Hydrogen reliquifier Quarterly report, 27 Sept. - 26 Dec. 1967

Computer analyzed hydrogen reliquefier cycles for selection of optimal cycle, rates, and heat exchanger

Not just fractal surfaces, but surface fractal aggregates: Derivation of the expression for the structure factor and its applications

Densely packed surface fractal aggregates form in systems with high local volume fractions of particles with very short diffusion lengths, which effectively means that particles have little space to move. However, there are no prior mathematical models, which would describe scattering from such surface fractal aggregates and which would allow the subdivision between inter- and intraparticle interferences of such aggregates. Here, we show that by including a form factor function of the primary particles building the aggregate, a finite size of the surface fractal interfacial sub-surfaces can be derived from a structure factor term. This formalism allows us to define both a finite specific surface area for fractal aggregates and the fraction of particle interfacial sub-surfaces at the perimeter of an aggregate. The derived surface fractal model is validated by comparing it with an ab initio approach that involves the generation of a "brick-in-a-wall" von Koch type contour fractals. Moreover, we show that this approach explains observed scattering intensities from in situ experiments that followed gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O) precipitation from highly supersaturated solutions. Our model of densely packed "brick-in-a-wall" surface fractal aggregates may well be the key precursor step in the formation of several types of mosaic- and meso-crystals

Identification of black sturgeon caviar pigment as eumelanin

Reported herein is the purification of the pigment of black sturgeon caviar and its unambiguous identification as a typical eumelanin by means of chemical degradation coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) evidence. HPLC and LC-MS analysis of oxidative degradation mixtures revealed the formation of pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA), a specific marker of eumelanin pigments, in yields compatible with a 6.5% w/w pigment content. EPR spectral features and parameters were in close agreement with those reported for a typical natural eumelanin such as Sepia melanin from squid ink. The identification for the first time of eumelanin in a fish roe is expected to provide a novel molecular basis for the valorization of black caviar and production wastes thereof in food chemistry and diet

Authigenic minerals reflect microbial control on pore waters in a ferruginous analogue

Ferruginous conditions prevailed in the oceans through much of Earth's history. However, minerals recording these conditions remain difficult to interpret in terms of biogeochemical processes prior to lithification. In Lake Towuti, Indonesia, ferruginous sediments are deposited under anoxic sulfate-poor conditions similar to the Proterozoic oceans, allowing the study of mineralogical (trans)formations during microbial diagenesis. Comprehensive pore water geochemistry, high resolution geochemical core profiles, and electron microscopy of authigenic minerals revealed in situ formation of magnetite, millerite, and abundant siderite and vivianite along a 100 m long sequence. Framboidal magnetites represent primary pelagic precipitates, whereas millerite, a sulfide mineral often overlooked under sulfate-poor conditions, shows acicular aggregates entangled with siderite and vivianite resulting from saturated pore waters and continuous growth during burial. These phases act as biosignatures of microbial iron and sulfate reduction, fermentation and methanogenesis, processes clearly traceable in pore water profiles. Variability in metal and organic substrates attests to environment driven processes, differentially sustaining microbial processes along the stratigraphy. Geochemical profiles resulting from microbial activity over 200 kyr after deposition provide constraints on the depth and age of mineral formation within ferruginous records

Authigenic minerals reflect microbial control on pore waters in a ferruginous analogue

Ferruginous conditions prevailed in the oceans through much of Earth’s history. However, minerals recording these conditions remain difficult to interpret in terms of biogeochemical processes prior to lithification. In Lake Towuti, Indonesia, ferruginous sediments are deposited under anoxic sulfate-poor conditions similar to the Proterozoic oceans, allowing the study of mineralogical (trans)formations during microbial diagenesis. Comprehensive pore water geochemistry, high resolution geochemical core profiles, and electron microscopy of authigenic minerals revealed in situ formation of magnetite, millerite, and abundant siderite and vivianite along a 100 m long sequence. Framboidal magnetites represent primary pelagic precipitates, whereas millerite, a sulfide mineral often overlooked under sulfate-poor conditions, shows acicular aggregates entangled with siderite and vivianite resulting from saturated pore waters and continuous growth during burial. These phases act as biosignatures of microbial iron and sulfate reduction, fermentation and methanogenesis, processes clearly traceable in pore water profiles. Variability in metal and organic substrates attests to environment driven processes, differentially sustaining microbial processes along the stratigraphy. Geochemical profiles resulting from microbial activity over 200 kyr after deposition provide constraints on the depth and age of mineral formation within ferruginous records

Cryogenic Origin for Mars Analog Carbonates in the Bockfjord Volcanic Complex Svalbard (Norway)

The Sverrefjell and Sigurdfjell eruptive centers in the Bockfjord Volcanic Complex (BVC) on Svalbard (Norway) formed by subglacial eruptions ca. 1 Ma ago. These eruptive centers carry ubiquitous magnesian carbonate deposits including dolomitemagnesite globules similar to those in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. Carbonates in mantle xenoliths are dominated by ALH84001 type carbonate globules that formed during quenching of CO2-rich mantle fluids. Lava hosted carbonates include ALH84001 type carbonate globules occurring throughout lava vesicles and microfractures and massive carbonate deposits associated with vertical volcanic vents. Massive carbonates include < or equal 5 cm thick magnesite deposits protruding downwards into clear blue ice within volcanic vents and carbonate cemented lava breccias associated with volcanic vents. Carbonate cements comprise layered deposits of calcite, dolomite, huntite, magnesite and aragonite associated with ALH84001 type carbonate globules lining lava vesicles. Combined Mossbauer, XRD and VNIR data show that breccia carbonate cements at Sverrefjell are analog to Comanche carbonates at Gusev crater

A combined first and second order variational approach for image reconstruction

In this paper we study a variational problem in the space of functions of bounded Hessian. Our model constitutes a straightforward higher-order extension of the well known ROF functional (total variation minimisation) to which we add a non-smooth second order regulariser. It combines convex functions of the total variation and the total variation of the first derivatives. In what follows, we prove existence and uniqueness of minimisers of the combined model and present the numerical solution of the corresponding discretised problem by employing the split Bregman method. The paper is furnished with applications of our model to image denoising, deblurring as well as image inpainting. The obtained numerical results are compared with results obtained from total generalised variation (TGV), infimal convolution and Euler's elastica, three other state of the art higher-order models. The numerical discussion confirms that the proposed higher-order model competes with models of its kind in avoiding the creation of undesirable artifacts and blocky-like structures in the reconstructed images -- a known disadvantage of the ROF model -- while being simple and efficiently numerically solvable.Comment: 34 pages, 89 figure

Molecular identification of fungi microfossils in a Neoproterozoic shale rock

Precambrian fossils of fungi are sparse, and the knowledge of their early evolution and the role they played in the colonization of land surface are limited. Here, we report the discovery of fungi fossils in a 810 to 715 million year old dolomitic shale from the Mbuji-Mayi Supergroup, Democratic Republic of Congo. Syngenetically preserved in a transitional, subaerially exposed paleoenvironment, these carbonaceous filaments of ~5 μm in width exhibit low-frequency septation (pseudosepta) and high-angle branching that can form dense interconnected mycelium-like structures. Using an array of microscopic (SEM, TEM, and confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy) and spectroscopic techniques (Raman, FTIR, and XANES), we demonstrated the presence of vestigial chitin in these fossil filaments and document the eukaryotic nature of their precursor. Based on those combined evidences, these fossil filaments and mycelium-like structures are identified as remnants of fungal networks and represent the oldest, molecularly identified remains of Fungi

Necessary conditions for variational regularization schemes

We study variational regularization methods in a general framework, more precisely those methods that use a discrepancy and a regularization functional. While several sets of sufficient conditions are known to obtain a regularization method, we start with an investigation of the converse question: How could necessary conditions for a variational method to provide a regularization method look like? To this end, we formalize the notion of a variational scheme and start with comparison of three different instances of variational methods. Then we focus on the data space model and investigate the role and interplay of the topological structure, the convergence notion and the discrepancy functional. Especially, we deduce necessary conditions for the discrepancy functional to fulfill usual continuity assumptions. The results are applied to discrepancy functionals given by Bregman distances and especially to the Kullback-Leibler divergence.Comment: To appear in Inverse Problem