. We end up with an efficient numerical tool that we apply on various 3-D models to test the accuracy and the benefit of the homogenization. In the case of a finely layered model, our method agrees with results derived from Backus. In a more challenging model composed by a million of small cubes, waveforms computed in the homogenized medium fit reference waveforms very well. Both direct phases and complex diffracted waves are

Global Well-posedness of the Spatially Homogeneous Kolmogorov-Vicsek Model as a Gradient Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figalli, Alessio; Kang, Moon-Jin; Morales, Javier

2018-03-01

We consider the so-called spatially homogenous Kolmogorov-Vicsek model, a non-linear Fokker-Planck equation of self-driven stochastic particles with orientation interaction under the space-homogeneity. We prove the global existence and uniqueness of weak solutions to the equation. We also show that weak solutions exponentially converge to a steady state, which has the form of the Fisher-von Mises distribution.

Environmental Conditions of Surface Soils and Biomass Prevailing in the Training Area at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-26

sur Ia caracterisation environnementale de leurs secteurs d’entrainement majeurs afin d’ameliorer les connaissances des impacts de tous les types...et geographique. En 2001, Ia premiere phase de cette etude a consiste en la caracterisation hydrogeologique partielle dans la portion nord du...secteur d’entrainement. Cette premiere phase a implique le forage de 42 puits, afin de caracteriser la dynamique et la qualite des eaux souterraines. En

HOMPRA Europe - A gridded precipitation data set from European homogenized time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rustemeier, Elke; Kapala, Alice; Meyer-Christoffer, Anja; Finger, Peter; Schneider, Udo; Venema, Victor; Ziese, Markus; Simmer, Clemens; Becker, Andreas

2017-04-01

Reliable monitoring data are essential for robust analyses of climate variability and, in particular, long-term trends. In this regard, a gridded, homogenized data set of monthly precipitation totals - HOMPRA Europe (HOMogenized PRecipitation Analysis of European in-situ data)- is presented. The data base consists of 5373 homogenized monthly time series, a carefully selected subset held by the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC). The chosen series cover the period 1951-2005 and contain less than 10% missing values. Due to the large number of data, an automatic algorithm had to be developed for the homogenization of these precipitation series. In principal, the algorithm is based on three steps: * Selection of overlapping station networks in the same precipitation regime, based on rank correlation and Ward's method of minimal variance. Since the underlying time series should be as homogeneous as possible, the station selection is carried out by deterministic first derivation in order to reduce artificial influences. * The natural variability and trends were temporally removed by means of highly correlated neighboring time series to detect artificial break-points in the annual totals. This ensures that only artificial changes can be detected. The method is based on the algorithm of Caussinus and Mestre (2004). * In the last step, the detected breaks are corrected monthly by means of a multiple linear regression (Mestre, 2003). Due to the automation of the homogenization, the validation of the algorithm is essential. Therefore, the method was tested on artificial data sets. Additionally the sensitivity of the method was tested by varying the neighborhood series. If available in digitized form, the station history was also used to search for systematic errors in the jump detection. Finally, the actual HOMPRA Europe product is produced by interpolation of the homogenized series onto a 1° grid using one of the interpolation schems operationally at GPCC

Fabrication of Homogeneous High-Density Antibody Microarrays for Cytokine Detection

PubMed Central

Hospach, Ingeborg; Joseph, Yvonne; Mai, Michaela Kathrin; Krasteva, Nadejda; Nelles, Gabriele

2014-01-01

Cytokine proteins are known as biomarker molecules, characteristic of a disease or specific body condition. Monitoring of the cytokine pattern in body fluids can contribute to the diagnosis of diseases. Here we report on the development of an array comprised of different anti-cytokine antibodies on an activated solid support coupled with a fluorescence readout mechanism. Optimization of the array preparation was done in regard of spot homogeneity and spot size. The proinflammatory cytokines Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFα) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) were chosen as the first targets of interest. First, the solid support for covalent antibody immobilization and an adequate fluorescent label were selected. Three differently functionalized glass substrates for spotting were compared: amine and epoxy, both having a two-dimensional structure, and the NHS functionalized hydrogel (NHS-3D). The NHS-hydrogel functionalization of the substrate was best suited to antibody immobilization. Then, the optimization of plotting parameters and geometry as well as buffer media were investigated, considering the ambient analyte theory of Roger Ekins. As a first step towards real sample studies, a proof of principle of cytokine detection has been established. PMID:27600349