Probing the photonic local density of states with electron energy loss spectroscopy

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) performed in transmission electron microscopes is shown to directly render the photonic local density of states (LDOS) with unprecedented spatial resolution, currently below the nanometer. Two special cases are discussed in detail: (i) 2D photonic structures with the electrons moving along the translational axis of symmetry and (ii) quasi-planar plasmonic structures under normal incidence. Nanophotonics in general and plasmonics in particular should benefit from these results connecting the unmatched spatial resolution of EELS with its ability to probe basic optical properties like the photonic LDOS.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

The liminality of training spaces: Places of private/public transitions

This paper draws upon research, conducted for the London West Learning and Skills Council, on the training experiences of women with dependent children. One of the striking revelations of the research, we suggest, is the way in which training spaces are used and perceived by women, which are often at odds with government intentions. To help make sense of women’s use of and motivation for training we utilise the concept of ‘liminality’ and the private/public imbrication to explain the ways in which women use, or are discouraged from using, training spaces. Further, how the varied and multiple uses women in our research have put training to in their own lives has encouraged us to rethink the relationship between the private and the public more generally. In the light of this, we suggest that training and the places in which training take place, have been neglected processes and spaces within feminist geography and might usefully be explored further to add to an extensive literature on women’s caring and domestic roles and their role in the paid workplace

Exchange interactions and magnetic phases of transition metal oxides: benchmarking advanced ab initio methods

The magnetic properties of the transition metal monoxides MnO and NiO are investigated at equilibrium and under pressure via several advanced first-principles methods coupled with Heisenberg Hamiltonian MonteCarlo. The comparative first-principles analysis involves two promising beyond-local density functionals approaches, namely the hybrid density functional theory and the recently developed variational pseudo-self-interaction correction method, implemented with both plane-wave and atomic-orbital basis sets. The advanced functionals deliver a very satisfying rendition, curing the main drawbacks of the local functionals and improving over many other previous theoretical predictions. Furthermore, and most importantly, they convincingly demonstrate a degree of internal consistency, despite differences emerging due to methodological details (e.g. plane waves vs. atomic orbitals

Acrobats in the rooftops of Tehran

This paper seeks to analyze the political dimension of the body, and consequently the inherently political dimension of space, through the instrumental notion of situation, understood as an spatio-temporal mesh configured by bodies, practices and discourses. The political understood as the potential for action (or non-action) underlying the individual body, implies a renewed definition of a landscape that results from the body’s doing. Landscape becomes a multiple corporeality, a field of relations in which we discover ourselves enmeshed, not just placed; a field in which the limit is not frontier but bond and common dimension. A disquieting ambiguous zone appears there where the individual spatiality is born out of the body through the actualization of its political potential and entangles with others to constitute a common spatiality, political action of the multitude. The article is organized through the description of a back-and-forth movement between the revolts of Tehran in 2009 and the Iranian revolution of 1979. Also, a detour into the works of Robert Morris and Trisha Brown is required in order to understand the link between the body and the constitution of a common spatiality

Current swine respiratory diseases morphology in intensive swine production in Serbia

Swine respiratory diseases represent one of the most frequent health issues in pig production worldwide. Despite the great progress that has been made in the field of diagnostics, control and prophylaxis, respiratory diseases still remain the most challenging health problem in modern commercial pig production. The list of infectious agents that cause respiratory diseases in swine is extensive and includes both, bacterial and viral pathogens. In Serbia, more than fifteen years after the introduction of modern vaccines, the list of bacterial pathogens related to swine respiratory infections still include Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus parasuis and Pasteurella multocida. On the other hand, most commonly involved viral pathogens are Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, Swine influenza virus, Porcine circovirus type 2 and Pseudorabies virus. The morphological features of pneumonia where several agents are involved, depend on the predominant etiological agent. Expanding knowledge of the main pathogens associated with swine respiratory diseases and the effects of their interactions on the disease outcome is important for further investigations of lung diseases and implementation of control strategies in commercial pig populations in Serbia. This review discusses the latest findings on swine respiratory disease and current trends in Serbian pig production

Learning from Slussen: place, idea and process in the transformation of central urban interstices

Over the last two decades the Slussen in Stockholm designed by Tage William-Olsson in 1935 has been the subject of an intense debate about how to update it to the contemporary needs. Tabula rasa reconstruction or renovation? This lively discussion, however, has resulted in a nal proposal granted by the expertise of an international rm but controversial for its political management, opposed to several social groups and, above all, highly problematic in terms of urban form and sustainability. The strategic location of this place, the indelible presence of its modern shape in the collective imaginary or the overwhelming force of the new paradigms of public space, have ended up provoking a range of more than twenty- ve proposals in a short period of time. But while today this process seems to be settled and the demolition works of the original structure has already started, it would be still useful to draw some conclusions relevant to other similar interstitial sites in European compact cities where architecture, infrastructure, public space and landscape meet in such an intense way. Thus, this paper summarizes some of the last arguments of the on-going doctoral thesis about the recent evolution of Slussen according to four di erent outstanding topics: the form of place and history as an undeniable premise; the strength of tactics versus the power of the image in the process; the importance of time in the sequence of urban decision-making and, nally, the weight of urban culture as a key argument in contemporary urban transformation processes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Quantum computational chemical calculations to estimate the necessary energy for hydrogen storage in the metal hydrides AlH3ScH3 and Al2H6

Hydrogen storage describes the methods of storing H2 for subsequent use. Hydrogen storage is the main issue that needs to be solved before the technology can be implemented into key areas such as transport. The high energy density, good stability and reversibility of metal hydrides make them appealing as hydrogen storage materials. Metal hydrides have the potential for reversible on‐board hydrogen storage and release at low temperatures and pressures. The aim of this thesis is to describe, document and carry out the previous theoretical quantum chemical calculations by density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP level of theory with 6‐311++G(3df,3pd) basis set for aluminium and hydrogen, and a SDD pseudopotential for scandium in order to; first of all, optimize the molecular structures; secondly, predict the vibrational frequencies of the optimized structures and finally estimate the energies needed to absorb and release hydrogen from both metal hydrides AlH3ScH3 and Al2H6. Our calculated results show that the hydrogen absorption energy value for the formation of AlH3ScH3 (‐47,479kcal/mol) is higher than the value for the formation of Al2H6 (‐33,481 kcal/mol). These were not the expected results because the energy has been increased, and thus the operation temperatures are also higher. The transition metal scandium in the hydride does not decrease the hydrogenation energy due to cation matrix that seems to be the responsible for the thermal stability.Outgoin

Learning from Slussen: place, idea and process in the transformation of central urban interstices

[EN] Over the last two decades the Slussen in Stockholm designed by Tage William-Olsson in 1935 has been the subject of an intense debate about how to update it to the contemporary needs. Tabula rasa, reconstruction or renovation? This lively discussion, however, has resulted in a final proposal granted by the expertise of an international firm but controversial for its political management, opposed to several social groups and, above all, highly problematic in terms of urban form and sustainability. The strategic location of this place, the indelible presence of its modern shape in the collective imaginary or the overwhelming force of the new paradigms of public space, have ended up provoking a range of more than twenty-five proposals in a short period of time. But while today this process seems to be settled and the demolition works of the original structure has already started, it would be still useful to draw some conclusions relevant to other similar interstitial sites in European compact cities where architecture, infrastructure, public space and landscape meet in such an intense way. Thus, this paper summarizes some of the last arguments of the on-going doctoral thesis about the recent evolution of Slussen according to four different outstanding topics: the form of place and history as an undeniable premise; the strength of tactics versus the power of the image in the process; the importance of time in the sequence of urban decision-making and, finally, the weight of urban culture as a key argument in contemporary urban transformation processes.Clua, A. (2018). Learning from Slussen: place, idea and process in the transformation of central urban interstices. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1065-1076. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.6264OCS1065107