Calculation of the extreme ultraviolet radiation of the earth's plasmasphere

The dynamic global core plasma model(DGCPM) is used in this paper to calculate the He+ density distribution of the Earth's plasmasphere and to investigate the configurations and 30.4 nm radiation properties of the plasmasphere.Validation comparisons between the simulation results and IMAGE mission observations show:That the equatorial structure of the plasmapause is mainly located near 5.5 RE and the typical scale of plasmasphere shrinking or expansion within 10 min is approximately 0.1 RE;that the plasmasp...     

Selective requirements for leukocyte adhesion molecules in models of acute and chronic cutaneous inflammation: participation of E- and P- but not L-selectin

Adhesion molecules borne by both endothelial cells and circulating leukocytes are in large measure responsible for guiding the process of extravasation. The selectin family has been primarily associated with the early stages of adhesion involving initial contact and rolling. A significant body of evidence has accumulated indicating a fundamental role for the endothelial members of this family, E- and P-selectin, in a variety of inflammatory states and models. Although originally identified as the lymph node-specific lymphocyte homing receptor, L-selectin has also been suggested to play an important role in leukocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation. We have recently demonstrated, using L-selectin-deficient mice, that defects in contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses are in essence due to the inability of T cells to home to and be sensitized within peripheral lymph nodes, whereas nonspecific effector cells are fully capable of entry into sites of cutaneous inflammation (Catalina et al, J Exp Med 184:2341, 1996). In the present study, we perform an analysis of adhesion molecule usage in two models of skin inflammation and show in both L-selectin-deficient as well as wild-type mice that a combination of P- and E-selectin is crucial for the development of both acute (croton oil) and chronic (contact hypersensitivity) inflammation at sites of the skin, whereas L-selectin does not appear to play a significant role. Moreover, alpha4 integrins are shown to be integral to a CHS but not an acute irritant response, whereas CD44 does not significantly contribute to either. These results provide a systematic examination in one study of major adhesion molecules that are critical in acute and chronic skin inflammation. They reinforce the essential role of the collaboration of E- and P-selectin in both specific and nonspecific skin inflammatory responses and the importance of alpha4 in the specific response only. In addition, they substantiate only a limited role, if any, for L-selectin in these cutaneous effector mechanisms and demonstrate the essential equivalence in this analysis of L-selectin-deficient mice compared with normal mice treated with blocking antibodies.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of soy protein films processed at different pH by compression

Glycerol-plasticized soy protein isolate (SPI) based films were prepared by compression with the aim to obtain environmentally friendly materials for packaging applications. Previously to the hot-pressed step, the protein was dispersed in water, the pH was fixed to values higher, lower and at the isoelectric point of SPI (pH = 4.6), and the dispersion was freeze-dried. The effect of pH on physico-chemical properties has been explained using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The changes observed by FTIR in the intensity of the bands corresponding to the amide group showed that pH affected protein–glycerol interactions. Apart from pH effect, heat and pressure also affected the grade of denaturation of SPI shown by the disappearance of the DSC peak corresponding to 7S globulin. Mechanical properties were also evaluated and related to pH and storage time. Both tensile strength and elongation at break are higher at basic pHs, when the unfolding of protein seems to be optimum in order to interact with the plasticizer. Mechanical properties remained invariable after having been stored under specific conditions for two months. Preparation of SPI-based biofilms processed at different pHs by compression is an innovative study in this field, in which the most employed technique to prepare films has been casting.     

Production of silk fibroin nanoparticles using ionic liquids and high‐power ultrasounds

Biopolymeric nanoparticles have attracted great research interest in the last few years due to their multiple applications. This article describes how high‐power ultrasounds are capable of enhancing the dissolution process of silk proteins in ionic liquids (ILs) and how silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNs) can be obtained directly from the silk/ionic liquid solution (SIL) by rapid desolvation in polar organic solvents. The silk fibroin integrity is highly preserved during the dissolution process, as confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) of the SIL. These regenerated SFNs are insoluble in water and other common organic solvents and are indistinguishable from the classical SFNs with respect to their diameter (180 ± 5 nm), Zeta potential (?25 ± 3 mV), high degree of β‐sheet and low cytotoxicity. Large amounts of silk can be turned into biomaterials directly from the SIL solution for use in a wide range of applications, while the ILs can be recovered from the coagulant solution under reduced pressure and reused without loss of their solvent properties. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41702.     

Evaluation of soil quality using multiple lineal regression based on physical, chemical and biochemical properties

The aim of this work is to obtain an expression using multiple lineal regressions (MLR) to evaluate environmental soil quality. We used four forest soils from Alicante province (SE Spain), comprising three Mollisols and one Entisol, developed under natural vegetation with minimum human disturbance, considered as reference soils of high quality. We carried out MLR integrating different soil physical, chemical and biochemical properties, and we searched those regressions with Kjeldahl nitrogen (N(k)), soil organic carbon (SOC) or microbial biomass carbon (MBC) as predicted parameter. We observed that Mollisols and Entisols presented different relationships among their properties. Thus, we searched different equations for both groups of soils. The selected equation for Mollisols was N=0.448 (P) + 0.017 (water holding capacity) + 0.410(phosphatase) - 0.567 (urease) + 0.001 (MBC) + 0.410 (beta - glucosidase) - 0.980, and for the Entisol SOC = 4.247 (P) + 8.183 (beta-glucosidase) -7.949 (urease) + 17.333. Equations were applied to samples from two forest soils in advanced degree of degradation, one for Mollisols and the other one for the Entisol. We observed a clear deviation in the predicted parameters values related to the real properties. The obtained results show that MLR is a good tool for soil quality evaluation, because it seems to be capable of reflecting the balance among its properties, as well as deviations from it.     

Modeling the phase behavior in binary mixtures involving blowing agents and thermoplastic resins

The thermophysical properties of mixtures of thermoplastic resins and blowing agents, together with the knowledge of the solubilities of these components, are the basis for the manufacturing of plastic foams. In this work, the solubilities of blowing agents trichlorofluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane, chlorodifluoromehane, and 1,2‐dichloro‐1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoroethane in thermoplastic resins poly(styrene), high density poly(ethylene), low density poly(ethylene), poly(propylene), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(carbonate) and poly(propylene oxide) were modeled by using the Perturbed Chain‐Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC‐SAFT) and the Sánchez‐Lacombe equations of state (EoS), fitting a single temperature‐dependent binary interaction parameter. PC‐SAFT is a theoretically based equation of state with three pure component parameters that describe efficiently the thermodynamics of complex systems. Earlier works with this EoS have already predicted the phase coexistence properties of various refrigerants and higher order alkane series compounds, along with their mixtures. The pure component parameters for the blowing agents were obtained by regression of vapor pressure and liquid density data, while the pure component parameters for the thermoplastic resins were obtained by regression of pure liquid PVT data. The parameter estimation was performed by using a modified maximum likelihood method. The solubility results obtained with both EoS have been compared; the results from PC‐SAFT showed a higher accuracy in terms of solubility pressure deviations. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An improved control scheme based in droop characteristic for microgrid converters

In the present work, an improved version of the conventional-droop control for microgrid converter is presented. The modifications added to the control are based on a feed-forward current control that allows the converter to work in several modes, both when it is grid connected or in island. The use of this control represents the main contribution of this paper, permitting the inverter to work as a grid supporting source or ancillary services provider when it works grid connected. In this mode the converter varies the injected active and reactive power with the variation of voltage module and frequency using the same main control loop as when it is working in island mode.     

An algorithm for real-time dosimetry in intensity-modulated radiation therapy using the radioluminescence signal from Al2O3:C

Although the radioluminescence (RL) signal from optical fibre Al(2)O(3):C dosemeters used in medical applications is essentially proportional to dose rate, the crystals used so far are imperfect in the sense that their RL sensitivity changes with accumulated dose. A computational algorithm has been developed that corrects for these sensitivity changes. We further report on a new system that effectively separates the RL signal generated in the crystal from fluorescence and Cerenkov emission generated in the optical fibre cable using a gating technique in connection with pulsed linear accelerator radiation beams. The dosimetry system has been used for dose measurements in a phantom during an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment with 6 MV photons. The RL measurement results are in excellent agreement (i.e. within 1%) with both the OSL results and the dose delivered according to the treatment planning system. RL signals from Al(2)O(3):C can be used for real-time dose rate measurements with a time resolution of approximately 0.1 s and a spatial resolution only limited by the size of the detector (<0.5 mm).     

Hydrothermal treatment of bottom ash from the incineration of municipal solid waste: retention of Cs(I), Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cr(III)

The retention of Cs+, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+ by the compounds formed as a result of the hydrothermal treatment of the bottom ash from the fluidized-bed incineration of municipal solid wastes is examined in this work. The amount of Cs+ retained and the distribution coefficient, Kd, were considerably lower than those for Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+, independently of the type of compounds formed by the different bottom ash treatments. The high percentage of Cs+ retained (31%), with a Kd of 222 ml/g, occurred after treatment of the bottom ash in NaOH at 200 degrees C, where zeolite-type A (Na6[AlSiO4]6.4H2O) was the major compound, together with aluminum tobermorite (Ca5Si5Al(OH)O17.5H2O). In the case of Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+, the amount retained was approximately 99% under all of the conditions studied.