MaxEnt power spectrum estimation using the Fourier transform for irregularly sampled data applied to a record of stellar luminosity

The principle of maximum entropy is applied to the spectral analysis of a data signal with general variance matrix and containing gaps in the record. The role of the entropic regularizer is to prevent one from overestimating structure in the spectrum when faced with imperfect data. Several arguments are presented suggesting that the arbitrary prefactor should not be introduced to the entropy term. The introduction of that factor is not required when a continuous Poisson distribution is used for the amplitude coefficients. We compare the formalism for when the variance of the data is known explicitly to that for when the variance is known only to lie in some finite range. The result of including the entropic measure factor is to suggest a spectrum consistent with the variance of the data which has less structure than that given by the forward transform. An application of the methodology to example data is demonstrated.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, major revision, final version, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Sensitivity analysis for in-cylinder soot-particle size imaging with laser-induced incandescence

International audienceSoot particle sizes can be determined from time-resolved laser-induced incandescence (LII) in point measurements where full signal traces are detected. For instantaneous imaging, strategies are required that must cope with time-gated information and that rely on assumptions on the local boundary conditions. A model-based analysis is performed to identify the dependence of LII particle-size imaging on the assumed boundary conditions such as bath gas temperature, pressure, particle heat-up temperature, accommodation coefficients, and soot morphology. Various laser-fluence regimes and gas pressures are considered. For 60 bar, fluences that lead to particle heat-up temperatures of 3400– 3900 K provided the lowest sensitivity on particle-sizing. Effects of laser attenuation are evaluated. A combination of one detection gate starting at the signal peak and the other starting with 5 ns delay was found to provide the highest sensitivity at 60 bar. The optimum gate delays for different pressures are shown. The effects of timing jitter and poly-dispersity are investigated. Systematic errors in pyrometry imaging at 60 bar is evaluated

Influence of salt on the self-assembly of two model amyloid heptapeptides

We study the effects of NaCl on the self-assembly of AAKLVFF and beta A beta AKLVFF in solution. Both AAKLVFF and beta A beta AKLVFF self-assemble into twisted fibers in aqueous solution. The addition of NaCl to aqueous solutions of AAKLVFF produces large crystal-like nanotapes which eventually precipitate. In contrast, highly twisted fibrils were observed for beta A beta AKLVFF solutions at low salt concentration, while a coexistence of highly twisted fibers and nanotubes was observed for beta A beta AKLVFF at high salt concentration. The self-assembled structures observed for beta A beta AKLVFF in NaCl solutions were ascribed to the progressive screening of the beta A beta AKLVFF surface charge caused by the addition of salt

Determination of small soot particles in the presence of large ones from time-resolved laser-induced incandescence

International audienceInformation about the polydispersity of soot can in principle be gained from time-resolved laser-induced incandescence (LII) using pre-assumed particle-size distributions. This paper introduces an alternative method, called two-exponential reverse fitting (TERF) that is based on combined mono-exponential fits to the LII signal decay at various delay times. The method approximates the particle-size distribution as a combination of one large and one small monodisperse equivalent mean particle size and does not require a distribution assumption. It also provides a ratio of the contribution of both size classes. The systematic error caused by describing LII signals by mono-exponential decays is calculated as less than 2% for LII signals simulated for monodisperse aggregated soot with heat-up temperatures for which evaporation is negligible. The effects of particle size, heat-up temperature, aggregate size, and pressure on this error are evaluated. The method is tested on simulated LII signals for lognormal and bimodal size distributions and applied to LII data acquired in a laminar non-premixed ethylene/air flame at various heights above burner. The results are compared to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements of thermophoretically-sampled soot. The particle size of the large particle-size class evaluated with the method showed good consistency with TEM results, however the size of the small particle-size class and the relative contribution could not be compared due to missing information in the TEM results for small particles. These limitations of TEM measurements are discussed and the effect of the exposure time of the sampling grid is evaluated.

What are the predictors of success in smoking cessation program?

WOS: 000404952600833[No abstract available

Assessment of soot particle-size imaging with LII at Diesel engine conditions

International audienceTwo-time-step laser-induced incandescence (LII) imaging was performed in Diesel engine-relevant combustion to investigate its applicability for spatially-resolved measurements of soot primary particle sizes. The method is based on evaluating gated LII signals acquired with two cameras consecutively after the laser pulse and using LII modeling to deduce the particle size from the ratio of local signals. Based on a theoretical analysis, optimized detection times and durations were chosen to minimize measurement uncertainties. Experiments were conducted in a high-temperature high-pressure constant-volume pre-combustion vessel under the Engine Combustion Network's (ECN) "Spray A" conditions at 61–68 bar with additional parametric variations of injection pressure, gas temperature, and composition. The LII measurements were supported by pyrometric imaging measurements of particle heat-up temperatures. The results were compared to particle-size and size-dispersion measurements from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of soot thermophoretically sampled at multiple axial distances from the injector. The discrepancies between the two measurement techniques are discussed to analyze uncertainties and related error sources of the two diagnostics. It is found that in such environment where particles are small and pressure is high, LII signal decay times are such that LII with standard nanosecond laser and detector equipment suffers from a strong bias towards large particles

PEGylated amyloid peptide nanocontainer delivery and release system

A micellar nanocontainer delivery and release system is designed on the basis of a peptide-polymer conjugate. The hybrid molecules self-assemble into micelles comprising a modified amyloid peptide core surrounded by a PEG corona. The modified amyloid peptide previously studied in our group forms helical ribbons based on a beta-sheet motif and contains beta-amino acids that are excluded from the beta-sheet structure, thus being potentially useful as fibrillization inhibitors. In the model peptide-PEG hybrid system studied, enzymatic degradation using alpha-chymotrypsin leads to selective cleavage close to the PEG-peptide linkage, break up of the micelles, and release of peptides in unassociated form. The release of monomeric peptide is useful because aggregation of the released peptide into beta-sheet amyloid fibrils is not observed. This concept has considerable potential in the targeted delivery of peptides for therapeutic applications

Influence of end-capping on the self-assembly of model amyloid peptide fragments

The influence of charge and aromatic stacking interactions on the self-assembly of a series of four model amyloid peptides has been examined. The four model peptides are based on the KLVFF motif from the amyloid Beta peptide, ABeta(16-20) extended at the N terminus with two Beta-alanine residues. We have studied NH2-BetaABetaAKLVFF-COOH (FF), NH2-BetaABetaAKLVFCOOH (F), CH3CONH-BetaABetaAKLVFF-CONH2 (CapF), and CH3CONH-BetaABetaAKLVFFCONH2 (CapFF). The former two are uncapped (net charge plus 2) and differ by one hydrophobic phenylalanine residue; the latter two are the analogous capped peptides (net charge plus 1). The self-assembly characteristics of these peptides are remarkably different and strongly dependent on concentration. NMR shows a shift from carboxylate to carboxylic acid forms upon increasing concentration. Saturation transfer measurements of solvent molecules indicate selective involvement of phenylalanine residues in driving the self-assembly process of CapFF due presumably to the effect of aromatic stacking interactions. FTIR spectroscopy reveals beta-sheet features for the two peptides containing two phenylalanine residues but not the single phenylalanine residue, pointing again to the driving force for self-assembly. Circular dichroism (CD) in dilute solution reveals the polyproline II conformation, except for F which is disordered. We discuss the relationship of this observation to the significant pH shift observed for this peptide when compared the calculated value. Atomic force microscopy and cryogenic-TEM reveals the formation of twisted fibrils for CapFF, as previously also observed for FF. The influence of salt on the self-assembly of the model beta-sheet forming capped peptide CapFF was investigated by FTIR. Cryo-TEM reveals that the extent of twisting decreases with increased salt concentration, leading to the formation of flat ribbon structures. These results highlight the important role of aggregation-induced pKa shifts in the self-assembly of model beta-sheet peptides