Prediction of the energy efficiency of an Ar-H2-O2 plasma torch with Ansys Fluent

International audienceThis study aims at modeling an inductively heated Ar-H2-O2 plasma [1]. This plasma produced by a plasma torch is commonly used for the removal of boron from Silicon [2]. Some modules made at SIMAP-EPM enable us to model the plasma specificities and the interaction of the conducting fluid with the electromagnetic field. The power generated by the coil will be partly dissipated with the joule effect in the conductive parts of the device, partly transmitted into the plasma. The energy transmitted into the plasma will be partly used for chemical reactions, partly used to heat the plasma. However the plasma will also transmit some of its energy to the water-cooled walls with the radiative effects. We define the energy efficiency R eff as the fraction of plasma power provided by the torch to the reactor (in the form of an enthalpy flow and radiation flux). This study aims to predict this ratio for a given set of experiments [3]

Role of the Netrin-like Domain of Procollagen C-Proteinase Enhancer-1 in the Control of Metalloproteinase Activity

The netrin-like (NTR) domain is a feature of several extracellular proteins, most notably the N-terminal domain of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), where it functions as a strong inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases and some other members of the metzincin superfamily. The presence of a C-terminal NTR domain in procollagen C-proteinase enhancers (PCPEs), proteins that stimulate the activity of astacin-like tolloid proteinases, raises the possibility that this might also have inhibitory activity. Here we show that both long and short forms of the PCPE-1 NTR domain, the latter beginning at the N-terminal cysteine known to be critical for TIMP activity, show no inhibition, at micromolar concentrations, of several members of the metzincin superfamily, including matrix metalloproteinase-2, bone morphogenetic protein-1 (a tolloid proteinase), and different ADAMTS (a disintegrin and a metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) proteinases from the adamalysin family. In contrast, we report that the NTR domain within PCPE-1 leads to superstimulation of bone morphogenetic protein-1 activity in the presence of heparin and heparan sulfate. These observations point to a new mechanism whereby binding to cell surface-associated or extracellular heparin-like sulfated glycosaminoglycans might provide a means to accelerate procollagen processing in specific cellular and extracellular microenvironments

The Scribe

The Scribe student newspaper from January 11, 1962

The energy calibration of LEP in the 1993 scan

This report summarizes the procedure for providing the absolute energy calibration of the LEP beams during the energy scan in 1993. The average beam energy around the LEP ring was measured in 25 calibrations with the resonant depolarization technique. The time variation of this average beam energy is well described by a model of the accelerator based on monitored quantities. The absolute calibration of the centre of mass energies of the off-peak points is determined with a precision of 2 parts in 10(5) resulting in a systematic error on the Z-mass of about 1.4 MeV and on the Z-width of about 1.5 MeV

Global link between deformation and volcanic eruption quantified by satellite imagery

A key challenge for volcanological science and hazard management is that few of the world’s volcanoes are effectively monitored. Satellite imagery covers volcanoes globally throughout their eruptive cycles, independent of ground-based monitoring, providing a multidecadal archive suitable for probabilistic analysis linking deformation with eruption. Here we show that, of the 198 volcanoes systematically observed for the past 18 years, 54 deformed, of which 25 also erupted. For assessing eruption potential, this high proportion of deforming volcanoes that also erupted (46%), together with the proportion of non-deforming volcanoes that did not erupt (94%), jointly represent indicators with ‘strong’ evidential worth. Using a larger catalogue of 540 volcanoes observed for 3 years, we demonstrate how this eruption–deformation relationship is influenced by tectonic, petrological and volcanic factors. Satellite technology is rapidly evolving and routine monitoring of the deformation status of all volcanoes from space is anticipated, meaning probabilistic approaches will increasingly inform hazard decisions and strategic development

Inhibition of arginase in rat alveolar macrophages (AM phi) promotes utilization of L-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS).

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