Synthesis and Characterization of New Ceramic Thermoelectrics Implemented in a Thermoelectric Oxide Module

Novel thermoelectric oxides were developed, produced, and characterized to demonstrate their promising thermoelectric conversion potential in a thermoelectric converter. Four-leg thermoelectric oxide modules were fabricated by combining p- and n-type oxide thermoelements made of pressed polycrystalline GdCo0.95Ni0.05O3 and CaMn0.98Nb0.02O3, respectively. In these modules, the p- and n-type thermoelements were connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The materials were joined by electrical contacts consisting of a Ag/CuO composite material. Fairly good thermal contacts were ensured by pressing the thermoelements between alumina substrates. Cross-sections of the alumina/Ag-CuO mixture/thermoelement interface were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The temperature distribution across the module was monitored using K-type thermocouples and a micro-infrared (IR) camera. The open-circuit voltage and the load voltages of the module were measured up to a temperature difference of ΔT=500K while keeping the temperature of the cold side at 300K. The output power and internal resistance were calculated. The characteristics of the module evaluated from electrical measurements were compared with respective values of the p- and n-type leg materials. An output power of 0.04W at ΔT=500K led to a power density of ~0.125W/cm3, where the volume of thermoelectric material was determined by a cross-section of 4mm×4mm and a leg length of 5m

Lab Scale Fixed-Bed Reactor for Operando X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy for Structure Activity Studies of Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts

Lab scale fixed-bed reactor is applied for operando transmission X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) for structure-activity studies of supported metal oxide catalysts under real reaction conditions. This setup includes many properties of an optimal fixed-bed reactor for operando transmission XAS studies. For instance, it is usable in a wide range of temperature (up to 1,000°C), pressure and space velocity. Besides, this operando setup can be used for transmission XAS measurements in a wide edge energy range. The potential of this reactor for operando transmission XAS is demonstrated by, as examples, the three-way catalytic performance of Pd/Al2O3/CeZrO2 and Rh/Al2O

Reflection Scattering Matrix of the Ising Model in a Random Boundary Magnetic Field

The physical properties induced by a quenched surface magnetic field in the Ising model are investigated by means of boundary quantum field theory in replica space. Exact boundary scattering amplitudes are proposed and used to study the averaged quenched correlation functions.Comment: 37 pages (Latex), including 16 figures, one reference adde

Constraining Absolute Plate Motions Since the Triassic

The absolute motion of tectonic plates since Pangea can be derived from observations of hotspot trails, paleomagnetism, or seismic tomography. However, fitting observations is typically carried out in isolation without consideration for the fit to unused data or whether the resulting plate motions are geodynamically plausible. Through the joint evaluation of global hotspot track observations (for times <80 Ma), first‐order estimates of net lithospheric rotation (NLR), and parameter estimation for paleo–trench migration (TM), we present a suite of geodynamically consistent, data‐optimized global absolute reference frames from 220 Ma to the present. Each absolute plate motion (APM) model was evaluated against six published APM models, together incorporating the full range of primary data constraints. Model performance for published and new models was quantified through a standard statistical analyses using three key diagnostic global metrics: root‐mean square plate velocities, NLR characteristics, and TM behavior. Additionally, models were assessed for consistency with published global paleomagnetic data and for ages <80 Ma for predicted relative hotspot motion, track geometry, and time dependence. Optimized APM models demonstrated significantly improved global fit with geological and geophysical observations while performing consistently with geodynamic constraints. Critically, APM models derived by limiting average rates of NLR to ~0.05°/Myr and absolute TM velocities to ~27‐mm/year fit geological observations including hotspot tracks. This suggests that this range of NLR and TM estimates may be appropriate for Earth over the last 220 Myr, providing a key step toward the practical integration of numerical geodynamics into plate tectonic reconstructions

Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway

Migratory connectivity can be defined as the flux of individuals or populations among areas between stages of an animal's life cycle. Many shorebird species perform long-distance migrations and while moving between breeding and wintering grounds, they depend on a network of intermediate wetlands (stopover sites) where populations of different origins extensively overlap. The difficulty to discriminate such populations represents a serious obstacle to the identification of the links between breeding or wintering areas and stopover sites, and also precludes the estimation of demographic parameters for each population. In this study, we test if linear discriminant models based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in toenails can he used to identify populations of several shorebird species of different wintering origins overlapping at two stopover sites of the East Atlantic Flyway. In addition, we evaluate the ability of this approach to infer migratory phenological patterns of shorebirds. Linear discriminant analyses performed overall well in distinguishing the isotopic signals of birds from wintering areas (in France, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau) most species, correctly classifying over 80% (n = 542) of all wintering individuals sampled at these areas. Assignment rates of shorebirds captured during spring migration were also high (96%, n=323) at the Tejo estuary, Portugal, but lower (40%, 0 = 185) at Marennes-Oleron Bay in France, and also differed among species. A large proportion of spring migrants captured in Portugal and France were assigned to Banc d' Arguin in Mauritania, the most important wintering area in the flyway. Phenological patterns derived for dunlins (Calidris alpina), common ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) suggest that the first northward migrants started arriving at the Tejo estuary during the second half of March, with peaking numbers occurring during April or May.</p

Could Public Restrooms Be an Environment for Bacterial Resistomes?

PMCID: PMC3547874This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours

Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions