Aqueous suspension processing of multicomponent submicronic Y-TZP/Al2O3/SiC particles for suspension plasma spraying

In order to obtain thermal barrier coatings by Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS) process with potential new self-healing ability multicomponent submicronic Y-TZP/Al2O3/SiC suspensions were prepared. For this purpose, concentrated aqueous suspensions of individual components, as well as the multicomponent mixture were studied and characterised, in terms of colloidal stability and rheological behaviour to determine the best conditions for processing and preparation of the coatings. In the study, different dispersant contents and sonication times were tested. Subsequently, low concentrated suspensions were prepared to obtain preliminary thermal barrier coatings with the optimised feedstock. Thus, ceramic coatings were deposited by SPS and then characterised in order to assess the microstructure and phase distribution, in particular, the degree of preservation of the sealing agent, SiC, in the final coating as a previous indicator of its self-healing ability

νμ\nu_\mu disappearance at the SPL, T2K-I and the Neutrino Factory

We study the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at T2K-phase I and the SPL and analyse the achievable reduction of present uncertainties in $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$. We analyse the impact of discrete ambiguities in sign($\Delta m^2{23}$) and sign($2 \tan \theta_{23}$). We show how the disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory is complementary to the ``golden'' and ``silver'' appearance channels and can be used to reduce the eightfold-ambiguity problem in ($\theta_{13}-\delta$).Comment: 2 pages, 3 epsfig; NUFACT'05, 21-26 June 2005, Frascat

Mecànica de fluids i termodinàmica

Enginyeria Tècnica en Disseny Industrial. 502: Físic

Modulating the phase transition temperature of giant magnetocaloric thin films by ion irradiation

Magnetic refrigeration based on the magnetocaloric effect at room temperature is one of the most attractive alternative to the current gas compression/expansion method routinely employed. Nevertheless, in giant magnetocaloric materials, optimal refrigeration is restricted to the narrow temperature window of the phase transition (Tc). In this work, we present the possibility of varying this transition temperature into a same giant magnetocaloric material by ion irradiation. We demonstrate that the transition temperature of iron rhodium thin films can be tuned by the bombardment of ions of Ne 5+ with varying fluences up to 10 14 ions cm --2 , leading to optimal refrigeration over a large 270--380 K temperature window. The Tc modification is found to be due to the ion-induced disorder and to the density of new point-like defects. The variation of the phase transition temperature with the number of incident ions opens new perspectives in the conception of devices using giant magnetocaloric materials

Visceral leishmaniasis patients display altered composition and maturity of neutrophils as well as impaired neutrophil effector functions

Immunologically, active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is characterised by profound immunosuppression, severe systemic inflammatory responses and an impaired capacity to control parasite replication. Neutrophils are highly versatile cells, which play a crucial role in the induction as well as the resolution of inflammation, the control of pathogen replication and the regulation of immune responses. Neutrophil functions have been investigated in human cutaneous leishmaniasis, however, their role in human visceral leishmaniasis is poorly understood. In the present study we evaluated the activation status and effector functions of neutrophils in patients with active VL and after successful anti-leishmanial treatment. Our results show that neutrophils are highly activated and have degranulated; high levels of arginase, myeloperoxidase and elastase, all contained in neutrophils’ granules, were found in the plasma of VL patients. In addition, we show that a large proportion of these cells are immature. We also analysed effector functions of neutrophils that are essential for pathogen clearance and show that neutrophils have an impaired capacity to release neutrophil extracellular traps, produce reactive oxygen species and phagocytose bacterial particles, but not Leishmania parasites. Our results suggest that impaired effector functions, increased activation and immaturity of neutrophils play a key role in the pathogenesis of VL

Mineralogía de los materiales detríticos de la Fm. Escucha (Albiense inferior) en el distrito minero de Teruel (sector Suroriental de la Cordillera Ibérica)

The present study focuses on the determination of the source areas of the Escucha Fm. (Albian) sediments in the Teruel Mining District (NE Spain). To this en4 we have carried out a detailed study of the heavy mineral fraction of the sandstone beds from this sedimentary unit at three stratigraphic successions at the Ariño-Oliete and Utrillas subbasins. The minerals found in the stratigraphic successions studied are in low proportions and a few mineral phases are present. Quartz is the dominant phase in the light mineral association, whereas potassium feldspars and plagioclase are in trace amounts. The opaque heavy minerals are hematite and goethite with minor amounts of pyrite. Finally, the transparent heavy minerals may be divided into the three following major associations: a) turmaline, zircon and rutile (resistant minerals); b) kyanite, staurolite and almandine (metamorphic association); and c) metamorphic mineral association from the Ctrillas sub-basin, characterised by very low heavy mineral proportions, and by the absence of one or various mineral phases from the association b. The flow directions from paleochannels and the absence of metarnorphic minerals in the sandstone levels of the upper unit of the Escucha Fm at the northern areas point to the "Platuforma del Ebro" as a possihle source area The minerals with this origin, with variable morphoscopy, could proceed from sedimentary recycling The metamorphic assemblage found in the southern areas may proceed from the "Macizo Castellano", where gneiss and mica-schists are present. It is not possible to precisse exactly the age of the source areas of the detrital sediments of the Escucha Fm This is due to the fact that these may have been different through the basin evolution, and also to the evidence of recycling processes The middle and lower units of the Escucha Fm at Ariño and Oliete, where the workable coa1 seams are present, show a metamorphic assemblage which demonstrate the Paleozoic age of the source lands Consequently, the Triassic units could also supply detrital minerals to the delta system of the Escucha Fm. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of the Triassic origin of the sulphur enrichment of the coals from the Ariño-Oliete area The recycling of detrital sediments from the Escucha Fm or a different source lana could account for the proteciion of the Utrillas sub-basin against the Triassic sulphate supply, and consequently for the lower sulphur content of the coals from this area.

νμ\nu_\mu disappearance at the SPL, T2K-I, NOν\nuA and the Neutrino Factory

We study the measurement of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters, $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$, at the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at three conventional beam facilities, the SPL, T2K-phase I and NO$\nu$A. These two parameters have been shown to be of crucial importance in the measurement of two of the unknowns of the PMNS mixing matrix, $\theta_{13}$ and the leptonic CP-violating phase $\delta$. In our analyis, the effect of the two discrete ambiguities, ${\rm sign}(\Delta m^2_{23})$ and ${\rm sign}(\tan 2 \theta_{23})$, is explicitly taken into account. We analyse also the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory, and combine it with the ``golden'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\mu$ and ``silver'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$ appearance channels to study its impact on the measurement of $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$. Eventually, we present the sensitivity of the four facilities to different observables: $\theta_{13}$, $\delta$, maximal $\theta_{23}$, the sign of the atmospheric mass difference, $s_{atm}$, and the $\theta_{23}$-octant, $s_{oct}$.Comment: 40 pages using epsfig; bibliography modifie

Quality classification of Spanish olive oils by untargeted gas chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole–time of flight mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and metabolomics-based statistical approach

The novel atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source has been used in combination with gas chromatography (GC) coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS) for determination of volatile components of olive oil, enhancing its potential for classification of olive oil samples according to their quality using a metabolomics-based approach. The full-spectrum acquisition has allowed the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in olive oil samples, including extra virgin, virgin and lampante qualities. A dynamic headspace extraction with cartridge solvent elution was applied. The metabolomics strategy consisted of three different steps: a full mass spectral alignment of GC-MS data using MzMine 2.0, a multivariate analysis using Ez-Info and the creation of the statistical model with combinations of responses for molecular fragments. The model was finally validated using blind samples, obtaining an accuracy in oil classification of 70 % taking the official established method, “PANEL TEST” as reference.The authors acknowledge the financial support of Generalitat Valenciana, as research group of excellence (PROMETEO II/2014/023) and Collaborative Research on Environment and Food-Safety (ISIC/2012/016). This work and C. Sales grant has been supported by Universitat Jaume I research promotion plans (P1-1B2013-70

Study of the eightfold degeneracy with a standard β\beta-Beam and a Super-Beam facility

The study of the eightfold degeneracy at a neutrino complex that includes a standard $\beta$-Beam and a Super-Beam facility is presented for the first time in this paper. The scenario where the neutrinos are sent toward a Megaton water Cerenkov detector located at the Fr\'{e}jus laboratory (baseline 130 Km) is exploited. The performance in terms of sensitivity for measuring the continuous ($\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$) and discrete (${sign} [ \Delta m^2_{23} ]$ and ${sign} [\tan (2\theta_{23}) ]$) oscillation parameters for the $\beta$-Beam and Super-Beam alone, and for their combination has been studied. A brief review of the present uncertainties on the neutrino and antineutrino cross-sections is also reported and their impact on the discovery potential discussed