6,287 research outputs found
Synthesis of colloidal silicalite-1 at high temperatures
Stable colloidal suspensions of silicalite-1 were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of clear precursor suspensions at high temperatures, 150 and 170 °C. The precursor suspensions were pretreated prior to hydrothermal treatment. Different pretreatment procedures were applied, namely ultrasonic treatment or heating at 45–60 °C, for different periods of time. In all cases, the size of the crystals decreased with increasing the time of pretreatment. The pretreatment procedure was found to influence the behavior of the tetrapropylammonium hydroxide solution used as structure-directing template during hydrothermal treatment. Colloidal stability of pretreated samples was improved compared to samples prepared by direct hydrothermal treatment
The stochastic dynamics of micron and nanoscale elastic cantilevers in fluid: fluctuations from dissipation
The stochastic dynamics of micron and nanoscale cantilevers immersed in a
viscous fluid are quantified. Analytical results are presented for long slender
cantilevers driven by Brownian noise. The spectral density of the noise force
is not assumed to be white and the frequency dependence is determined from the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The analytical results are shown to be useful
for the micron scale cantilevers that are commonly used in atomic force
microscopy. A general thermodynamic approach is developed that is valid for
cantilevers of arbitrary geometry as well as for arrays of multiple cantilevers
whose stochastic motion is coupled through the fluid. It is shown that the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem permits the calculation of stochastic
quantities via straightforward deterministic methods. The thermodynamic
approach is used with deterministic finite element numerical simulations to
quantify the autocorrelation and noise spectrum of cantilever fluctuations for
a single micron scale cantilever and the cross-correlations and noise spectra
of fluctuations for an array of two experimentally motivated nanoscale
cantilevers as a function of cantilever separation. The results are used to
quantify the noise reduction possible using correlated measurements with two
closely spaced nanoscale cantilevers.Comment: Submitted to Nanotechnology April 26, 200
Jet-Induced Nucleosynthesis in Misaligned Microquasars
The jet axes and the orbital planes of microquasar systems are usually
assumed to be approximately perpendicular, eventhough this is not currently an
observational requirement. On the contrary, in one of the few systems where the
relative orientations are well-constrained, V4641Sgr, the jet axis is known to
lie not more than ~36 degrees from the binary plane. Such a jet, lying close to
the binary plane, and traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light
may periodically impact the secondary star initiating nuclear reactions on its
surface. The integrated yield of such nuclear reactions over the age of the
binary system (less the radiative mass loss) will detectably alter the
elemental abundances of the companion star. This scenario may explain the
anomalously high Li enhancements (roughly ~20-200 times the sun's photospheric
value; or, equivalently, 0.1-1 times the average solar system value) seen in
the companions of some black-hole X-ray binary systems. (Such enhancements are
puzzling since Li nuclei are exceedingly fragile - being easily destroyed in
the interiors of stars - and Li would be expected to be depleted rather than
enhanced there.) Gamma-ray line signatures of the proposed process could
include the 2.22 MeV neutron capture line as well as the 0.478 MeV 7Li*
de-excitation line, both of which may be discernable with the INTEGRAL
satellite if produced in an optically thin region during a large outburst. For
very energetic jets, a relatively narrow neutral pion gamma-decay signature at
67.5 MeV could also be measurable with the GLAST satellite. We argue that about
10-20% of all microquasar systems ought to be sufficiently misaligned as to be
undergoing the proposed jet-secondary impacts.Comment: ApJ, accepted. Includes referee's suggestions and some minor
clarifications over previous versio
Examining the development environments of elite English Football Academies: the players’ perspective.
As a preliminary investigation, we examined elite youth football academy players' perceptions of the quality of their developmental environment, at a crucial stage in their progression to a professional level. With institutional ethics approval, the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ)[1]was used to survey 50 elite players aged 16-18 (m17.1,±s=0.6 years)recruited from the academies of Premier League and Championship clubs in England. Overall, the results suggest that elite player development environments are perceived to be of a good quality. However, while academies appeared strong in areas related to coaching, organisation, and sport-related support; they were somewhat deficient in areas related to athlete understanding, links to senior progression, and key stakeholder relationships. In addition to the importance of establishing well-integrated youth and senior teams and positive working relationships with parents; the findings underline the necessity for academies to pay close attention to the psychosocial environments they create for developing players. Theoretical considerations and applied implications for those involved in elite player development are discussed
Candle soot-based super-amphiphobic coatings resist protein adsorption
Super nonfouling surfaces resist protein adhesion and have a broad field of possible applications in implant technology, drug delivery, blood compatible materials, biosensors, and marine coatings. A promising route toward nonfouling surfaces involves liquid repelling architectures. The authors here show that soot-templated super-amphiphobic (SAP) surfaces prepared from fluorinated candle soot structures are super nonfouling. When exposed to bovine serum albumin or blood serum, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis showed that less than 2 ng/cm(2) of protein was adsorbed onto the SAP surfaces. Since a broad variety of substrate shapes can be coated by soot-templated SAP surfaces, those are a promising route toward biocompatible materials design
Optical photometric GTC/OSIRIS observations of the young massive association Cygnus OB2
In order to fully understand the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds,
the star formation process and the evolution of circumstellar disks, these
phenomena must be studied in different Galactic environments with a range of
stellar contents and positions in the Galaxy. The young massive association
Cygnus OB2, in the Cygnus-X region, is an unique target to study how star
formation and the evolution of circumstellar disks proceed in the presence of a
large number of massive stars. We present a catalog obtained with recent
optical observations in r,i,z filters with OSIRIS, mounted on the GTC
telescope, which is the deepest optical catalog of Cyg OB2 to date.
The catalog consist of 64157 sources down to M=0.15 solar masses at the
adopted distance and age of Cyg OB2. A total of 38300 sources have good
photometry in all three bands. We combined the optical catalog with existing
X-ray data of this region, in order to define the cluster locus in the optical
diagrams. The cluster locus in the r-i vs. i-z diagram is compatible with an
extinction of the optically selected cluster members in the 2.64<AV<5.57 range.
We derive an extinction map of the region, finding a median value of AV=4.33 in
the center of the association, decreasing toward the north-west. In the
color-magnitude diagrams, the shape of the distribution of main sequence stars
is compatible with the presence of an obscuring cloud in the foreground at
about 850+/-25 pc from the Sun.Comment: Accepted for publication ApJS 201
Towards Comprehensive Computational Representations of Arabic Multiword Expressions
A successful computational treatment of multiword expressions (MWEs) in natural languages leads to a robust NLP system which considers the long-standing problem of language ambiguity caused primarily by this complex linguistic phenomenon. The first step in addressing
this challenge is building an extensive reliable MWEs language resource LR with comprehensive computational representations across all linguistic levels. This forms the cornerstone in understanding the heterogeneous linguistic behaviour of MWEs in their various manifestations. This paper presents a detailed framework for computational representations of Arabic MWEs (ArMWEs) across all linguistic levels based on the state-of-the-art lexical mark-up framework (LMF) with the necessary modifications to suit the distinctive properties of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This work forms part of a larger project that aims to develop a comprehensive computational lexicon of ArMWEs for NLP and language pedagogy LP (JOMAL project)
The Challenges of Living with and Caring for a Child or Children Affected by Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Type 2 Disease: In-Depth Family Surveys in the United Kingdom and Germany
Limited research has investigated the challenges faced by families caring for children with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2
(CLN2) disease. Face-to-face, mixed-method, in-depth surveys were conducted with 19 families (23 children) in the UK (n=9) and
Germany (n=10) to assess the impact of caring for children with CLN2 disease, using national wellbeing and quality of life (QoL)
measures. Primary (n=19) and secondary (n=10) caregivers, adult siblings (n=2), and child siblings (n=2) were included. Caregivers
reported reduced health-related QoL compared with age and gender-matched controls (mean utility scores 0.08 and 0.11 lower
in Germany and the UK, respectively). Hours of caregiving were significantly higher relative to that provided to a child of normal
health, with stress, back pain, and reductions in sleep being recorded. Lower life satisfaction and happiness with partners were
also reported, along with significant financial burden. Those caring for children in the late stage of disease were more greatly
impacted than those with children in the rapidly progressive stage, or who were bereaved. The results of this study make clear
the importance of emotional and practical support for caregivers and siblings coping with CLN2 disease
Carbon nanotubes adhesion and nanomechanical behavior from peeling force spectroscopy
Applications based on Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWNT) are good example
of the great need to continuously develop metrology methods in the field of
nanotechnology. Contact and interface properties are key parameters that
determine the efficiency of SWNT functionalized nanomaterials and nanodevices.
In this work we have taken advantage of a good control of the SWNT growth
processes at an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip apex and the use of a low
noise (1E-13 m/rtHz) AFM to investigate the mechanical behavior of a SWNT
touching a surface. By simultaneously recording static and dynamic properties
of SWNT, we show that the contact corresponds to a peeling geometry, and
extract quantities such as adhesion energy per unit length, curvature and
bending rigidity of the nanotube. A complete picture of the local shape of the
SWNT and its mechanical behavior is provided
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