36,661 research outputs found
Designing optimal mixtures using generalized disjunctive programming: Hull relaxations
A general modeling framework for mixture design problems, which integrates Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) into the Computer-Aided Mixture/blend Design (CAMbD) framework, was recently proposed (S. Jonuzaj, P.T. Akula, P.-M. Kleniati, C.S. Adjiman, 2016. AIChE Journal 62, 1616–1633). In this paper we derive Hull Relaxations (HR) of GDP mixture design problems as an alternative to the big-M (BM) approach presented in this earlier work. We show that in restricted mixture design problems, where the number of components is fixed and their identities and compositions are optimized, BM and HR formulations are identical. For general mixture design problems, where the optimal number of mixture components is also determined, a generic approach is employed to enable the derivation and solution of the HR formulation for problems involving functions that are not defined at zero (e.g., logarithms). The design methodology is applied successfully to two solvent design case studies: the maximization of the solubility of a drug and the separation of acetic acid from water in a liquid-liquid extraction process. Promising solvent mixtures are identified in both case studies. The HR and BM approaches are found to be effective for the formulation and solution of mixture design problems, especially via the general design problem
The ArgoNeuT Detector in the NuMI Low-Energy beam line at Fermilab
The ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chamber has collected thousands of
neutrino and antineutrino events during an extended run period in the NuMI
beam-line at Fermilab. This paper focuses on the main aspects of the detector
layout and related technical features, including the cryogenic equipment, time
projection chamber, read-out electronics, and off-line data treatment. The
detector commissioning phase, physics run, and first neutrino event displays
are also reported. The characterization of the main working parameters of the
detector during data-taking, the ionization electron drift velocity and
lifetime in liquid argon, as obtained from through-going muon data complete the
present report.Comment: 43 pages, 27 figures, 5 tables - update referenc
Multi-photon entanglement and interferometry
Multi-photon interference reveals strictly non-classical phenomena. Its
applications range from fundamental tests of quantum mechanics to photonic
quantum information processing, where a significant fraction of key experiments
achieved so far comes from multi-photon state manipulation. We review the
progress, both theoretical and experimental, of this rapidly advancing
research. The emphasis is given to the creation of photonic entanglement of
various forms, tests of the completeness of quantum mechanics (in particular,
violations of local realism), quantum information protocols for quantum
communication (e.g., quantum teleportation, entanglement purification and
quantum repeater), and quantum computation with linear optics. We shall limit
the scope of our review to "few photon" phenomena involving measurements of
discrete observables.Comment: 71 pages, 38 figures; updated version accepted by Rev. Mod. Phy
Water infrastructure and social housing in Bogotá: an intersection between modern water management and social housing production
En la actualidad Bogotá afronta la presión de construir viviendas sociales en ecosistemas frágiles, áreas
rurales o zonas propensas a las inundaciones, y al mismo tiempo proteger estas áreas para asegurar la
capacidad de resiliencia del medio ambiente. Ante esta contradicción, la pregunta de investigación es:
¿Cómo se pueden modificar las tendencias de urbanización para crear una interacción que favorezca el
manejo sustentable del agua? Con el fin de responder esta pregunta ésta comunicación presenta un análisis
histórico de planes de alcantarillado y control hidráulico desarrollados desde 1990, junto con una revisión de
proyectos de vivienda social representativos, e investiga la interacción entre estos dos campos. El análisis
permite definir diferentes etapas en la transformación física del sistema hídrico que se basan en los cambios
universales de paradigma en la gestión del agua e ilustra diferentes construcciones socio-culturales en torno
a la naturaleza, además analiza la producción de vivienda en relación a la transformación del sistema
hídrico.Currently, Bogotá faces the pressure to continue to urbanize fragile ecosystems, rural lands and flood prone
areas with low-cost housing projects and simultaneously protect these areas to ensure environmental
resilience. Given this contradiction, the question is how urbanization trends could be reversed into a
constructive interplay with a revised water management? In order to that, this paper provides an historical
analysis of representative water infrastructure projects, urban plans and housing projects in Bogotá
developed after 1900 and investigates the interplays between this two realms. The analysis allows to define
different stages in the physical transformation of the water system that are based on universal paradigm
shifts in water management and illustrates different socio-cultural constructions around nature. It also
analysis the production of social housing in relation to the water system transformation
Structure and function of the bacterial heterodimeric ABC transporter CydDC: stimulation of ATPase activity by thiol and heme compounds.
In Escherichia coli, the biogenesis of both cytochrome bd-type quinol oxidases and periplasmic cytochromes requires the ATP-binding cassette-type cysteine/GSH transporter, CydDC. Recombinant CydDC was purified as a heterodimer and found to be an active ATPase both in soluble form with detergent and when reconstituted into a lipid environment. Two-dimensional crystals of CydDC were analyzed by electron cryomicroscopy, and the protein was shown to be made up of two non-identical domains corresponding to the putative CydD and CydC subunits, with dimensions characteristic of other ATP-binding cassette transporters. CydDC binds heme b. Detergent-solubilized CydDC appears to adopt at least two structural states, each associated with a characteristic level of bound heme. The purified protein in detergent showed a weak basal ATPase activity (approximately 100 nmol Pi/min/mg) that was stimulated ∼3-fold by various thiol compounds, suggesting that CydDC could act as a thiol transporter. The presence of heme (either intrinsic or added in the form of hemin) led to a further enhancement of thiol-stimulated ATPase activity, although a large excess of heme inhibited activity. Similar responses of the ATPase activity were observed with CydDC reconstituted into E. coli lipids. These results suggest that heme may have a regulatory role in CydDC-mediated transmembrane thiol transport
Protection Against Cardiac Injury by Small Ca\u3csup\u3e2 +\u3c/sup\u3e-Sensitive K\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e Channels Identified in Guinea Pig Cardiac Inner Mitochondrial Membrane
We tested if small conductance, Ca2 +‐sensitive K+ channels (SKCa) precondition hearts against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury by improving mitochondrial (m) bioenergetics, if O2‐derived free radicals are required to initiate protection via SKCa channels, and, importantly, if SKCa channels are present in cardiac cell inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). NADH and FAD, superoxide (O2−), and m[Ca2 +] were measured in guinea pig isolated hearts by fluorescence spectrophotometry. SKCa and IKCa channel opener DCEBIO (DCEB) was given for 10 min and ended 20 min before IR. Either TBAP, a dismutator of O2−, NS8593, an antagonist of SKCa isoforms, or other KCa and KATP channel antagonists, were given before DCEB and before ischemia. DCEB treatment resulted in a 2-fold increase in LV pressure on reperfusion and a 2.5 fold decrease in infarct size vs. non-treated hearts associated with reduced O2− and m[Ca2 +], and more normalized NADH and FAD during IR. Only NS8593 and TBAP antagonized protection by DCEB. Localization of SKCa channels to mitochondria and IMM was evidenced by a) identification of purified mSKCa protein by Western blotting, immuno-histochemical staining, confocal microscopy, and immuno-gold electron microscopy, b) 2-D gel electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy of IMM protein, c) [Ca2 +]‐dependence of mSKCa channels in planar lipid bilayers, and d) matrix K+ influx induced by DCEB and blocked by SKCa antagonist UCL1684. This study shows that 1) SKCa channels are located and functional in IMM, 2) mSKCa channel opening by DCEB leads to protection that is O2−dependent, and 3) protection by DCEB is evident beginning during ischemia
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