Phenomenological Analysis of a Dimension-Two Operator in QCD and its Impact on αs(Mτ)\alpha_{s}(M_{\tau})

Fits to the ARGUS data on hadronic decays of the tau-lepton, which determine the vector and axial-vector spectral functions, are used in order to determine the size of a dimension $d=2$ term in the Operator Product Expansion. Constraints from the first Weinberg sum rule (in the chiral limit) are enforced in order to reduce the uncertainty of this determination. Results for the $d=2$ operator are consistent with a quadratic dependence on $\Lambda_{QCD}$. The impact of this term on the extraction of $\alpha_{s}(M_{\tau})$ is assessed.Comment: 7 pages and 4 figures (not included). LATEX fil

Improved Determination of the Mass of the 1−+1^{-+} Light Hybrid Meson From QCD Sum Rules

We calculate the next-to-leading order (NLO) $\alpha_s$-corrections to the contributions of the condensates $$ and $^2$ in the current-current correlator of the hybrid current g\barq(x)\gamma_{\nu}iF_{\mu\nu}^aT^aq(x) using the external field method in Feynman gauge. After incorporating these NLO contributions into the Laplace sum-rules, the mass of the $J^{PC}$=$1^{-+}$ light hybrid meson is recalculated using the QCD sum rule approach. We find that the sum rules exhibit enhanced stability when the NLO $\alpha_s$-corrections are included in the sum rule analysis, resulting in a $1^{-+}$ light hybrid meson mass of approximately 1.6 GeV.Comment: revtex4, 10 pages, 7 eps figures embedded in manuscrip

Engineering the acidity and accessibility of the zeolite ZSM-5 for efficient bio-oil upgrading in catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulose

The properties of the zeolite ZSM-5 have been optimised for the production and deoxygenation of the bio-oil∗ (bio-oil on water-free basis) fraction by lignocellulose catalytic pyrolysis. Two ZSM-5 supports possessing high mesopore/external surface area, and therefore enhanced accessibility, have been employed to promote the conversion of the bulky compounds formed in the primary cracking of lignocellulose. These supports are a nanocrystalline material (n-ZSM-5) and a hierarchical sample (h-ZSM-5) of different Si/Al ratios and acid site concentrations. Acidic features of both zeolites have been modified and adjusted by incorporation of ZrO2, which has a significant effect on the concentration and distribution of both Brønsted and Lewis acid sites. These materials have been tested in the catalytic pyrolysis of acid-washed wheat straw (WS-ac) using a two-step (thermal/catalytic) reaction system at different catalyst/biomass ratios. The results obtained have been assessed in terms of oxygen content, energy yield and composition of the produced bio-oil∗, taking also into account the selectivity towards the different deoxygenation pathways. The ZrO2/n-ZSM-5 sample showed remarkable performance in the biomass catalytic pyrolysis, as a result of the appropriate combination of accessibility and acidic properties. In particular, modification of the zeolitic support acidity by incorporation of highly dispersed ZrO2 effectively decreased the extent of secondary reactions, such as severe cracking and coke formation, as well as promoted the conversion of the oligomers formed initially by lignocellulose pyrolysis, thus sharply decreasing the proportion of the components not detected by GC-MS in the upgraded bio-oil∗

QCD moment sum rules for Coulomb systems: the charm and bottom quark masses

In this work the charm and bottom quark masses are determined from QCD moment sum rules for the charmonium and upsilon systems. To illustrate the special character of these sum rules when applied to Coulomb systems we first set up and study the behaviour of the sum rules in quantum mechanics. In our analysis we include both the results from nonrelativistic QCD and perturbation theory at next-next-to-leading order. The moments are evaluated at different values of q^2 which correspond to different relative influence among the theoretical contributions. In the numerical analysis we obtain the masses by choosing central values for all input parameters. The error is estimated from a variation of these parameters. First, the analysis is performed in the pole mass scheme. Second, we employ the potential-subtracted mass in intermediate steps of the calculation to then infer the quark masses in the MS-scheme. Our final results for the pole- and MS-masses are: M_c = 1.75 \pm 0.15 GeV, m_c(m_c) = 1.19 \pm 0.11 GeV, M_b = 4.98 \pm 0.125 GeV and m_b(m_b) = 4.24 \pm 0.10 GeV.Comment: 55 pages, 12 figures. References added, discussions extended. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Operando Spectroscopy of the Gas-Phase Aldol Condensation of Propanal over Solid Base Catalysts

The gas-phase aldol condensation of propanal, taken as model for the aldehyde components in bio-oils, has been studied with a combined operando set-up allowing to perform FT-IR & UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) with on-line mass spectrometry (MS). The selected solid base catalysts, a cesium-exchanged X zeolite (Cs-X), a calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca-HA) and two alkaline metal-grafted ultrastable Y (Na- and Rb-USY) zeolites, were characterized ex-situ by FT-IR after CO (CO-IR) and pyridine (Py-IR) adsorption and subsequent desorption. The combined operando spectroscopy study shows that alkaline metal-grafted USY zeolites are the most selective catalysts towards aldol dimer product formation, while the hydroxyapatite was more selective for successive aldol condensation reactions. For Na-USY and Rb-USY, the C–C coupling seems to be the rate-determining step during the surface reaction, which is the limiting stage of the overall catalytic process. In contrast, for the two more basic catalysts, i.e., Cs-X and Ca-HA desorption is limiting the overall catalytic process. Furthermore, the combined operando FT-IR & UV–Vis DRS methodology allowed monitoring the formation of carbonaceous deposits as a function of reaction time. In particular, for Cs-X and Ca-HA the rapid formation of carbonaceous deposits was observed consisting of (poly-)aromatics and highly conjugated structures, respectively. The physicochemical properties of Ca-HA with strong basic sites and moderate acidity limit its deactivation despite the observed coke formation. On the other hand, both USY catalysts were more efficient in suppressing coke formation likely due to the moderate strength of their active sites.ISSN:1022-5528ISSN:1572-902

Effect of Mesoporosity, Acidity and Crystal Size of Zeolite ZSM-5 on Catalytic Performance during the Ex-situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass

The catalytic performance of a set of technical, zeolite ZSM-5 extruded materials have been studied in a bench scale unit for the ex-situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis (CFP) of lignocellulosic biomass. The set of catalysts include micro- and mesoporous materials, with and without ZrO2-promotion, with different Si/Al ratios and with micro- and nanosized zeolite crystals. Mesoporosity, acidity and crystal size play a key role on the overall catalytic performances in terms of activity and selectivity (i. e., in their ability to obtain the highest bio-oil fraction with the lowest oxygen content), and also importantly, stability. Detailed post-mortem bulk and micro-spectroscopic studies of the solid catalysts complement the catalytic testing. The obtained results point towards coke deposits as the main cause for catalyst deactivation. Details of the nature, formation and evolution of these coke deposits revealed essential insights, which serve to evaluate the design of catalysts for the ex-situ CFP of biomass. In particular the mesoporous catalysts are overall better preserved with increasing time-on-stream and deactivate later than their microporous counterparts, which suffer from pore blockage. Likewise, it was seen that ZrO2-promotion contributed positively in the prevention against deactivation by hard coke spreading, thanks to its enhanced Lewis acidity. The zeolite's crystal size is another important characteristic to combine the different components within catalyst bodies, ensuring the proper interaction between zeolite, promoter and binder. This is illustrated by the nanocrystalline ZrO2/n-ZSM-5-ATP material, which shows the best catalytic performance

Upscaling Effects on Alkali Metal-Grafted Ultrastable Y Zeolite Extrudates for Modeled Catalytic Deoxygenation of Bio-oils

Developing efficient solid catalysts is necessary when for example moving from batch chemistry to continuous flow systems. In this work, scale-up effects of zeolite-based catalyst materials have been tested in aldol condensation as a model reaction for bio-oil upgrading via deoxygenation. For this purpose, shaped catalyst bodies were obtained via extrusion of ultrastable Y zeolite (USY) using either attapulgite (Att.) or bentonite (Bent.) as clay binder, followed by post-alkali metal ion grafting of K+ after (rather than before) extrusion. This approach proved essential to preserve the catalysts’ crystallinity. The Att.-bound catalyst body was more active than its Bent.-counterpart, correlating well with the observed changes in physicochemical properties. The K-(USY/Att.) catalyst showed new basic oxygen and strong Lewis acidic sites resulting from clay incorporation, in addition to the Lewis acid (K+) and basic sites (K−OH) created upon grafting. For K-(USY/Bent.), the grafting proved less efficient, likely due to pore blockage caused by the binder. Bent. addition resulted in acid sites of moderate Brønsted and strong Lewis acidity, but hardly any of the basicity desired for the aldol condensation reaction. The poor potassium grafting yet led to some cation exchange with the binder (likely with the Na+ naturally present in the Bent. material). The results obtained demonstrate the critical importance of the choice of the binder material and the synthesis protocol adopted for upscaling solid base materials in the form of catalyst bodies

Upscaling Effects on Alkali Metal‐Grafted Ultrastable Y Zeolite Extrudates for Modeled Catalytic Deoxygenation of Bio‐oils

Developing efficient solid catalysts is necessary when for example moving from batch chemistry to continuous flow systems. In this work, scale‐up effects of zeolite‐based catalyst materials have been tested in aldol condensation as a model reaction for bio‐oil upgrading via deoxygenation. For this purpose, shaped catalyst bodies were obtained via extrusion of ultrastable Y zeolite (USY) using either attapulgite (Att.) or bentonite (Bent.) as clay binder, followed by post‐alkali metal ion grafting of K+ after (rather than before) extrusion. This approach proved essential to preserve the catalysts’ crystallinity. The Att.‐bound catalyst body was more active than its Bent.‐counterpart, correlating well with the observed changes in physicochemical properties. The K‐(USY/Att.) catalyst showed new basic oxygen and strong Lewis acidic sites resulting from clay incorporation, in addition to the Lewis acid (K+) and basic sites (K−OH) created upon grafting. For K‐(USY/Bent.), the grafting proved less efficient, likely due to pore blockage caused by the binder. Bent. addition resulted in acid sites of moderate Brønsted and strong Lewis acidity, but hardly any of the basicity desired for the aldol condensation reaction. The poor potassium grafting yet led to some cation exchange with the binder (likely with the Na+ naturally present in the Bent. material). The results obtained demonstrate the critical importance of the choice of the binder material and the synthesis protocol adopted for upscaling solid base materials in the form of catalyst bodies.ISSN:1867-3880ISSN:1867-389