Characterizing the Influence of Water on Charging and Layering at Electrified Ionic‐Liquid/Solid Interfaces

The importance of water on molecular ion structuring and charging mechanism of solid interfaces in room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) is unclear and has been largely ignored. Water may alter structures, charging characteristics, and hence performance at electrified solid/RTIL interfaces and is utilized in various fields including energy storage, conversion, or catalysis. Here, atomic force microscopy and surface forces apparatus experiments are utilized to directly measure how water alters the interfacial structuring and charging characteristics of [C₂mim][Tf₂N] on mica and electrified gold surfaces. On hydrophilic and ionophobic mica surfaces, water‐saturated [C₂mim][Tf₂N] dissolves surface‐bound cations, which leads to high surface charging and strong layering. In contrast, layering of dry RTIL at weakly charged mica surfaces is weakly structured. At electrified, hydrophobic, and ionophilic gold electrodes, significant water effects are found only at positive applied electrochemical potentials. Here, the influence of water is limited to interactions within the RTIL layers, and is not related to a direct electrosorption of water on the polarized electrode. More generally, the results suggest that effects of water on interfacial structuring of RTIL strongly depend on both (1) surface charging mechanism and (2) interfacial wetting properties. This may greatly impact utilization/design of RTILs and surfaces for interface‐dominated processes.     

On the baseline evolution of automobile fuel economy in Europe

‘Business as usual’ scenarios in long-term energy forecasts are crucial for scenario-based policy analyses. This article focuses on fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks, a long-disputed issue with serious implications for worldwide energy use and CO₂ emissions. The current status in Europe is explained and future developments are analysed with the aid of historical data of the last three decades from the United States and Europe. As a result of this analysis, fuel economy values are proposed for use as assumptions in baseline energy/transport scenarios in the 15 ‘old’ European Union Member States. Proposed values are given for new gasoline and diesel cars and for the years 2010, 2020 and 2030. The increasing discrepancy between vehicle fuel consumption measured under test conditions and that in the real world is also considered. One main conclusion is that the European Commission's voluntary agreement with the automobile industry should not be assumed to fully achieve its target under baseline conditions, nor should it be regarded as a major stimulus for autonomous vehicle efficiency improvements after 2010. A second conclusion is that three very recent studies enjoying authority across the EU tend to be overly optimistic as regards the technical progress for conventional and alternative vehicle propulsion technologies under ‘business as usual’ conditions.     

Involvement of phospholipids in apolipoprotein B modification during low density lipoprotein oxidation

An increased amount of phospholipids remained attached on delipidated apolipoprotein B originated from oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL). ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of such apolipoprotein showed an organic phosphorus peak at −0.55 ppm, which suggests the formation of adducts (most probably Schiff bases) of oxidized phospholipids with apolipoprotein B. The above reaction occurs in parallel with the hydrolysis of oxidized phospholipids, catalyzed by the LDL-attached platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase, and may contribute to the proatherogenic effect of oxidatively modified low density lipoprotein.     

Variability in upper motor neurone-type dysarthria: an examination of five cases with dysarthria following cerebrovascular accident

The degree of diversity in the nature and extent of the physiological deficits which occur in subjects with dysarthria with similar neurological damage is demonstrated through the individual assessment profiles of five subjects with dysarthria following upper motor neurone (UMN) damage. The perceptual profiles of each subject were compiled using perceptual ratings of deviant speech parameters, intelligibility ratings from the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (ASSIDS), and perceptual judgements of subsystem function determined from the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (FDA). For each individual, the perceptual profile of their speech impairments was compared and contrasted with the objective results of spirometric and kinematic assessments of respiratory function aerodynamic and electroglottographic evaluations of laryngeal function, pressure and strain gauge evaluations of articulatory function, and nasal accelerometric assessments of nasality. The outcomes of the individual perceptual and physiological profiles are discussed with respect to the presence of differential subsystem impairments both within each subject and between subjects with similar underlying pathophysiological deficits. The importance of interpreting the instrumental findings with respect to the interdependency of each of the motor speech subsystems, the limitations of perceptual assessments, and the advantages of utilising both perceptual and physiological analyses in the process of identifying treatment goals is discussed.     

An Adaptive Machine Learning Algorithm for Location Prediction

Context-awareness is viewed as one of the most important aspects in the emerging pervasive computing paradigm. Mobile context-aware applications are required to sense and react to changing environment conditions. Such applications, usually, need to recognize, classify and predict context in order to act efficiently, beforehand, for the benefit of the user. In this paper, we propose a novel adaptive mobility prediction algorithm, which deals with location context representation and trajectory prediction of moving users. Machine Learning (ML) is used for trajectory classification. Our algorithm adopts spatial and temporal on-line clustering, and relies on Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) for trajectory prediction. The proposed algorithm applies a Hausdorff-like distance over the extracted trajectories handling location prediction. Since our approach is time-sensitive, the Hausdorff distance is considered more advantageous than a simple Euclidean norm. Two learning methods (non-reinforcement and reinforcement learning) are presented and evaluated. Finally, we compare our algorithm with Offline kMeans and Online kMeans algorithms. Our findings are very promising for the use of the proposed algorithm in mobile context aware applications.     

Quantitative analysis of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines in German Sauvignon blanc wines by MDGC–MS or MDGC–MS/MS for viticultural and enological studies

A method for trace-level analysis of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines (MPs) based on mixed-bed cation-exchange solid phase extraction followed by heart-cut multidimensional gas chromatographic analysis was applied in a trial on viticultural and enological treatments of Sauvignon blanc wines produced in Germany. The quantification was based on a stable isotope dilution assay using deuterated MPs. For method comparison, detection was either with selected ion monitoring with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) or after selected reaction monitoring using a triple quadrupole MS. Comparable performance for MP detection in the lower ng L^?1 concentration range was found for both detection methods; however, in some cases, matrix problems could only be solved with MS/MS detection. It could be shown that MP levels varied considerably between the investigated vintages, with concentrations often well below 10 ng L^?1. Leaf removal as a viticultural trial was a measure to decrease MP concentrations; however, the effects observed were low in the vintages studied here. Cold maceration and stem addition to the must were found as valuable enological means for increasing the MP concentration and improving the green sensory notes typical for cold climate Sauvignon blanc wines.     

Numerical model of heat transfer in the rabbit eye exposed to 60-GHz millimeter wave radiation

A numerical model of the anterior chamber of the rabbit eye is presented. The model takes into account both the fluid dynamics of the aqueous humor and the realistic boundary conditions at the interface of the cornea with the environment. The model is used to determine the temperature distribution and velocity field under 60-GHz millimeter wave radiation. The maximum predicted temperature (45.8 (°) C for an incident power density of 475 mW/cm(2)) is in good agreement with experimental results. Moreover, the model shows that there is a value for the incident power density (about 100 mW/cm(2)) for which the direction of aqueous humor flow due to buoyancy is inverted, because of the inversion of the temperature gradient in the anterior chamber of the eye. This phenomenon has already been reported from experimental observations and can be numerically studied, if aqueous humor fluid dynamics are taken into account in the heat-transfer model.     

Sternal instability in a hemodialysis patient with secondary hyperparathyroidism

A 77‐year‐old man, 11 years under chronic hemodialysis treatment for chronic renal failure of unknown origin, presented with anterior chest pain, dyspnea with paradoxical breathing, and sternal instability after a simple fall from a standing height. Patient underwent three‐vessel coronary artery bypass grafting 31 months ago. Computed tomography with three‐dimensional volume rendering showed sternal nonunion with a great gap between the two halves of the sternum and at least one fracture in the left half of the sternum. A successful surgical repair followed. Patient suffered from severe secondary hyperparathyroidism for many years. Despite treatment with sevelamer, paricalcitol and cinacalcet, intact parathyroid hormone was 1682 pg/mL. During the last 5 years, serum intact parathyroid hormone remained steadily above 1000 pg/mL. Patient refused parathyroidectomy in the past. We assume that long‐lasting severe hyperparathyroidism contributed to this rare and life‐threatening complication of median sternotomy in our patient, due to the detrimental effect of hyperparathyroidism on bone metabolism and its association with increased incidence of bone fractures and defect in bone fracture healing.     

Energy-efficient full-duplex UAV relaying networks: Trajectory design for channel-model-free scenarios

In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) relaying network. In this network, the channels between UAVs and ground transceivers are model-free. A UAV acting as a flying relay explores better channels to assist in efficient data delivery between two ground nodes. The full-duplex relaying mode is applied for potential energy efficiency (EE) improvements. With the genetic algorithm, we manage to optimize the UAV trajectory for any arbitrary radio map scenario. Numerical results demonstrate that compared to other schemes (eg, fixed trajectory/speed policies), the proposed algorithm performs better in terms of EE. Additionally, the impact of self-interference on average EE is also investigated.