29,648 research outputs found
An investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a new general aviation airfoil in flight
A low speed airfoil, the GA(W)-2, - a 13% thickness to chord ratio airfoil was evaluated. The wing of a Beech Sundowner was modified at by adding balsa ribs and covered with aluminum skin, to alter the existing airfoil shape to that of the GA(W)-2 airfoil. The aircraft was flown in a flight test program that gathered wing surface pressures and wake data from which the lift drag, and pitching moment of the airfoil could be determined. After the base line performance of the airfoil was measured, the drag due to surface irregularities such as steps, rivets and surface waviness was determined. The potential reduction of drag through the use of surface coatings such as KAPTON was also investigated
Optical Absorptivity versus Molecular Composition of Model Organic Aerosol Matter
Aerosol particles affect the Earth’s energy balance by absorbing and scattering radiation according to their chemical composition, size, and shape. It is generally believed that their optical properties could be deduced from the molecular composition of the complex organic matter contained in these particles, a goal pursued by many groups via high-resolution mass spectrometry, although: (1) absorptivity is associated with structural chromophores rather than with molecular formulas, (2) compositional space is a small projection of structural space, and (3) mixtures of polar polyfunctional species usually exhibit supramolecular interactions. Here we report a suite of experiments showing that the photolysis of aqueous pyruvic acid (a proxy for aerosol α-dicarbonyls absorbing at λ > 300 nm) generates mixtures of identifiable aliphatic polyfunctional oligomers that develop absorptions in the visible upon standing in the dark. These absorptions and their induced fluorescence emissions can be repeatedly bleached and retrieved without carbon loss or ostensible changes in the electrospray mass spectra of the corresponding mixtures and display unambiguous signatures of supramolecular effects. The nonlinear additivity of the properties of the components of these mixtures supports the notion that full structural speciation is insufficient and possibly unnecessary for understanding the optical properties of aerosol particles and their responses to changing ambient conditions
Surface spin flip probability of mesoscopic Ag wires
Spin relaxation in mesoscopic Ag wires in the diffusive transport regime is
studied via nonlocal spin valve and Hanle effect measurements performed on
permalloy/Ag lateral spin valves. The ratio between momentum and spin
relaxation times is not constant at low temperatures. This can be explained
with the Elliott-Yafet spin relaxation mechanism by considering the momentum
surface relaxation time as being temperature dependent. We present a model to
separately determine spin flip probabilities for phonon, impurity and surface
scattering and find that the spin flip probability is highest for surface
scattering.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Thermochromism of Model Organic Aerosol Matter
Laboratory experiments show that the optical absorptivity of model organic matter is not an intrinsic property, but a strong function of relative humidity, temperature, and insolation. Suites of representative polyfunctional C_(x)H_(y)O_(z) oligomers in water develop intense visible absorptions upon addition of inert electrolytes. The resulting mixtures reach mass absorption cross sections σ(532 nm) ~ 0.1 m^(2)/gC in a few hours, absorb up to 9 times more solar radiation than the starting material, can be half-bleached by noon sunlight in ~ 1 h, and can be repeatedly recycled without carbon loss. Visible absorptions red-shift and evolve increasingly faster in subsequent thermal aging cycles. Thermochromism and its strong direct dependences on ionic strength and temperature are ascribed to the dehydration of >CH−C(OH)C═C< unsaturations by a polar E1 mechanism, and bleaching to photoinduced retrohydration. These transformations are deemed to underlie the daily cycles of aerosol absorption observed in the field, and may introduce a key feedback in the earth’s radiative balance
On the structure of the Nx phase of symmetric dimers: inferences from NMR
NMR measurements on a selectively deuterated liquid crystal dimer CB-C9-CB, exhibiting two nematic phases, show that the molecules in the lower temperature nematic phase, NX, experience a chiral environment and are ordered about a uniformly oriented director throughout the macroscopic sample. The results are contrasted with previous interpretations that suggested a twist-bend spatial variation of the director. A structural picture is proposed wherein the molecules are packed into highly correlated chiral assemblies
Dynamics of polymer bridge formation and disruption
In this Letter we show, with colloidal probe AFM measurements, that the formation and subsequent disruption of polymer bridges between two solid surfaces is characterized by slow relaxation times. This is due to the retardation of polymer dynamics near a surface. For colloidal particles, that are in constant (Brownian) motion, kinetic aspects are key. To understand these effects, we develop a model of polymer bridging and bridge disruption that agrees quantitatively with our experiment
A novel technique for selective NF-kappa B inhibition in Kupffer cells: contrary effects in fulminant hepatitis and ischaemia-reperfusion.
Background and aims: The transcription factor nuclear
factor kappa B (NF-kB) has risen as a promising target for
anti-inflammatory therapeutics. In the liver, however, NFkB
inhibition mediates both damaging and protective
effects. The outcome is deemed to depend on the liver
cell type addressed. Recent gene knock-out studies
focused on the role of NF-kB in hepatocytes, whereas the
role of NF-kB in Kupffer cells has not yet been
investigated in vivo. Here we present a novel approach,
which may be suitable for clinical application, to
selectively target NF-kB in Kupffer cells and analyse the
effects in experimental models of liver injury.
Methods: NF-kB inhibiting decoy oligodeoxynucleotides
were loaded upon gelatin nanoparticles (D-NPs) and their
in vivo distribution was determined by confocal microscopy.
Liver damage, NF-kB activity, cytokine levels and
apoptotic protein expression were evaluated after
lipopolysaccharide (LPS), D-galactosamine (GalN)/LPS, or
concanavalin A (ConA) challenge and partial warm
ischaemia and subsequent reperfusion, respectively.
Results: D-NPs were selectively taken up by Kupffer cells
and inhibited NF-kB activation. Inhibition of NF-kB in
Kupffer cells improved survival and reduced liver injury
after GalN/LPS as well as after ConA challenge. While
anti-apoptotic protein expression in liver tissue was not
reduced, pro-apoptotic players such as cJun N-terminal
kinase (JNK) were inhibited. In contrast, selective
inhibition of NF-kB augmented reperfusion injury.
Conclusions: NF-kB inhibiting decoy oligodeoxynucleotide-
loaded gelatin nanoparticles is a novel tool to
selectively inhibit NF-kB activation in Kupffer cells in vivo.
Thus, liver injury can be reduced in experimental fulminant
hepatitis, but increased at ischaemia–reperfusion
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