Space-Enhanced Solar Power for Equatorial Regions

This paper examines the concept of solar mirrors in a Earth orbit to provide solar farms with additional solar power during the hours of darkness. The design of the orbit is key for the purposes of the mission: the mirror needs continuous access to the Sun and the solar farm simultaneously. Therefore, orbits with high-eccentricity will be considered to increase the visibility time. Also, since the most convenient locations for solar power farms are about the equator, a suitable orbit should have a low inclination. This issue can be addressed through the concept of anti-heliotropic orbits that exploits mainly solar radiation pressure perturbations to generate highly-eccentric equatorial orbits able to maintain the orientation with respect to the Sun. The considered configuration consists in two space mirrors in a flower constellation rotating with the Earth to deliver a repeat ground track

Headache disorders as risk factors for sleep disturbances in school aged children.

Several epidemiological studies have shown the presence of comorbidity between various types of sleep disorders and different headache subtypes. Migraine without aura is a sensitive risk factor for disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (odds ratio (OR) 8.2500), and chronic tension-type headache for sleep breathing disorders (OR 15.231), but headache disorder is a cumulative risk factor for disorders of excessive somnolence (OR 15.061). This result has not been reported in the clinical literature. © Springer-Verlag Italia 2005

Transfer of a quantum state from a photonic qubit to a gate-defined quantum dot

Interconnecting well-functioning, scalable stationary qubits and photonic qubits could substantially advance quantum communication applications and serve to link future quantum processors. Here, we present two protocols for transferring the state of a photonic qubit to a single-spin and to a two-spin qubit hosted in gate-defined quantum dots (GDQD). Both protocols are based on using a localized exciton as intermediary between the photonic and the spin qubit. We use effective Hamiltonian models to describe the hybrid systems formed by the the exciton and the GDQDs and apply simple but realistic noise models to analyze the viability of the proposed protocols. Using realistic parameters, we find that the protocols can be completed with a success probability ranging between 85-97%

Space-Enhanced Solar Power for Equatorial Regions

This paper examines the concept of solar mirrors in a Earth orbit to provide solar farms with additional solar power during the hours of darkness. The design of the orbit is key for the purposes of the mission: the mirror needs continuous access to the Sun and the solar farm simultaneously. Therefore, orbits with high-eccentricity will be considered to increase the visibility time. Also, since the most convenient locations for solar power farms are about the equator, a suitable orbit should have a low inclination. This issue can be addressed through the concept of anti-heliotropic orbits that exploits mainly solar radiation pressure perturbations to generate highly-eccentric equatorial orbits able to maintain the orientation with respect to the Sun. The considered configuration consists in two space mirrors in a flower constellation rotating with the Earth to deliver a repeat ground track

Local seismic response studies in the north-western portion of the August 24th, 2016 Mw 6.0 earthquake affected area. The case of Visso village (Central Apennines).

In this work, we investigate the possible causes of the differential damaging observed in Visso village (Central Apennines, about 28 km north from the August 24th, 2016 Mw 6.0 earthquake epicenter). Following insights from the available geological cartography at 1:10.000 scale, a preliminary geophysical survey has been performed in the damaged area in order to constrain geometries and extent of the subsoil lithotypes. Then, these results have been used to retrieve a Vs profile close to the most heavily damaged buildings. This latter has been used as input for a numerical analysis aimed at deriving the motion at the ground level in the study area. In particular, a linear equivalent simulation has been performed by means of EERA code and the waveform has been obtained convolving the time history recorded during the August 24th, 2016 mainshock at Spoleto Monteluco (SPM) site. Our preliminary results indicate a possible correlation of damaging to the thickness and shape of the geological units. Nevertheless, further analyses are necessary to highlight any 2D basin and / non- linear soil behaviour effects in order to compare them to the intrinsic buildings vulnerability, according to the EMS98 guidelines

Complementarity of neutron reflectometry and ellipsometry for the study of atmospheric reactions at the air–water interface

The combined application of neutron reflectometry (NR) and ellipsometry to determine the oxidation kinetics of organic monolayers at the air–water interface is described for the first time. This advance was possible thanks to a new miniaturised reaction chamber that is compatible with the two techniques and has controlled gas delivery. The rate coefficient for the oxidation of methyl oleate monolayers by gas-phase O3 determined using NR is (5.4 ± 0.6) × 10−10 cm2 per molecule per s, which is consistent with the value reported in the literature but is now better constrained. This highlights the potential for the investigation of faster atmospheric reactions in future studies. The rate coefficient determined using ellipsometry is (5.0 ± 0.9) × 10−10 cm2 per molecule per s, which indicates the potential of this more economical, laboratory-based technique to be employed in parallel with NR. In this case, temporal fluctuations in the optical signal are attributed to the mobility of islands of reaction products. We outline how such information may provide critical missing information in the identification of transient reaction products in a range of atmospheric surface reactions in the future

Winsor & Newton original handbooks: asurface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) andRaman spectral database of dyes from modernwatercolor pigments

Background Winsor & Newton Ltd. has been one of the main fine art products providers since its establishment in 1832, being responsible for the manufacture of a wide assortment of materials ranging from oils and pigments to brushes and papers. All the items produced over the years have been indexed in a comprehensive historical archive. Original Winsor & Newton handbooks are a powerful resource which can offer insight into the world of artists’ materials, and knowledge of artists’ choices through the identification of substances employed to obtain particular colors. Scientific analyses of various kinds have been carried out on Winsor & Newton art materials over the years; however, a detailed study of the organic dyes contained in the watercolors manufactured by the company has never been performed thus far to our knowledge. Results In the present study, we examined a number of color washes on drawing paper from two historical Winsor & Newton catalogues dating to the 19th and 20th century. An appropriate database was thus built, including surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and Raman spectra of organic colorants from a wide variety of shades. While the selection of colors offered by the company in the 19th century mostly included lakes prepared from plant and insect dyes, i.e. madder and cochineal, some tints based on synthetic dyes were also found in the 20th century handbook. Conclusions The present article sheds new light on the chemical composition of a number of original Winsor & Newton color washes in terms of organic colorants contained in each shade. A special attention was dedicated to the analysis of those colors for which the formulation was ambiguous or not specified by the manufacturers, such as dragons’ blood and most of the alizarin-based pigments. In addition, we were able to correct erroneous indications provided by Winsor & Newton on the composition of some tints, as in the case of violet carmine, and study how the formulation of certain pigments has been modified over the centuries

Application of Nanomaterials in Bioengineering

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