Fission fragment mass reconstruction from Si surface barrier detector measurement

A method for plasma delay and pulse-height defect corrections for Si surface barrier detectors (SBD) is presented. Based on known empirical formulae, simple approximations involving the measured time-of-flight (TOF) and energy of the ions were found and a mass reconstruction procedure was developed. The procedure was applied for obtaining the fission fragment mass and angular distributions from the $^{64}$ Ni+$^{197}$Au reaction at 418 MeV and 383 MeV incident energy using an array of eight SBDs.Comment: 3 pages, 1 table, 3 figures, submitted to NIM A ; 4 pages, 1 table, 5 figures, added discussion and figure

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN INSTRUMENTED TREKKING POLE USE DURING DOWNHILL WALKING

This study examined gender differences when hiking downhill with and without trekking poles. Fourteen men and thirteen women were recruited who had hiking and poling experience. Integrated and peak GRF and braking forces (BF), integrated EMG, and trekking pole forces were collected and analyzed. A MANOVA using mean gain scores examined statistical significance (p=.05). Moderate correlations were noted for pole forces and the dependent variables, but no statistical significance was found for the mean gain scores between gender. Trends were noted for peak Fz and BF between gender, with men demonstrating a greater reduction in forces. Men on average also generated greater pole loads, even when normalized for body mass. Four distinct patterns of pole use effectiveness were observed posthoc, but crossed gender lines. Overall, pole loading may be a contributing mechanism to a reduction in forces and muscle activity for men more so than women, but high subject variability limits the strength of this conclusion

TREKKING POLE FORCES DURING DOWNHILL WALKING

This study examined gender differences when hiking downhill with trekking poles. Fourteen men and thirteen women were recruited who had hiking and poling experience. Integrated pole forces were examined over two pole strikes (left pole followed by right pole) prior to and during a stance phase of a step. Total pole force was compared between gender, as well the percent of pole force during the actual stance phase of the step. Left and right pole strikes were also examined for symmetry. Men generated a greater combined pole force than women (0.61N/kg vs. 0.48N/kg) but the differences were not statistically significant. During the stance phase, 48% of the combined pole force occurred for men, but only 35% of the pole force was noted for the women. Pole forces were less symmetrical for the women as well, although also not statistically different. Similar total pole forces between gender with less pole force during stance phase indicates pole walking technique differences rather than a lack of upper body strength, for women, who previously demonstrated less footfall force changes when walking with poles than without, in comparison to men

Best practice factory for freight transport in Europe: demonstrating how ‘good’ urban freight cases are improving business profit and public sectors benefits

The objective of this study is to better understand why selected urban freight solutions represent innovations that are technically feasible, economically profitable in different contexts, sustainable, transferable, and with tangible beneficial impacts. A total of 15 solutions are evaluated in the fields of Urban Consolidation Centre, clean and electric vehicles, IT solutions, use of urban waterways, and others. Three solutions are analysed more thoroughly, the Cityporto Padova, the Basel Exhibition Centre logistics support system, and the Berlin laboratory area test of the Bentobox. This paper ends with a transversal analysis of the solutions observed, and with methodological conclusions

Decarbonising Urban Freight Transport: Experimentations in European Research Projects

One of the objectives of European research programs is to decarbonize freight transport while maintaining its competitiveness and economic strength, reduce negative externalities such as pollutant emissions, congestion and accidents, and foster innovation. Multiple initiatives have started in Europe to reach these objectives and this paper reviews some of these schemes in the field of urban freight transport. It is based mainly on 3 EC-funded projects (BESTFACT (2016), SOLUTION (2015) and SMARTFUSION (2016)). These 3 projects are either testing (Smartfusion) or examining and disseminating European ‘new solutions’ or ‘best practices’ in freight transport. The paper mainly focuses on the most decarbonizing solutions

Heating of Calcium Phosphate Crystals: Morphological Consequences and Biological Implications

Sintering hydroxyapatite (HA) and ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) affects the chemical composition, the crystallinity, and the morphological features as demonstrated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) , infrared spectroscopy (IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). When heated to 1230°C, 16.7% of HA had decomposed to ß-TCP. SEM investigations showed homogeneous, sharp angular polyhedric blocks of 30 to 50 µm with rare surface pores. On heating at 1230°C, ß-TCP had entirely transformed to a-TCP. During sintering, the size of the powder grains increased and progressive bridging between the grains was observed. At 1230°C, a network within round-shaped polyhedric blocks of 50 to 90 µm was formed. In both, HA and IJ-TCP, surfaces were smooth. The chemical composition and the crystallinity of calcium phosphate ceramics determine their dissolution behavior and osteogenic properties. Nevertheless, their temperature dependent morphological features, such as, particle shape and size, surface texture, and porosity, as demonstrated in the present study, also influence the resorption rates , tissue responses, and wound healing duration. This should be emphasized more by clinicians in choosing an appropriate material for bone substitution

Nanogranular MgB2 thin films on SiC buffered Si substrates prepared by in-situ method

MgB2 thin films were deposited on SiC buffered Si substrates by sequential electron beam evaporation of B-Mg bilayer followed by in-situ annealing. The application of a SiC buffer layer enables the maximum annealing temperature of 830 C. The Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis confirms the growth of a nanogranular MgB2 film and the presence of a Mg2Si compound at the surface of the film. The 150-200 nm thick films show a maximum zero resistance critical temperature TC0 above 37 K and a critical current density JC ~ 106 A/cm2 at 11K.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Chiral recognition for the complexation dynamics of β-cyclodextrin with the enantiomers of 2-naphthyl-1-ethanol

The focus of this study is to understand the origin of the chiral recognition for a host–guest system containing complexes with different stoichiometries. Each enantiomer of 2-naphthyl-1-ethanol forms two different 1:1 complexes with β-cyclodextrin, leading to the formation of three different 2:2 complexes. One of these 2:2 complexes leads to excimer emission of the guest. Fluorescence studies were employed to determine the binding isotherms for the 1:1 and 2:2 complexes. No chiral discrimination was directly observed for the formation of the 1:1 complexes, while higher equilibrium constants (29% from binding isotherms and 40% from kinetic studies) were observed for the formation of the 2:2 complexes with (R)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol when compared to the formation of the 2:2 complexes formed from (S)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol. The relaxation kinetics was studied using stopped-flow experiments. The formation of the 2:2 complexes was followed by detecting the excimer emission from one of the 2:2 complexes. The relaxation kinetics was faster for (S)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol, where a higher dissociation rate constant, by 47%, was observed, suggesting that the chiral discrimination occurs because the interaction between two cyclodextrins is more favorable for the complexes containing (R)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol when compared to (S)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol. The same overall equilibrium constants were observed for the 1:1 complexes with both enantiomers showing that at a given cyclodextrin concentration the sum of the two types of 1:1 complexes is the same for both enantiomers. However, analysis of the binding isotherms indicates that the ratio between the two different 1:1 complexes for each enantiomer was different for (R)- and (S)-2-naphthyl-1-ethanol

Evaluierung potentieller Torfersatzstoffe für den Erwerbsgartenbau mit bodenkundlichen Methoden

Mit dem Torfabbau für gartenbauliche Zwecke sind vielfältige negative Auswirkungen verknüpft: Veränderung des Landschaftswasserhaushalts, Treibhausgas-Emissionen, Landschaftswandel, Verlust der biologischen Vielfalt. Der Einsatz von Torfersatzstoffen im Erwerbsgartenbau wie z.B. Rindenhumus, Komposte oder Kokosfasern findet bisher nur in einem geringen Umfang statt, da sie andere Eigenschaften als Torf aufweisen und daher ein potentielles Kulturrisiko darstellen. Zudem können diese Stoffe auch zu ökologischen Problemen führen, z.B. durch lange Transportwege bei der Beschaffung von Kokosfasern. Daher ist es wichtig systematische Untersuchungsverfahren für die Analyse von Torfersatzstoffen mit hoher Kultursicherheit zu entwickeln. Um den Untersuchungsaufwand zu minimieren, soll ein Entscheidungsbaum entwickelt werden, anhand dessen verschiedene Parameter systematisch untersucht werden. Dieser soll schon in frühen Stadien indizieren, ob sich ein Rohstoff als Substratausgangsstoff eignet, bedingt eignet oder verworfen werden muss. Hierzu werden klassische Untersuchungsverfahren (VDLUFA, DIN EN) zur Untersuchung der chemischen, physikalischen und biologischen Eigenschaften der Substratausgangsstoffe eingesetzt wie z.B. zur N-Immobilisierung und zum Wasser- und Lufthaushalt. Diese werden mit bodenkundlichen Methoden wie z.B. Inkubations- und Stabilisotopenversuche kombiniert und weiter entwickelt. Die weiter entwickelten Methoden sollen zu einer verbesserten Aussagefähigkeit bezüglich der Kultursicherheit beitragen. Im Rahmen dieser Studie werden auf diese Weise mehrere potentielle Substratausgangsstoffe (Erle, Schilf, Rohrkolben, Heide) getestet. Es werden erste Ergebnisse der Labor- und Gewächshausversuche dieser potentiellen Substratausgangsstoffe präsentiert