Unraveling the Nature of Charge Excitations in La2_2CuO4_4 with Momentum-Resolved Cu KK-edge Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering

Results of model calculations using exact diagonalization reveal the orbital character of states associated with different Raman loss peaks in Cu $K$-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) from La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$. The model includes electronic orbitals necessary to highlight non-local Zhang-Rice singlet, charge transfer and $d$-$d$ excitations, as well as states with apical oxygen 2$p_z$ character. The dispersion of these excitations is discussed with prospects for resonant final state wave-function mapping. A good agreement with experiments emphasizes the substantial multi-orbital character of RIXS profiles in the energy transfer range 1-6 eV.Comment: Original: 4.5 pages. Replaced: 4 pages and 4 figures with updated content and reference

Using Dust from Asteroids as Regolith Microsamples

Meteorite science is rich with compositional indicators by which we classify parent bodies, but few sample groups are definitively linked with asteroid spectra. More robust links need to be forged between meteorites and their parent bodies to understand the composition, diversity and distribution. A major link can be sample analysis of the parent body material and comparison with meteorite data. Hayabusa, the first sample return mission of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was developed to rendezvous with and collect samples from asteroid Itokawa and return them to Earth. Thousands of sub-100 micron particles were recovered, apparently introduced during the spacecraft impact into the surface of the asteroid, linking the asteroid Itokawa to LL chondrites [1]. Upcoming missions Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx will collect more significant sample masses from asteroids. In all these cases, the samples are or will be a collection of regolith particles. Sample return to earth is not the only method for regolith particle analysis. Dust is present around all airless bodies, generated by micrometeorite impact into their airless surfaces, which in turn lofts regolith particles into a "cloud" around the body. The composition, flux, and size-frequency distribution of dust particles can provide significant insight into the geological evolution of airless bodies [2]. For example, the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) detected salts in Enceladus' icy plume material, providing evidence for a subsurface ocean in contact with a silicate seafloor [3]. Similar instruments have flown on the Rosetta, LADEE, and Stardust missions. Such an instrument may be of great use in obtaining the elemental, isotopic and mineralogical composition measurement of dust particles originating from asteroids without returning the samples to terrestrial laboratories. We investigated the ability of a limited sample analysis capability using a dust instrument to forge links between asteroid regolith particles and known meteorite groups. We further set limits on the number of individual particles statistically needed to robustly reproduce a bulk composition

Cortical and thalamic connectivity of the auditory anterior ectosylvian cortex of early-deaf cats: Implications for neural mechanisms of crossmodal plasticity

Early hearing loss leads to crossmodal plasticity in regions of the cerebrum that are dominated by acoustical processing in hearing subjects. Until recently, little has been known of the connectional basis of this phenomenon. One region whose crossmodal properties are well-established is the auditory field of the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (FAES) in the cat, where neurons are normally responsive to acoustic stimulation and its deactivation leads to the behavioral loss of accurate orienting toward auditory stimuli. However, in early-deaf cats, visual responsiveness predominates in the FAES and its deactivation blocks accurate orienting behavior toward visual stimuli. For such crossmodal reorganization to occur, it has been presumed that novel inputs or increased projections from non-auditory cortical areas must be generated, or that existing non-auditory connections were ‘unmasked.’ These possibilities were tested using tracer injections into the FAES of adult cats deafened early in life (and hearing controls), followed by light microscopy to localize retrogradely labeled neurons. Surprisingly, the distribution of cortical and thalamic afferents to the FAES was very similar among early-deaf and hearing animals. No new visual projection sources were identified and visual cortical connections to the FAES were comparable in projection proportions. These results support an alternate theory for the connectional basis for cross-modal plasticity that involves enhanced local branching of existing projection terminals that originate in non-auditory as well as auditory cortices

The influence of ultrasonic pre-treatments on metal adsorption properties of softwood-derived biochar

Biomass-derived biochars are studied extensively because of their unique surface properties and efficiency in removing heavy metals from aqueous solution. Power ultrasound pre-treatments are interesting in this context, as they can make significant changes in the physicochemical characteristics of biomass. Herein, we studied their effect on adsorption characteristics of softwood biochar under different conditions of frequency, power, temperature and exposure time of ultrasound. The 40 kHz pre-treated samples exhibited around 0.3 to 0.65 mg/g increase in equilibrium adsorption capacity (Qe) which highly depends on the combination of power versus time and temperature of ultrasound. The isotherm and thermodynamic studies also showed that the mechanical effect of ultrasound plays a vital role in enhancing the surface. Results from this study demonstrated that ultrasound pre-treatment conditions influence the behaviour of biochar towards metal adsorption and ultrasonic pre-treatments can be used as an efficient processing method for biomass residues and the derived products. © 2020 Elsevier Lt

Pre- and post-pyrolysis effects on iron impregnation of ultrasound pre-treated softwood biochar for potential catalysis applications.

Slow pyrolysis is widely used to convert biomass into useable form of energy. Ultrasound pre-treatment assisted pyrolysis is a recently emerging methodology to improve the physicochemical properties of products derived. Biochar, the solid residues obtained from pyrolysis, is getting considerable attention because of its good physicochemical properties. Various modification techniques have been implemented on biochars to enhance their properties. Ultrasonic pre-treated wood biochar has showcased efficient surface and adsorption properties. Iron impregnated biochar is interesting as it has potentially proved the efficiency as an efficient low-cost catalyst. In this study, by combining the advantages of ultrasonic pre-treatment and iron impregnation, we have synthesized a series of Fe-impregnated biochar from softwood chips. Pre- and post-pyrolysis methods using a lab-scale pyrolyser had been implemented to compare the pyrolysis product yields and degree of impregnation. Biochars derived from ultrasound pre-treated woodchips by post pyrolysis demonstrated better impregnation of Fe ions on surface with better distribution of pyrolysis products such as biochar and biogas. The surface functionality of all ultrasound pre-treated biochars remained the same. However, post-pyrolysed samples at high frequency ultrasound pre-treatment showed better thermal stability. The chemical characteristics of these modified biochars are interesting and can indeed be used as a cost-effective replacement for various catalytic applications

Enhanced activation of ultrasonic pre-treated softwood biochar for efficient heavy metal removal from water

Physical and chemical modification on biochar is an interesting approach to enhance the properties and make them potential candidates in adsorption of heavy metals from water. Studies have shown that ultrasound treatments as well as alkali activations on biochar has positive impact on adsorption behaviour of the material. Base activation on biochar derived from ultrasound pre-treated woodchips were studied to understand the influence of ultrasound pre-treatment on chemical modification of biochar and the adsorption properties emerged from it. 40 and 170 kHz ultrasound pre-treated softwood woodchips were subjected to laboratory scale pyrolysis and the resulted biochars were treated with NaOH. The physicochemical properties were examined, and the adsorption experiments revealed that ultrasound pre-treatment assisted biochars have better adsorption capacity as compared to untreated biochar samples after activation. 170 kHz pre-treated sample exhibited an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 19.99 mg/g which is almost 22 times higher than that of corresponding non-activated sample. The ultrasound pre-treated samples showed improved competitive adsorption behaviour towards copper ions in comparison with nickel or lead. The overall study suggests that ultrasound pre-treated biochars combined with alkali activation enhances the heavy metal removal efficiency and these engineered biochars can be used as an effective adsorbent in the field of wastewater treatment. © 2021 Elsevier Lt

Cortical and thalamic connectivity of the auditory anterior ectosylvian cortex of early-deaf cats: Implications for neural mechanisms of crossmodal plasticity

Early hearing loss leads to crossmodal plasticity in regions of the cerebrum that are dominated by acoustical processing in hearing subjects. Until recently, little has been known of the connectional basis of this phenomenon. One region whose crossmodal properties are well-established is the auditory field of the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (FAES) in the cat, where neurons are normally responsive to acoustic stimulation and its deactivation leads to the behavioral loss of accurate orienting toward auditory stimuli. However, in early-deaf cats, visual responsiveness predominates in the FAES and its deactivation blocks accurate orienting behavior toward visual stimuli. For such crossmodal reorganization to occur, it has been presumed that novel inputs or increased projections from non-auditory cortical areas must be generated, or that existing non-auditory connections were \u27unmasked.\u27 These possibilities were tested using tracer injections into the FAES of adult cats deafened early in life (and hearing controls), followed by light microscopy to localize retrogradely labeled neurons. Surprisingly, the distribution of cortical and thalamic afferents to the FAES was very similar among early-deaf and hearing animals. No new visual projection sources were identified and visual cortical connections to the FAES were comparable in projection proportions. These results support an alternate theory for the connectional basis for cross-modal plasticity that involves enhanced local branching of existing projection terminals that originate in non-auditory as well as auditory cortices

Charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers for pulse shape discrimination techniques with silicon detectors

New charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers coupled to silicon detectors and devoted to studies in nuclear structure and dynamics have been developed and tested. For the first time shapes of current pulses from light charged particles and carbon ions are presented. Capabilities for pulse shape discrimination techniques are demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Nucl. Inst. Meth.

Fast-neutron induced background in LaBr3:Ce detectors

The response of a scintillation detector with a cylindrical 1.5-inch LaBr3:Ce crystal to incident neutrons has been measured in the energy range En = 2-12 MeV. Neutrons were produced by proton irradiation of a Li target at Ep = 5-14.6 MeV with pulsed proton beams. Using the time-of-flight information between target and detector, energy spectra of the LaBr3:Ce detector resulting from fast neutron interactions have been obtained at 4 different neutron energies. Neutron-induced gamma rays emitted by the LaBr3:Ce crystal were also measured in a nearby Ge detector at the lowest proton beam energy. In addition, we obtained data for neutron irradiation of a large-volume high-purity Ge detector and of a NE-213 liquid scintillator detector, both serving as monitor detectors in the experiment. Monte-Carlo type simulations for neutron interactions in the liquid scintillator, the Ge and LaBr3:Ce crystals have been performed and compared with measured data. Good agreement being obtained with the data, we present the results of simulations to predict the response of LaBr3:Ce detectors for a range of crystal sizes to neutron irradiation in the energy range En = 0.5-10 MeVComment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 4 Table

Chitosan-PEO nanofiber mats for copper removal in aqueous solution using a new versatile electrospinning collector

Electrospun chitosan–polyethylene oxide nanofiber mats were fabricated using a new collector design. Besides being reusable, it allows to assess the desired morphology of the mat in a quicker way. To test its efficiency, nonwoven mats designed for water treatment applications were prepared using conditions never been reported before. Under these conditions, continuous and flawless nanofibers of 151 ± 36 nm in diameter were achieved. Adsorption capacity of the mats for copper ions in aqueous solutions were investigated. Results showed that sorption equilibrium was achieved within 150 min with a homogenous distribution of copper ions within the nanofibrous mats. The pseudo-second order kinetic model best fitted the experimental data. The Langmuir isotherm best described the sorption process with a maximum adsorption capacity of 124 mg/g for trial temperatures ranging from 25 to 60 °C. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS°) demonstrate that the adsorption was feasible, endothermic and spontaneous. The desorption potential and mat’s reusability were also studied. Results reveal that the electrospun chitosan mats can be desorbed and reused up to 5 cycles without significant loss in adsorption performance. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG