Microfabrication of Transition-Edge Sensor Arrays of Microcalorimeters with <Superscript>163</Superscript>Ho for Direct Neutrino Mass Measurements with HOLMES

HOLMES is aiming at a direct measurement of neutrino mass by performing a calorimetric measurement of the energy released in the decay of ¹⁶³Ho. In such approach, the ¹⁶³Ho source, with the required activity, needs to be embedded in the detector. HOLMES will deploy a large array of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeters with implanted ¹⁶³Ho ions. While good progress has been made in optimizing single pixel design and fabrication to achieve the target resolution, a major challenge is the fabrication of arrays of such microcalorimeters with the required amount of ¹⁶³Ho ions embedded in the detectors absorber. We describe the multi-step microfabrication process implemented to produce the detector arrays for HOLMES. One crucial part of such process is the ability to perform co-deposition of gold during the ¹⁶³Ho implantation process on the detectors absorber. We describe the UHV target chamber, with integrated gold deposition system, we have built to achieve this goal.     

Contamination test of metal and non‐metal elements from copper gas pipe to food gases

In the last decade, EC regulations have been issued to minimize any interaction between packaging materials intended to come in contact with foodstuffs and potential contaminants. In this paper, the concentrations of 26 metals and metalloids in a food gas (CO₂), possibly related to the migration of elements from copper pipes, which are commonly used during gas storage and distribution, were determined by ICP‐AES and ICP‐MS. A simple, though efficient, procedure to chemically trap these elements has shown that the copper pipes do not release significant concentrations of metals and metalloids, most of them being below or clustering below or around the instrumental detection limit. According to this study, only Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Zn can be related to the copper line. However, when considering the consumption of 3 L of water, at which 12 g/L of CO₂ is added, the computed concentrations of metals and metalloids are 3 to 6 orders of magnitude lower than the limit concentrations in mineral waters intended for human consumption (European Directive 98/83/EC). This implies that the amount of contaminants in CO₂ introduced in the human body is negligible.     

Quality of government and regional resilience in the European Union. Evidence from the Great Recession

This paper examines the relationship between quality of government and regional resilience in the European Union during the Great Recession. The results show that the quality of government is an important factor when shaping the regional reaction to the crisis. Our estimates reveal that higher quality of government is associated with greater regional resilience over the Great Recession. This is partly due to the role played in this context by spatial spillovers induced by the quality of government in neighbouring regions. The observed link between governance and regional resilience is robust to the inclusion in the analysis of different explanatory variables that may affect both government quality and regional resilience. Likewise, our findings do not depend on the specific dimension of governance considered, the estimation method or the econometric specification employed to capture the nature of spatial spillovers.     

Photocurable bulk epoxy resins based on resorcinol derivative through cationic polymerization

Bio-sourced epoxy resins from resorcinol diglycidyl ether (RDGE) have been obtained by using cationic photopolymerization under UV-light exposure. The photoinduced bulk resin samples were characterized by three-point bending tests, dynamic mechanical analysis, as well as differential scanning calorimetry analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The influence of processing parameters, that is, reactant contents, UV irradiation time, and postcuring conditions on the thermomechanical behavior has been pointed out. For instance, the flexural modulus of the most performing materials reaches 4.1 GPa with the flexural strength and the glass-transition temperature of around 105 MPa and 99°C, respectively. Interestingly, our optimized protocol has led to the synthesis of new bio-based materials with more valuable thermal and mechanical properties than those of thermocured materials obtained from petroleum-based commercial epoxy resins. Focus has been given on processing parameters to optimize the final properties of the material and to open an interesting alternative for sustainable building materials.     

Functional interrelationships between carbohydrate and lipid storage,and mitochondrial activity during sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae under conditions of nutrient stress, meiosis precedes the formation of spores. Although the molecular mechanisms that regulate meiosis, such as meiotic recombination and nuclear divisions, have been extensively studied, the metabolic factors that determine the efficiency of sporulation are less understood. Here, we have directly assessed the relationship between metabolic stores and sporulation in S. cerevisiae by genetically disrupting the synthetic pathways for the carbohydrate stores, glycogen (gsy1/2Δ cells), trehalose (tps1Δ cells), or both (gsy1/2Δ and tps1Δ cells). We show that storage carbohydrate-deficient strains are highly inefficient in sporulation. Although glycogen and trehalose stores can partially compensate for each other, they have differential effects on sporulation rate and spore number. Interestingly, deletion of the G₁ cyclin, CLN3, which resulted in an increase in cell size, mitochondria and lipid stores, partially rescued meiosis progression and spore ascus formation but not spore number in storage carbohydrate-deficient strains. Sporulation efficiency in the carbohydrate-deficient strain exhibited a greater dependency on mitochondrial activity and lipid stores than wild-type yeast. Taken together, our results provide new insights into the complex crosstalk between metabolic factors that support gametogenesis.     

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CRACK TIP DEFORMATION FOR SHORT AND LONG FATIGUE CRACKS

Abstract— The behaviour of physical short mode I cracks under constant amplitude cyclic loading was investigated both numerically and experimentally. A dynamic two-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element technique was utilised to simulate cyclic crack tip plastic deformation. Different idealisations were investigated. Both stationary and artificially advanced long and short cracks were analysed. A parameter which characterises the plastically deformed crack tip zone, the strain field generated within that zone and the opening and closure of the crack tip were considered. The growth of physically short mode I cracks under constant amplitude fully reversed fatigue loading was investigated experimentally using conventional cast steel EN-9 specimens. Based on a numerical analysis, a crack tip deformation parameter was devised to correlate fatigue crack propagation rates.     

A seismic optimization procedure for reinforced concrete framed buildings based on eigenfrequency optimization

Several seismic optimization methods have been proposed to improve the performance of reinforced concrete framed (RCF) buildings; however, they have not been widely adopted among practising engineers because they require complex nonlinear models and are computationally expensive. This article presents a procedure to improve the seismic performance of RCF buildings based on eigenfrequency optimization, which is effective, simple to implement and efficient. The method is used to optimize a 10-storey regular building, and its effectiveness is demonstrated by nonlinear time history analyses, which show important reductions in storey drifts and lateral displacements compared to a non-optimized building. A second example for an irregular six-storey building demonstrates that the method provides benefits to a wide range of RCF structures and supports the applicability of the proposed method.