HELIN LIbrary Consortium ILS Task Force Recommendation

Final report and recommendation of the HELIN ILS task force to migrate the consortium to OCLC WorldShare Management Services.

Characterization of the OCO-2 instrument line shape functions using on-orbit solar measurements

Accurately characterizing the instrument line shape (ILS) of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) is challenging and highly important due to its high spectral resolution and requirement for retrieval accuracy (0. 25 %) compared to previous spaceborne grating spectrometers. On-orbit ILS functions for all three bands of the OCO-2 instrument have been derived using its frequent solar measurements and high-resolution solar reference spectra. The solar reference spectrum generated from the 2016 version of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) solar line list shows significant improvements in the fitting residual compared to the solar reference spectrum currently used in the version 7 Level 2 algorithm in the O₂ A band. The analytical functions used to represent the ILS of previous grating spectrometers are found to be inadequate for the OCO-2 ILS. Particularly, the hybrid Gaussian and super-Gaussian functions may introduce spurious variations, up to 5 % of the ILS width, depending on the spectral sampling position, when there is a spectral undersampling. Fitting a homogeneous stretch of the preflight ILS together with the relative widening of the wings of the ILS is insensitive to the sampling grid position and accurately captures the variation of ILS in the O₂ A band between decontamination events. These temporal changes of ILS may explain the spurious signals observed in the solar-induced fluorescence retrieval in barren areas

Game on! a report on the interactive leisure software subsector in London

There is a paucity of good quality data on the UK video games industry. Information such as value-added, investment on R&D, average annual expenditure on training and the value of video games in terms of exports, for example, is thin or incomplete. This is a serious problem. If we are to improve the competitiveness of the UK games development sector then we must have better quality information. Games developers will then be able to benchmark their business activities against industry averages. Overseas investors will also then be better informed about the benefits of investing in the UK leisure software sector. This Report confirms the lacunae in our knowledge that exists about the video games industry. For example, the Office of National Statistics still does not have a specific code to identify interactive leisure software businesses. Yet the Report also shines a light on the video games industry in the UK in general and in London in particular

Physico-chemical properties of ionic-liquid water mixtures

In order for Ionic Liquids (ILs) to be utilized to their full potential, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of their physical properties, including phase transitions temperatures1. We have previously reported into the extent of structuring of ILs using photochromic molecular probes, and investigated the appropriate IL water content to yield hydrated IL systems for analysis of polarity and to create environments suitable for effective enzyme activity 1,2,3. In this study we investigated interactions in hydrated ILs containing variable hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions through optical and thermal analysis. The enthalpies and phase transitions of the systems were compared, between the temperature range -50°C to +30°C for the ILs with varying degrees of hydration. Reichardtʼs dye was used as a molecular probe to monitor changes in interactions in the ILs as a function of temperature. Comparisons were made between ILs and for ILs with varying degrees of hydration. Spectroscopic studies were performed using Perkin Elmer UV-Visible Spectrometer and phase transitions monitored using a Perkin Elmer Differential Scanning Calorimeter. The ILs examined are; Trihexyltetradecylphosphonium Chloride [P6,6,6,14 Cl] Tributyl-tetradecylphosphonium Chloride, [P4,4,4,14 Cl], 1-Ethyl-methyl-3-imidazolium-ethyl Sulfate [Emim][EtSO4] and Trihexyltetradecylphosphonium Dicyanamide [P6,6,6,14 DCA]. 1. Robert Byrne, Simon Coleman, Simon Gallagher, and Dermot Diamond. Designer Molecular Probes for Phosphonium Ionic Liquids. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2010. 2. Kyoko Fujita, Douglas R. MacFarlane, Maria Forsyth, Masahiro Yoshizawa-Fujita, Kenichi Murata,† Nobuhumi Nakamura, and Hiroyuki Ohno*,Solubility and Stability of Cytochrome c in Hydrated Ionic Liquids: Effect of Oxo Acid Residues and Kosmotropicity, 2007. 3. SergeiV.DzyubaandRichardA.Bartsch,Expandingthepolarityrange of ionic liquids, Tetrehedron Letters, 2002

A model-based approach to correcting spectral irradiance data using an upward-looking airborne sensor (CASI ILS)

A number of aircraft sensors have the facility to measure spectral downwelling irradiance using a sensor mounted on the roof of the aircraft, but these data are rarely used for atmospheric correction. Part of the problem is that the attitude of the airborne platform is always changing during flight, even in stable conditions, so that direct use of data from an incident light sensor (ILS) can introduce errors into atmospheric correction methods. The continual motion of the ILS is used here to advantage, as a means to fit a sky radiance distribution model developed by Brunger and Hooper (1993) to data from the Itres Instruments CASI ILS. The inclination of the ILS sensor, due to changing aircraft attitude, is considered as the slope plane in the model. The selected model coefficients correspond to parameterised atmospheric conditions and represent atmospheric transmission and the proportion of direct:diffuse flux. The method was used to correct CASI ILS data acquired over a site in southern England. Comparison with spectral irradiance measured simultaneously on the ground shows that the method reduced the variability of the ILS data and also compensated for the effect of different flight directions. The sky radiance distribution at sensor level is also calculated by the model, and shows the characteristics of the sky conditions at the time of each flight

The Scaled-Charge Additive Force Field for Amino Acid Based Ionic Liquids

Abstract. Ionic liquids (ILs) constitute an emerging field of research. New ILs are continuously introduced involving more and more organic and inorganic ions. Amino acid based ILs (AAILs) represent a specific interest due to their evolutional connection to proteins. We report a new non- polarizable force field (FF) for the eight AAILs comprising 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation and amino acid anions. The anions were obtained via deprotonation of carboxyl group. Specific cation-anion non-covalent interactions have been taken into account by computing electrostatic potential for ion pairs, in contrast to isolated ions. The van der Waals interactions have been transferred from the CHARMM36 FF with minor modifications. Therefore, compatibility between our parameters and CHARMM36 parameters is preserved. Our FF can be easily implemented using a variety of popular molecular dynamics programs. It will find broad applications in computational investigation of ILs

Ionic Liquids containing metallic nucleus

In this PhD thesis, new methods to solubilize metal salts in ionic liquids (ILs) were developed and the behavior of the new metal containing ILs was studied. To incorporate metals in ILs, till now, anions (chloride, bromide, dicyanamide) able to give strong complexes with metals or the introduction of specific functional groups on cation or anion able to interact with the metal cation have been used. In all these cases, chemical nature of metal is changed by the interaction with other atoms and formation of new chemical bonds. To have weakly coordinated or relatively “free” cations in ILs, new kind of salts, with very soft anions have been used. New metallic salts, with Tf2N- as anion, were dissolved in suitable ionic liquids obtaining high concentrated solutions. Experiments performed using different classes of ILs evidenced that ILs having the same anion of the added metal salt generally assure a relevant solubility. A new common anion effect was invoked. The physical-chemical properties of the metal containing solutions were determined as function of concentration and temperature. Moreover, new ILs bearing cations or anions able to interact with the metal center were synthesized. In this contest basic 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (dabco) based ILs bearing different alkyl chains and having as counter anion dicyanamide were synthesized and characterized as well as imidazolium based ILs functionalized with hydroxyl substituted alkyl chains (glycerol) or polymerizable groups (allyl, vinyl and styril groups). The interaction between dicyanamide anion and metals, especially in copper-catalyzed reactions was investigated. Since the purity degree of ILs is very important for their application in synthesis, especially when ILs must be used in metal catalyzed reactions, or when kinetics studies have to be performed, a new cheap and easily accessible method to purify ILs from organic solvents and unreacted reagents was developed and applied. Highly “pure” ILs, so generated, were used in the kinetic study of oxidation reactions performed using with singlet oxygen