Atmospheric aerosol profiling with a bistatic imaging lidar system

Atmospheric aerosols have been profiled using a simple, imaging, bistatic lidar system. A vertical laser beam is imaged onto a charge-coupled-device camera from the ground to the zenith with a wide-angle lens (CLidar). The altitudes are derived geometrically from the position of the camera and laser with submeter resolution near the ground. The system requires no overlap correction needed in monostatic lidar systems and needs a much smaller dynamic range. Nighttime measurements of both molecular and aerosol scattering were made at Mauna Loa Observatory. The CLidar aerosol total scatter compares very well with a nephelometer measuring at 10 m above the ground. The results build on earlier work that compared purely molecular scattered light to theory, and detail instrument improvements.     

Stabilization of nickel and chromium in sewage sludge during aerobic composting

The speciation of heavy metals can play a major role in the toxicity of those metals in sewage sludge following land application. Tessier sequential extraction was used to investigate the changes in Ni and Cr speciation in sewage sludge treated by forced-aeration composting. Ni and Cr concentrations increased 30.4% and 36.0%, respectively, during the composting process, with H(2)O and CO(2) volatilization being a major contributor to the change. It was found that the exchangeable, carbonate-bound, Fe-Mn oxide-bound, and organic matter-bound Ni and Cr were transformed to residual fractions. For Cr, the carbonate-bound, Fe-Mn oxide-bound, and organic matter-bound fractions were major contributors, while organic matter-bound Ni was a major contributor to the residual fraction. Composting appeared to reduce Ni and Cr availability by stabilizing the two metals and making them more stable and less mobile.     

An efficient approach to converting three-dimensional image data into highly accurate computational models

Image-based meshing is opening up exciting new possibilities for the application of computational continuum mechanics methods (finite-element and computational fluid dynamics) to a wide range of biomechanical and biomedical problems that were previously intractable owing to the difficulty in obtaining suitably realistic models. Innovative surface and volume mesh generation techniques have recently been developed, which convert three-dimensional imaging data, as obtained from magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, micro-CT and ultrasound, for example, directly into meshes suitable for use in physics-based simulations. These techniques have several key advantages, including the ability to robustly generate meshes for topologies of arbitrary complexity (such as bioscaffolds or composite micro-architectures) and with any number of constituent materials (multi-part modelling), providing meshes in which the geometric accuracy of mesh domains is only dependent on the image accuracy (image-based accuracy) and the ability for certain problems to model material inhomogeneity by assigning the properties based on image signal strength. Commonly used mesh generation techniques will be compared with the proposed enhanced volumetric marching cubes (EVoMaCs) approach and some issues specific to simulations based on three-dimensional image data will be discussed. A number of case studies will be presented to illustrate how these techniques can be used effectively across a wide range of problems from characterization of micro-scaffolds through to head impact modelling.     

sigma- and pi-defects at graphene nanoribbon edges: building spin filters

The presence of certain kinds of defects at the edges of monohydrogenated zigzag graphene nanoribbons changes dramatically the charge transport properties inducing a spin-polarized conductance. Using an approach based on density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function formalism to calculate the transmittance, we classify the defects in different classes depending on their distinct transport properties: (i) sigma-defects, which do not affect the transmittance close to the Fermi energy (EF); and (ii) pi-defects, which cause a spin polarization of the transmittance and that can be further divided into either electron or hole defects if the spin transport polarization results in larger transmittance for the up or down spin channel, respectively.     

国内外简讯11则

△近日,青岛双星轮胎工业有限公司被国家质量监督检验检疫总局评定为出口分类管理一类企业。此前,该公司已连续被评为商检二类企业、出口报检便捷通关企业等。公司晋升为商检一类企业后,降低了通关年批次抽检率,可实现随产随出随报关,有利于双星轮胎产品结构向高档化、专业化、     

国内外简讯15则

近日，山东三工橡胶有限公司获得山东省诸城市“2006年度贡献奖”和“2006年度高新技术奖”。2006年公司克服原材料价格上涨等困难，实现了快速、健康、稳定发展。     

国内外简讯13则

△全钢子午线轮胎成型机在科技部发布的《中国高新技术产品目录2006》榜上有名。其序号为02010030;界定条件为:由定型鼓、机架床体、供料系统、传动系统、液压系统以及电控系统组成,成型钢丝圈直径444.5~622.3mm,成型轮胎规格8.25R20~12.00R20,误差±2.0mm。在根据技术水平和应     

Mice embryology: A microscopic overview

In this work, we studied the embryology of mice of 12, 14, and 18 days of gestation by gross observation, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Grossly, the embryos of 12 days were observed in C‐shaped region of the brain, eye pigmentation of the retina, first, second, and third pharyngeal arches gill pit nasal region on the fourth ventricle brain, cervical curvature, heart, liver, limb bud thoracic, spinal cord, tail, umbilical cord, and place of the mesonephric ridge. Microscopically, the liver, cardiovascular system and spinal cord were observed. In the embryo of 14 days, we observed structures that make up the liver and heart. At 18 days of gestation fetuses, it was noted the presence of eyes, mouth, and nose in the cephalic region, chest and pelvic region with the presence of well‐developed limbs, umbilical cord, and placenta. Scanning electron microscopy in 18 days of gestation fetuses evidenced head, eyes closed eyelids, nose, vibrissae, forelimb, heart, lung, kidney, liver, small bowel, diaphragm, and part of the spine. The results obtained in this work describe the internal and external morphology of mice, provided by an integration of techniques and review of the morphological knowledge of the embryonic development of this species, as this animal is of great importance to scientific studies. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.