Lubrication of DLC Coatings with Two Tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate Anion-Based Ionic Liquids

The lubrication of a Cr-DLC coating with ethyl-dimethyl-2-methoxyethylammonium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluoropho-sphate [(NEMM)MOE][FAP] and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrro-lidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate [BMP] [FAP] ionic liquids (ILs) as 1 wt% additives to a polyalphaolefin (PAO 6) was studied. Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) was also used as reference in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the ILs. Reciprocating ball-on-plate tribological tests at loads of 20 and 40 N were performed. The results showed that both ILs exhibited a friction reduction, especially at the lowest load tested. Antiwear properties were also improved; the PAO 6 + 1% [BMP][FAP] mixture was slightly better, close to the values for PAO 6 + 1% ZDDP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the additive–surface interaction was responsible for the tribological improvement

Transition to a bioeconomy: Perspectives from social sciences

More than 50 countries and international organisations worldwide are currently working on strategies and policies to promote a transition to a bioeconomy. This economic system centres on a sustainable use of bio- and renewable resources to guarantee sustainability. Although many contributions have been made to the field of bioeconomy, most focus on a science perspective (e.g. chemistry, engineering, technology, biomedicine or biology). Despite the significant importance of social and economic issues for a bioeconomy transition, studies from a social science perspective are largely lacking. This paper presents a systematic review of academic contributions to the field of bioeconomy from a social science standpoint. The results reveal the need for an in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities that the bioeconomy faces in social and economic terms

Impact of gaps in the asteroseismic characterization of pulsating stars. I. On the efficiency of pre-whitening

It is known that the observed distribution of frequencies in CoRoT and Kepler {\delta} Scuti stars has no parallelism with any theoretical model. Pre-whitening is a widespread technique in the analysis of time series with gaps from pulsating stars located in the classical instability strip such as {\delta} Scuti stars. However, some studies have pointed out that this technique might introduce biases in the results of the frequency analysis. This work aims at studying the biases that can result from pre-whitening in asteroseismology. The results will depend on the intrinsic range and distribution of frequencies of the stars. The periodic nature of the gaps in CoRoT observations, just in the range of the pulsational frequency content of the {\delta} Scuti stars, is shown to be crucial to determine their oscillation frequencies, the first step to perform asteroseismolgy of these objects. Hence, here we focus on the impact of pre-whitening on the asteroseismic characterization of {\delta} Scuti stars. We select a sample of 15 {\delta} Scuti stars observed by the CoRoT satellite, for which ultra-high quality photometric data have been obtained by its seismic channel. In order to study the impact on the asteroseismic characterization of {\delta} Scuti stars we perform the pre-whitening procedure on three datasets: gapped data, linearly interpolated data, and ARMA interpolated data. The different results obtained show that at least in some cases pre-whitening is not an efficient procedure for the deconvolution of the spectral window. therefore, in order to reduce the effect of the spectral window to the minimum it is necessary to interpolate with an algorithm that is aimed to preserve the original frequency content, and not only to perform a pre-whitening of the data.Comment: 27 pages, 47 figures Tables and typos fixe

Low Effort L-i Nuclear Fusion Plasma Control Using Model Predictive Control Laws

One of the main problems of fusion energy is to achieve longer pulse duration by avoiding the premature reaction decay due to plasma instabilities. The control of the plasma inductance arises as an essential tool for the successful operation of tokamak fusion reactors in order to overcome stability issues as well as the new challenges specific to advanced scenarios operation. In this sense, given that advanced tokamaks will suffer from limited power available from noninductive current drive actuators, the transformer primary coil could assist in reducing the power requirements of the noninductive current drive sources needed for current profile control. Therefore, tokamak operation may benefit from advanced control laws beyond the traditionally used PID schemes by reducing instabilities while guaranteeing the tokamak integrity. In this paper, a novel model predictive control (MPC) scheme has been developed and successfully employed to optimize both current and internal inductance of the plasma, which influences the L-H transition timing, the density peaking, and pedestal pressure. Results show that the internal inductance and current profiles can be adequately controlled while maintaining the minimal control action required in tokamak operation.This work was supported in part by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) through Research Projects GIU11/02 and GIU14/07, Research and Training Unit UFI11/07, and by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) through Research Project ENE2010-18345. The authors would also like to thank the collaboration of the Basque Energy Board (EVE) through Agreement UPV/EHUEVE23/6/2011, the Spanish National Fusion Laboratory (EURATOM-CIEMAT) through Agreement UPV/EHUCIEMAT08/190, and Jo Lister, Stefano Coda, and the TCV team for its collaboration and help. Authors are also very grateful to the anonymous reviewers that have helped to improve the initial version of the paper

Size-Controlled Water-Soluble Ag Nanoparticles

Ag nanoparticles of two different sizes (1 and 4 nm) were prepared within an apoferritin cavity by using an Ag+-loaded apoferritin as a nanoconfined environment for their construction. The initial amount of Ag' ions injected in the apoferritin cavity dictates the size of the final Ag particles. The protein shell prevents bulk aggregation of the metal particles, which renders them water soluble and extremely stable

Turbiditas carbonatadas del Cretácico inferior en el Arroyo Bercho, Prebético de Jaén: Interpretación genética e implicaciones paleogeográficas

[ES] El análisis de las características sedimentarias de las turbiditas carbonatadas permite precisar la interpretación paleogeográfica del Prebético de Jaén, durante el Cretácico. Se pueden distinguir dos asociaciones de facies: a) Turbiditas de estatificación fina, intercaladas en abundante sedimento pelágico, e interpretadas como facies de borde de lóbulo. b) Cuerpos turbidíticos lenticulares interpretados como lóbulos de depósito formados por agradación. Aparecen asociadas a una serie depositada en una cuenca que progresivamente se fue haciendo más somera y que terminó con la implantación de una plataforma carbonatada en el Cenomanense. Se calcula que el depósito de las turbidítas debió realizarse a unos pocos centenares de metros de profundidad.[EN] The analysis of the sedimentary characteristics of the carbonate turbidites allows to accurate the paleogeographic interpretation of the Prebetie of laen. Two types of facies associations can be distinguished: a) Thin bedded turbidites> as intercalations into mainly hemipelapic sediments, interpreted as lobe fringe facies, b) Lents like turbiditie bodies corresponding to agradational depositional lobes. They occur associated to an shallowing upward sequence ending with Cenomanian carbonated platform facies. The turbiditic deposit supodselly took place in a few hundreds meters deep sedimentary basin.Trabajo patrocinado por la C.A.I.C.Y.T., dentro del proyecto «El Mesozoico de las Cordilleras Béticas» realizado en este centro del C.S.I.C.Peer reviewe