Adsorption with axial diffusion in shallow beds

Approach to constant pattern behavior and breakthrough behavior are analyzed for adsorption in fixed beds with axial diffusion. Local equilibrium between fluid and solid phases is assumed, with concentrations related by favorable Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Results are presented as midheight slopes of internal and actual breakthrough curves and as breadths of actual breakthrough curves. The solutions merge smoothly with asymptotic limits appropriate for deep beds and results obtained here for very short beds. It is shown that breakthrough curves are sharper than corresponding internal breakthrough curves for beds of any length, with the difference being even more pronounced in shallow beds than in deep beds. The principal factor that determines whether or not a breakthrough curve differs significantly from the corresponding internal breakthrough curve, regardless of whether the bed is long or short or the isotherm very favorable or linear, is the breadth of the adsorption wave near the bed outlet.     

Effect of fabrication errors in channel waveguide Bragg gratings

The spectral performances of nonideal rectangular Bragg gratings, integrated in a rib waveguide, are analyzed by a multilayer approach based on the effective-index method. The effects of errors on the photolithographic definition of the grating, that is, period and shape, and of errors on the control of etching depth are investigated. Also the influence of the stitching error, which is unavoidable when the grating is realized by means of electron-beam photolithography, is addressed. A novel analytical approach that extends coupled-mode theory to the analysis of real gratings is also presented.     

Regional cerebral blood flow during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in normal subjects studied by xenon-133 dynamic SPECT: comparison of absolute values, percent distribution values, and covariance analysis

We studied regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by xenon-133 dynamic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 17 normal volunteers who were performing the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), a task that is particularly sensitive to disturbance of the prefrontal cortex, and a simple matching-to-sample task (BAR) as a sensorimotor control. Three methods for statistical analysis of regional "subtraction" data were used: absolute rCBF values, percent distribution values, and means adjusted for global CBF changes (covariance analysis). The absolute values had high variance, due to the combination of interindividual differences in global flow and intra-individual variation, and showed no statistically significant regional changes. This variation was greatly reduced by percent values and covariance analysis, which had quite similar outcomes. With both methods, significant increases of rCBF during the WCST as compared with the BAR were seen in the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal and left occipital cortices, and reduction of rCBF in the left pararolandic region. Moreover, significant correlations with performance were found in the medial regions of the frontal lobes, with opposite trends for the right and left hemisphere. The posterior dorsolateral prefrontal region showed a negative correlation with sensory-motor frequency, an index related to the task's difficulty. These results are consistent with previous findings using other rCBF techniques and confirm the statistical advantage of normalization and covariance methods, which yield practically identical results, at least in this analysis based on regions of interest.     

Ternary nylon-6/rubber/modified rubber blends: Effect of the mixing procedure on morphology, mechanical and impact properties

Ternary polyamide-based blends have been prepared by adding to nylon-6 (PA6) an ethylene-propylene random copolymer (EPM) and the same EPM functionalized by inserting onto its backbone maleic anhydride groups (EPM-g-SA). Two kinds of processing have been used: (a) one-step mixing in which the three components were simultaneously introduced in the mixer; (b) two-step mixing in which the two rubbers EPM and EPM-g-SA were separately premixed before the final mixing with PA6. Also binary PA6/EPM-g-SA blends have been prepared to compare their properties with those of the ternary one.

Mechanical tensile characterization at room temperature and impact Izod tests at different temperatures as well as a morphological analysis of smoothed samples have been performed on all the blends. It has been shown by a model reaction that both in binary and ternary blends an EPM-g-PA6 graft copolymer is formed, which acts as an interfacial agent between the rubbery dispersed phase and the polyamide matrix. The blends obtained by the one-step mixing showed a gross morphology and a very poor impact resistance, whereas the ones prepared by the two-step mixing exhibited very fine morphologies and excellent impact performances. In addition, as shown at least in the case of one ternary blend, there seems to be good morphological stability of these materials after a second processing. This has been attributed to the influence of the interfacial agent formed during the melt mixing of the two premixed rubbers with PA6.     

An open platform for developing multiprocessor SoCs

Nanometer technologies integrate hundreds of millions of transistors in a single chip. Opportunities provided by these technologies, combined with the consolidation of platform-based design approaches, the evolution toward multiprocessor architectures, and consideration of the network-on-chip (NoC) paradigm suggest new methods for designing and verifying embedded systems. Clearly, a pure software simulation platform can't provide the performance required for developing multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) designs. One of the main design risks for today's systems is the architecture, which developers must validate as early as possible in the overall system design cycle because it has the biggest impact on system dimensioning and performance. To solve these problems, we've studied a reconfigurable MPSoC emulation platform and developed the main emulation subsystem and board. A low-cost modular approach that uses emulation offers an alternative to software simulation for the design and verification of complex multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) designs.     

Shaping the Atomic‐Scale Geometries of Electrodes to Control Optical and Electrical Performance of Molecular Devices

A straightforward method to generate both atomic‐scale sharp and atomic‐scale planar electrodes is reported. The atomic‐scale sharp electrodes are generated by precisely stretching a suspended nanowire, while the atomic‐scale planar electrodes are obtained via mechanically controllable interelectrodes compression followed by a thermal‐driven atom migration process. Notably, the gap size between the electrodes can be precisely controlled at subangstrom accuracy with this method. These two types of electrodes are subsequently employed to investigate the properties of single molecular junctions. It is found, for the first time, that the conductance of the amine‐linked molecular junctions can be enhanced ≈50% as the atomic‐scale sharp electrodes are used. However, the atomic‐scale planar electrodes show great advantages to enhance the sensitivity of Raman scattering upon the variation of nanogap size. The underlying mechanisms for these two interesting observations are clarified with the help of density functional theory calculation and finite‐element method simulation. These findings not only provide a strategy to control the electron transport through the molecule junction, but also pave a way to modulate the optical response as well as to improve the stability of single molecular devices via the rational design of electrodes geometries.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging brain mapping in psychiatry: methodological issues illustrated in a study of working memory in schizophrenia

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a potential paradigm shift in psychiatric neuroimaging. The technique provides individual, rather than group-averaged, functional neuroimaging data, but subtle methodological confounds represent unique challenges for psychiatric research. As an exemplar of the unique potential and problems of fMRI, we present a study of 10 inpatients with schizophrenia and 10 controls performing a novel "n back" working memory (WM) task. We emphasize two key design steps: (1) the use of an internal activation standard (i.e., a physiological control region) to address activation validity, and (2) the assessment of signal stability to control for "activation" artifacts arising from unequal signal variance across groups. In the initial analysis, all but one of the patients failed to activate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the working memory task. However, some patients (and one control) also tended to show sparse control region activation in spite of normal motor performance, a result that raises doubts about the validity of the initial analysis and concerns about unequal subject motion. Subjects were then matched for signal variance (voxel stability), producing a subset of six patients and six controls. In this comparison, the internal activation standard (i.e., motor activation) was similar in both groups, and five of six patients, including two whom were neuroleptic-naive, failed to activate DLPFC. In addition, a tendency for overactivation of parietal cortex was seen. These results illustrate some of the promise and pitfalls of fMRI. Although fMRI generates individual brain maps, a specialized survey of the data is necessary to avoid spurious or unreliable findings, related to artifacts such as motion, which are likely to be frequent in psychiatric patients.     

Phenolic Profiles of Red Wine Relate to Vascular Endothelial Benefits Mediated by SIRT1 and SIRT6

Dietary phenolic compounds possess potent bioactivity against inflammatory pathways of chronic inflammatory conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. Here, the phenolic profile and bioactivity of Italian red wines Gaglioppo, Magliocco, and Nerello Mascalese were characterized. NMR, HPLC/UV-Vis and spectrophotometric characterization showed that Magliocco was the richest wine in monomeric anthocyanins (two-fold), catechins, and low molecular weight phenolics (LMWP). A positive correlation was observed between the polyphenolic content and antioxidant capacity (p < 0.05), with Magliocco displaying the highest antioxidant capacity (p < 0.01). In vitro evidence on the endothelial cell models of insulin resistance and hyperglycemia showed the ability of Magliocco to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) (p < 0.01) and cytokine release (p < 0.01) and to upregulate SIRT1 and SIRT6 (p < 0.01). On the whole, the results indicated that the quantitative and qualitative phenolic profiles of red wines influence their in vitro beneficial effects on oxidative and proinflammatory milieu in endothelial cells, showing a positive modulation of SIRT1 and SIRT6, both implied in vascular aging.     

Arterial geometry,flow pattern,wall shear and mass transport: potential physiological significance

We have studied numerically steady and unsteady flow in a straight and a helically stented common carotid artery, in order to model porcine experimental results that show reduced intimal hyperplasia (IH) in the helical case. The combination of flow pulsatility and three-dimensionality generates a sweeping motion of the Dean vortices, which overall reduced extremes of both oxygen flux to the vessel wall and wall shear stress (WSS). Since IH and atherosclerosis affect preferentially low WSS regions, these findings imply that vessel three-dimensionality and flow pulsatility can play important protective roles in respect of these diseases. The amplitude and frequency of the velocity waveform are important parameters of the system. Increase in amplitude increases WSS and oxygen flux to the vessel wall. Increase in frequency has a small effect; it increases WSS but has no effect on the oxygen flux to the vessel wall.     

Preparing for multimedia terminals

The authors describe a generic approach for developing TV-centric architectures using research and development projects as examples. They show how the development of this unique and flexible access to multimedia services will meet consumer needs and secure a primary position for European companies in this market