Phase Formation of Ca-alpha-sialon by Reaction Sintering

In this study the reaction sintering route for the formation of Ca-a-sialon with a composition on the line Si3N4/CaO · 3AlN (Ca0.8 Si9.6 Al2.4 O0.8 N15.2, m = 1.6, N = 0.8) has been investigated. This is compared with the hot-pressing of Ca-a-sialon and the reaction sintering of Y- or lanthanide-a-sialons. The reaction follows the same sequence: first, the formation of a Ca-rich a-sialon phase (m = 1.9) which is gradually transformed to a Ca-a-sialon with a lower Ca concentration (m = 1.2). The gehlenite phase (Ca2Al2SiO7, melilite group) is observed as an intermediate product. A potential advantage of Ca-a-sialon over Ln-a-sialon Full-size image is liquid phase formation at a lower temperature, which has a positive influence on the processing temperature. Moreover, Ca is cheaper than the lanthanides. The solubility of Ca in the a-sialon is in agreement with values found in the literature

Luminosities of H alpha emitting regions in a pair of interacting galaxies in the Bootes void

Luminosities of H alpha emission from a pair of interacting galaxies in the low density environment of the Bootes void are presented. CG 692 (IRAS 1519+5050) has an H alpha luminosity of 2 x 10(exp 42) ergs s(exp -1), indicating a star formation rate of 18.4 solar mass yr(exp -1). Individual extranuclear H alpha regions have luminosities of approximately 10(exp 40) ergs s(exp -1). These luminosities are similar to those found for H II regions in bright, late-type galaxies in more densely populated parts of the Universe

Eu-doped barium aluminium oxynitride with the ß-alumina-type structure as new blue-emitting phosphor

Attractive new blue-emitting phosphors for use in low-pressure mercury gas discharge lamps are synthesized by Eu-substitution in the barium aluminum oxynitride host lattice with the -alumina-type structure. The emission spectra of these phosphors for 254 nm excitation show a band at about 450 nm with a shoulder at higher wavelength. The maximum quantum efficiency of these materials is about 85–90% just like commercial BaMgAl10O17:Eu with the -alumina type structure. The nonoptimized oxynitride phosphors are more sensitive to oxidation (at 873 K) and to short-term depreciation due to 185 nm irradiation compared to commercial BaMgAl10O17:Eu. However, the maintenance of the oxynitride phosphors in single component fluorescent lamps is improved. Calculations indicate that by using these phosphors in tricolor fluorescent lamps instead of BaMgAl10O17:Eu with the -alumina type structure, the color rendering index will improve while the lumen output remains high

MODISTools - downloading and processing MODIS remotely sensed data in R

Remotely sensed data – available at medium to high resolution across global spatial and temporal scales – are a valuable resource for ecologists. In particular, products from NASA's MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), providing twice-daily global coverage, have been widely used for ecological applications. We present MODISTools, an R package designed to improve the accessing, downloading, and processing of remotely sensed MODIS data. MODISTools automates the process of data downloading and processing from any number of locations, time periods, and MODIS products. This automation reduces the risk of human error, and the researcher effort required compared to manual per-location downloads. The package will be particularly useful for ecological studies that include multiple sites, such as meta-analyses, observation networks, and globally distributed experiments. We give examples of the simple, reproducible workflow that MODISTools provides and of the checks that are carried out in the process. The end product is in a format that is amenable to statistical modeling. We analyzed the relationship between species richness across multiple higher taxa observed at 526 sites in temperate forests and vegetation indices, measures of aboveground net primary productivity. We downloaded MODIS derived vegetation index time series for each location where the species richness had been sampled, and summarized the data into three measures: maximum time-series value, temporal mean, and temporal variability. On average, species richness covaried positively with our vegetation index measures. Different higher taxa show different positive relationships with vegetation indices. Models had high R2 values, suggesting higher taxon identity and a gradient of vegetation index together explain most of the variation in species richness in our data. MODISTools can be used on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, and is available from CRAN and GitHub (https://github.com/seantuck12/MODISTools)

Endotoxin- and ATP-neutralizing activity of alkaline phosphatase as a strategy to limit neuroinflammation

BACKGROUND: Alkaline phosphatase (AP) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme which can neutralize endotoxin as well as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an endogenous danger signal released during brain injury. In this study we assessed a potential therapeutic role for AP in inhibiting neuroinflammation using three complementary approaches. METHODS: Mice were immunized to induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and treated with AP for seven days during different phases of disease. In addition, serological assays to determine AP activity, endotoxin levels and endotoxin-reactive antibodies were performed in a cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and controls. Finally, the expression of AP and related enzymes CD39 and CD73 was investigated in brain tissue from MS patients and control subjects. RESULTS: AP administration during the priming phase, but not during later stages, of EAE significantly reduced neurological signs. This was accompanied by reduced proliferation of splenocytes to the immunogen, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide. In MS patients, AP activity and isoenzyme distribution were similar to controls. Although endotoxin-reactive IgM was reduced in primary-progressive MS patients, plasma endotoxin levels were not different between groups. Finally, unlike AP and CD73, CD39 was highly upregulated on microglia in white matter lesions of patients with MS. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that: 1) pre-symptomatic AP treatment reduces neurological signs of EAE; 2) MS patients do not have altered circulating levels of AP or endotoxin; and 3) the expression of the AP-like enzyme CD39 is increased on microglia in white matter lesions of MS patients

Regulatory T cells interfere with the development of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue

Presence and extent of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) is subject to considerable variations between species and is only occasionally observed in lungs of mice. Here we demonstrate that mice deficient for the chemokine receptor CCR7 regularly develop highly organized BALT. These structures were not present at birth but were detectable from day 5 onwards. Analyzing CCR7−/−/wild-type bone marrow chimeras, we demonstrate that the development of BALT is caused by alterations of the hematopoietic system in CCR7-deficient mice. These observations together with the finding that CCR7-deficient mice posses dramatically reduced numbers of regulatory T cells (T reg cells) in the lung-draining bronchial lymph node suggest that BALT formation might be caused by disabled in situ function of T reg cells. Indeed, although adoptive transfer of wild-type T reg cells to CCR7-deficient recipients resulted in a profound reduction of BALT formation, neither naive wild-type T cells nor T reg cells from CCR7−/− donors impair BALT generation. Furthermore, we provide evidence that CCR7-deficient T reg cells, although strongly impaired in homing to peripheral lymph nodes, are fully effective in vitro. Thus our data reveal a CCR7-dependent homing of T reg cells to peripheral lymph nodes in conjunction with a role for these cells in controlling BALT formation