792 research outputs found
Dynamic positive column in long-gap barrier discharges
A simple analytical model of the barrier discharge in a long gap between
opposing plane electrodes is developed. It is shown that the plasma density
becomes uniform over large part of the gap in the course of the discharge
development, so that one can speak of a formation of a dynamic positive column.
The column completely controls the dynamics of the barrier discharge and
determines such characteristics as the discharge current, discharge duration,
light output, etc. Using the proposed model, all discharge parameters can be
easily evaluatedComment: 7 pages, 8 figures; submitted to the Journal of Applied Physic
Developing 3D-printable cathode electrode for monolithically printed microbial fuel cells (MFCs)
© 2020 by the authors. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) employ microbial electroactive species to convert chemical energy stored in organic matter, into electricity. The properties of MFCs have made the technology attractive for bioenergy production. However, a challenge to the mass production of MFCs is the time-consuming assembly process, which could perhaps be overcome using additive manufacturing (AM) processes. AM or 3D-printing has played an increasingly important role in advancing MFC technology, by substituting essential structural components with 3D-printed parts. This was precisely the line of work in the EVOBLISS project, which investigated materials that can be extruded from the EVOBOT platform for a monolithically printed MFC. The development of such inexpensive, eco-friendly, printable electrode material is described below. The electrode in examination (PTFE-FREE-AC), is a cathode made of alginate and activated carbon, and was tested against an off-the-shelf sintered carbon (AC-BLOCK) and a widely used activated carbon electrode (PTFE-AC). The results showed that the MFCs using PTFE-FREE-AC cathodes performed better compared to the PTFE-AC or AC-BLOCK, producing maximum power levels of 286 μW, 98 μW and 85 μW, respectively. In conclusion, this experiment demonstrated the development of an air-dried, extrudable (3D-printed) electrode material successfully incorporated in an MFC system and acting as a cathode electrode
Lifetime Measurement of the 8s Level in Francium
We measure the lifetime of the 8s level on a magneto-optically trapped sample
of ^{210}Fr atoms with time-correlated single-photon counting. The 7P_{1/2}
state serves as the resonant intermediate level for two-photon excitation of
the 8s level completed with a 1300 nm laser. Analysis of the fluorescence decay
through the the 7P_{3/2} level gives 53.30 +- 0.44 ns for the 8s level
lifetime.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A new model for the structure of the DACs and SACs regions in the Oe and Be stellar atmospheres
In this paper we present a new mathematical model for the density regions
where a specific spectral line and its SACs/DACs are created in the Oe and Be
stellar atmospheres. In the calculations of final spectral line function we
consider that the main reasons of the line broadening are the rotation of the
density regions creating the spectral line and its DACs/SACs, as well as the
random motions of the ions. This line function is able to reproduce the
spectral feature and it enables us to calculate some important physical
parameters, such as the rotational, the radial and the random velocities, the
Full Width at Half Maximum, the Gaussian deviation, the optical depth, the
column density and the absorbed or emitted energy. Additionally, we can
calculate the percentage of the contribution of the rotational velocity and the
ions' random motions of the DACs/SACs regions to the line broadening. Finally,
we present two tests and three short applications of the proposed model.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Embedding low loss polymer optical fibre Bragg gratings:two different approaches
In this paper, we present two different ways to embed polymer fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) into polymer matrices. In the first experiment, we embedded the FBG into a 3D printed polymer structure, whereas in the second experiment, the coating was polymerized around the fibre. In both cases, the response of the grating was unchanged, without any loss or distortion of the FBG signal compared with the bare fibre response. The design of the polymer coating was optimised for the measurement of a single measurand. We highlighted two possible applications: surface bend deformation monitoring and improved-sensitivity temperature sensing
Visualizing genome and systems biology: technologies, tools, implementation techniques and trends, past, present and future.
"Α picture is worth a thousand words." This widely used adage sums up in a few words the notion that a successful visual representation of a concept should enable easy and rapid absorption of large amounts of information. Although, in general, the notion of capturing complex ideas using images is very appealing, would 1000 words be enough to describe the unknown in a research field such as the life sciences? Life sciences is one of the biggest generators of enormous datasets, mainly as a result of recent and rapid technological advances; their complexity can make these datasets incomprehensible without effective visualization methods. Here we discuss the past, present and future of genomic and systems biology visualization. We briefly comment on many visualization and analysis tools and the purposes that they serve. We focus on the latest libraries and programming languages that enable more effective, efficient and faster approaches for visualizing biological concepts, and also comment on the future human-computer interaction trends that would enable for enhancing visualization further
EvoBot in service: interface and interconnection of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) with a liquid handling robot for optimised performance
Cascade coherence transfer and magneto-optical resonances at 455 nm excitation of Cesium
We present and experimental and theoretical study of nonlinear
magneto-optical resonances observed in the fluorescence to the ground state
from the 7P_{3/2} state of cesium, which was populated directly by laser
radiation at 455 nm, and from the 6P_{1/2} and 6P_{3/2} states, which were
populated via cascade transitions that started from the 7P_{3/2} state and
passed through various intermediate states. The laser-induced fluorescence
(LIF) was observed as the magnetic field was scanned through zero. Signals were
recorded for the two orthogonal, linearly polarized components of the LIF. We
compared the measured signals with the results of calculations from a model
that was based on the optical Bloch equations and averaged over the Doppler
profile. This model was adapted from a model that had been developed for D_1
and D_2 excitation of alkali metal atoms. The calculations agree quite well
with the measurements, especially when taking into account the fact that some
experimental parameters were only estimated in the model.Comment: small changes to text of previous version; 12 pages, 8 figure
Relativistic many-body calculations of electric-dipole matrix elements, lifetimes and polarizabilities in rubidium
Electric-dipole matrix elements for ns-n'p, nd-n'p, and 6d-4f transitions in
Rb are calculated using a relativistic all-order method. A third-order
calculation is also carried out for these matrix elements to evaluate the
importance of the high-order many-body perturbation theory contributions. The
all-order matrix elements are used to evaluate lifetimes of ns and np levels
with n=6, 7, 8 and nd levels with n=4, 5, 6 for comparison with experiment and
to provide benchmark values for these lifetimes. The dynamic polarizabilities
are calculated for ns states of rubidium. The resulting lifetime and
polarizability values are compared with available theory and experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Two alkaline phosphatase genes are expressed during early development in the mouse embryo
Alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity is stage specific in mouse embryos and may be associated with compaction and separation of trophectoderm from inner cell mass in preimplantation development. We previously sequenced a cDNA and two mouse AP genes that could contribute to the AP activity in embryos. Oligonucleotide primers were constructed from the three sequences and used in the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique to establish that two of the three AP isozymes are transcribed during preimplantation development. The predominant transcript (E-AP) is from a gene highly homologous to the human tissue-specific APs, but different from the mouse intestinal AP. Tissue non- specific (TN) AP also is transcribed, but there is approximately 10 times less TN-AP than E-AP tran- script. The TN-AP isozyme is the predominant tran- script of 7 to 14 day embryos and primordial germ cells. A switch in predominance from E-AP to TN-AP must occur during early postimplantation development. This study establishes a framework for experiments to determine the functions of the two isozymes during preimplantation development
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