2,463 research outputs found
The application of inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the interaction of methyl propanoate with silica
A modern industrial route for the manufacture of methyl methacrylate involves the reaction of methyl propanoate and formaldehyde over a silica-supported Cs catalyst. Although the process has been successfully commercialised, little is known about the surface interactions responsible for the forward chemistry. This work concentrates upon the interaction of methyl propanoate over a representative silica. A combination of infrared spectroscopy, inelastic neutron scattering, DFT calculations, X-ray diffraction and temperature-programmed desorption is used to deduce how the ester interacts with the silica surface
q-Analogue of
A natural embedding for the
corresponding quantum algebras is constructed through the appropriate
comultiplication on the generators of each of the and
algebras. The above embedding is proved in their -boson realization by means
of the isomorphism between the (mn)(m)(n) algebras.Comment: 11 pages, no figures. In memory of professor R. P. Rousse
Water erosion on vegetable growing land in south western Australia
The most serious erosion was found to be occurring in the Donnybrook area due to a combination of erosive winter rainfall, steep slopes and erodible soils. The most serious erosion was found to occur when storm runoff entered the vegetable plots from above, providing a transporting medium for the cultivated soil. A predictive model of erosion showed that soil texture, furrow slope, plot length, rainfall erosivity and canopy cover were significant factors affecting soil loss
Miniaturized data loggers and computer programming improve seabird risk and damage assessments for marine oil spills in Atlantic Canada
Obtaining useful information on marine birds that can aid in oil spill (and other hydrocarbon release) risk and damage assessments in offshore environments is challenging. Technological innovations in miniaturization have allowed archival data loggers to be deployed successfully on marine birds vulnerable to hydrocarbons on water. A number of species, including murres (both Common, Uria aalge, and Thick-billed, U. lomvia) have been tracked using geolocation
devices in eastern Canada, increasing our knowledge of the seasonality and colony-specific nature of their susceptibility to oil on water in offshore hydrocarbon production areas and major shipping lanes. Archival data tags are starting to resolve questions around behaviour of vulnerable seabirds at small spatial scales relevant to oil spill impact modelling, specifically to determine the duration and frequency at which birds fly at sea. Advances in data capture methods using voice activated software have eased the burden on seabird observers who are collecting
increasingly more detailed information on seabirds during ship-board and aerial transects. Computer programs that integrate seabird density and bird behaviour have been constructed, all with a goal of creating more credible seabird oil spill risk and damage assessments. In this paper, we discuss how each of these technological and computing innovations can help define critical inputs into seabird risk and damage assessments, and when combined, can provide a more realistic understanding of the impacts to seabirds from any hydrocarbon release
Evidence for an Interaction between CB<sub>1</sub> Cannabinoid and Melanocortin MCR-4 Receptors in Regulating Food Intake
Melanocortin receptor 4 (MCR4) and CB1 cannabinoid receptorsindependently modulate food intake. Although an interactionbetween the cannabinoid and melanocortin systemshas been found in recovery from hemorrhagic shock, the interactionbetween these systems in modulating food intakehas not yet been examined. The present study had two primarypurposes: 1) to examine whether the cannabinoid andmelanocortin systems act independently or synergistically insuppressing food intake; and 2) to determine the relative positionof the CB1 receptors in the chain of control of foodintake in relation to the melanocortin system. Rats were habituatedto the test environment and injection procedure andthen received intracerebroventicular injections of variouscombinations of the MCR4 receptor antagonist JKC-363, thereceptor agonist Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the MCR4 receptoragonist α-MSH, or the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonistSR 141716. Food intake and locomotor activity werethen recorded for 120 min. When administrated alone, SR141716 and α-MSH dose-dependently attenuated baselinefeeding, whereas sub-anorectic doses of SR 141716 and α-MSHsynergistically attenuated baseline feeding when combined.Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-induced feeding was not blockedby α-MSH, whereas SR 141716 dose-dependently attenuatedJKC-363-induced feeding. Locomotor activity was not significantlyaffected by any drug treatment, suggesting that theobserved effects on feeding were not due to a nonspecificreduction in motivated behavior. These findings revealed asynergistic interaction between the cannabinoid and melanocortinsystems in feeding behavior. These results furthersuggested that receptors are located downstream frommelanocortin receptors and receptor signaling is necessaryto prevent the melanocortin system from altering foodintake
Measurement of 222Rn dissolved in water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
The technique used at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) to measure the
concentration of 222Rn in water is described. Water from the SNO detector is
passed through a vacuum degasser (in the light water system) or a membrane
contact degasser (in the heavy water system) where dissolved gases, including
radon, are liberated. The degasser is connected to a vacuum system which
collects the radon on a cold trap and removes most other gases, such as water
vapor and nitrogen. After roughly 0.5 tonnes of H2O or 6 tonnes of D2O have
been sampled, the accumulated radon is transferred to a Lucas cell. The cell is
mounted on a photomultiplier tube which detects the alpha particles from the
decay of 222Rn and its daughters. The overall degassing and concentration
efficiency is about 38% and the single-alpha counting efficiency is
approximately 75%. The sensitivity of the radon assay system for D2O is
equivalent to ~3 E(-15) g U/g water. The radon concentration in both the H2O
and D2O is sufficiently low that the rate of background events from U-chain
elements is a small fraction of the interaction rate of solar neutrinos by the
neutral current reaction.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; v2 has very minor change
A multi-agency project of the Western Australian Salinity Action Plan supported by the Natural Heritage Trust
Land Monitor is a multi-agency project of the Western Australian Salinity Action Plan supported by the Natural Heritage Trust. It will provide land managers and administrators with baseline salinity and vegetation data for monitoring changes over time, and land height data from which contours accurate to two metre intervals can be produced. The Project will also provide estimates of areas at risk from secondary or future salinisation. Land Monitor will cover the 18 million hectares of agricultural area of south-west, Western Australia.
Sequences of calibrated Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images integrated with landform information derived from height data, ground truthing and other existing mapped data sets are used as the basis for monitoring changes in salinity and woody vegetation. Heights are derived on a 10m grid from stereo aerial photography flown at 1:40,000 scale, using soft-copy automatic terrain extraction (image correlation) techniques.
Proposed Land Monitor products include salinity maps, predicted salinity maps, enhanced imagery, vegetation status maps and spectral / temporal statistics. These products will be available in a range of formats and scales, from paddock, farm to catchment and shire scales to suit customer needs
The Land Monitor Project
The Land Monitor Project is providing information over the southwest agricultural region of WA. It is assembling and processing sequences of Landsat TM data, a new highresolution digital elevation model (DEM) and other spatial data to provide monitoring information on the area of salt-affected land, and on changes in the area and status of perennial vegetation over the period 1988-2000. Land Monitor is a multi-agency project of the Western Australian Salinity Action Plan supported by the Natural Heritage Trust. The Project will also providing estimates of areas at risk from secondary or future salinisation, based on the historical salinity maps and a set of landform variables derived from the high resolution DEM.
Sequences of calibrated Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images integrated with landform information derived from height data, ground truthing and other existing mapped data are used as the basis for monitoring changes in salinity and woody vegetation. Procedures for accurate registration and calibration were developed by CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences (CMIS), as were the data integration procedures for salinity mapping and prediction. For the DEM, heights are derived on a 10m grid from stereo aerial photography flown at 1:40,000 scale, using soft-copy automatic terrain extraction (image correlation) techniques.
Land Monitor products include: high resolution DEMs; calibrated sequences of Landsat imgery; present and historical salinity maps; predicted salinity maps; maps of change in vegetation status and spectral/temporal statistics. These products are available in a range of formats and scales, from paddock to catchment and shire scales to suit customer needs
Radon backgrounds in the DEAP-1 liquid-argon-based Dark Matter detector
The DEAP-1 \SI{7}{kg} single phase liquid argon scintillation detector was
operated underground at SNOLAB in order to test the techniques and measure the
backgrounds inherent to single phase detection, in support of the
\mbox{DEAP-3600} Dark Matter detector. Backgrounds in DEAP are controlled
through material selection, construction techniques, pulse shape discrimination
and event reconstruction. This report details the analysis of background events
observed in three iterations of the DEAP-1 detector, and the measures taken to
reduce them.
The Rn decay rate in the liquid argon was measured to be between 16
and \SI{26}{\micro\becquerel\per\kilogram}. We found that the background
spectrum near the region of interest for Dark Matter detection in the DEAP-1
detector can be described considering events from three sources: radon
daughters decaying on the surface of the active volume, the expected rate of
electromagnetic events misidentified as nuclear recoils due to inefficiencies
in the pulse shape discrimination, and leakage of events from outside the
fiducial volume due to imperfect position reconstruction. These backgrounds
statistically account for all observed events, and they will be strongly
reduced in the DEAP-3600 detector due to its higher light yield and simpler
geometry
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