In situ observation of synthesized nanoparticles in ultra-dilute aerosols via X-ray scattering

In-air epitaxy of nanostructures (Aerotaxy) has recently emerged as a viable route for fast, large-scale production. In this study, we use small-angle X-ray scattering to perform direct in-flight characterizations of the first step of this process, i.e., the engineered formation of Au and Pt aerosol nanoparticles by spark generation in a flow of N₂ gas. This represents a particular challenge for characterization because the particle density can be extremely low in controlled production. The particles produced are examined during production at operational pressures close to atmospheric conditions and exhibit a lognormal size distribution ranging from 5–100 nm. The Au and Pt particle production and detection are compared. We observe and characterize the nanoparticles at different stages of synthesis and extract the corresponding dominant physical properties, including the average particle diameter and sphericity, as influenced by particle sintering and the presence of aggregates. We observe highly sorted and sintered spherical Au nanoparticles at ultra-dilute concentrations (< 5 × 10⁵ particles/cm³) corresponding to a volume fraction below 3 × 10^–10, which is orders of magnitude below that of previously measured aerosols. We independently confirm an average particle radius of 25 nm via Guinier and Kratky plot analysis. Our study indicates that with high-intensity synchrotron beams and careful consideration of background removal, size and shape information can be obtained for extremely low particle concentrations with industrially relevant narrow size distributions.

     

Epos – an instrument for the assessment of the ethical position in software development

Digital technology becomes more powerful, intelligent, pervasive and ubiquitous. Ethical aspects of this development have not yet drawn the appropriate attention of researchers and engineers. This paper presents an instrument that aims at measuring the individual ethical position with regard to the design and development of computer software. The development of the Epos tool was based on two data collections. The data of the first survey (n₁ = 147 participants) were used to select items and to determine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. Results show that the Epos instrument reliably assesses peoples’ ethical opinion with respect to five central components: (1) regulation, (2) data privacy, (3) domain specific knowledge, (4) societal responsibility and (5) company responsibility. In the second survey, we determined the stability of the instruments factor structure by assessing a sample of n₂?=?196 participants. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the initial factor structure. Next steps and further implications are discussed regarding the final version of the questionnaire.     

Enhanced Multi-attribute Combinative Double Auction (EMCDA) for Resource Allocation in Cloud Computing

Wireless Personal Communications - Cloud computing is a growing technology where lot of heterogeneous resources are available and large amount of requests are submitted by the customers...     

Evaluation of the degree of rate control via automatic differentiation

The degree of rate control (DRC) quantitatively identifies the kinetically relevant (sometimes known as rate-limiting) steps of a complex reaction network. This concept relies on derivatives which are commonly implemented numerically, for example, with finite differences (FDs). Numerical derivatives are tedious to implement, and can be problematic, and unstable or unreliable. In this study, we demonstrate the use of automatic differentiation (AD) in the evaluation of the DRC. AD libraries are increasingly available through modern machine learning frameworks. Compared with the FDs, AD provides solutions with higher accuracy with lower computational cost. We demonstrate applications in steady-state and transient kinetics. Furthermore, we illustrate a hybrid local-global sensitivity analysis method, the distributed evaluation of local sensitivity analysis, to assess the importance of kinetic parameters over an uncertain space. This method also benefits from AD to obtain high-quality results efficiently.     

Alteration of the Route to Menaquinone towards Isochorismate-Derived Metabolites

Chorismate and isochorismate constitute branch-point intermediates in the biosynthesis of many aromatic metabolites in microorganisms and plants. To obtain unnatural compounds, we modified the route to menaquinone in Escherichia coli. We propose a model for the binding of isochorismate to the active site of MenD ((1R,2S, 5S,6S)-2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxycyclohex-3-ene-1-carboxylate (SEPHCHC) synthase) that explains the outcome of the native reaction with α-ketoglutarate. We have rationally designed variants of MenD for the conversion of several isochorismate analogues. The double-variant Asn117Arg–Leu478Thr preferentially converts (5S,6S)-5,6-dihydroxycyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate (2,3-trans-CHD), the hydrolysis product of isochorismate, with a >70-fold higher ratio than that for the wild type. The single-variant Arg107Ile uses (5S,6S)-6-amino-5-hydroxycyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate (2,3-trans-CHA) as substrate with >6-fold conversion compared to wild-type MenD. The novel compounds have been made accessible in vivo (up to 5.3 g L⁻¹). Unexpectedly, as the identified residues such as Arg107 are highly conserved (>94 %), some of the designed variations can be found in wild-type SEPHCHC synthases from other bacteria (Arg107Lys, 0.3 %). This raises the question for the possible natural occurrence of as yet unexplored branches of the shikimate pathway.     

Chromium evaporation and oxidation characteristics of alumina-forming austenitic stainless steels for balance of plant applications in solid oxide fuel cells

The chromium (Cr) evaporation behavior of several different types of iron (Fe)-based AFA alloys and benchmark Cr₂O₃-forming Fe-based 310 and Ni-based 625 alloys was investigated for 500 h exposures at 800 °C to 900 °C in air with 10% H₂O. The Cr evaporation rates from alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) alloys were ~5 to 35 times lower than that of the Cr₂O₃-forming alloys depending on alloy and temperature. The Cr evaporation behavior was correlated with extensive characterization of the chemistry and microstructure of the oxide scales, which also revealed a degree of quartz tube Si contamination during the test. Long-term oxidation kinetics were also assessed at 800 to 1000 °C for up to 10,000 h in air with 10% H₂O to provide further guidance for SOFC BOP component alloy selection.