Formation of Chain-Folded Structures from Supercooled Polymer Melts

The formation of chain-folded structures from the melt is observed in molecular dynamics simulations resembling the lamellae of polymer crystals. Crystallization and subsequent melting temperatures are related linearly to the inverse lamellar thickness. Analysis of the single chain conformations in the crystal shows that most chains reenter the same lamella by tight backfolds. Simulations are performed with a mesoscopic bead-spring model including a specific angle bending potential. They demonstrate that chain stiffness alone, without an attractive inter-particle potential, is a sufficient driving force for the formation of chain-folded lamellae.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Dry deposition of nitrogen containing species

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions and the oxidation products formed by photochemical interactions in the atmosphere are responsible for a significant fraction of both dry and wet acid deposition fluxes. In his paper a vertically-resolved, Lagrangian trajectory model is used to predict the diurnal variation of: NO, NO_2, NO_3, HONO, HONO_2, HO_2NO_2, RONO, RONO_2, RO_2NO_2, N_2O_5 and PAN over an urban airshed. Particular attention is given to the fate of nitric acid and its reaction with gaseous ammonia to form, aerosol phase, ammonium nitrate. A simple model for estimating the deposition fluxes of these species is also presented. A study of the fate of nitrogen oxides emissions, in the South Coast Air Basin of southern California, is used to illustrate the procedures

J. J. Armistead to Anna Eliza Gage Evans (21 November 1896)

J. J. Armistead writing to his sister Liza concerning the death of her husband, Judge Evanshttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/ciwar_corresp/1467/thumbnail.jp

The dynamics of nitric acid production and the fate of nitrogen oxides

A mathematical model is used to study the fate of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions and the reactions responsible for the formation of nitric acid (HNO_3). Model results indicate that the majority of the NO_x inserted into an air parcel in the Los Angeles basin is removed by dry deposition at the ground during the first 24 h of travel, and that HNO_3 is the largest single contributor to this deposition flux. A significant amount of the nitric acid is produced at night by N_2O_5 hydrolysis. Perturbation of the N_2O_5 hydrolysis rate constant within the chemical mechanism results in redistribution of the pathway by which HNO_3 is formed, but does not greatly affect the total amount of HNO_3 produced. Inclusion of NO_3-aerosol and N_2O_5-aerosol reactions does not affect the system greatly at collision efficiencies, α, of 0.001, but at α = 0.1 or α = 1.0, a great deal of nitric acid could be produced by heterogeneous chemical processes. Ability to account for the observed nitrate radical (NO_3) concentrations in the atmosphere provides a key test of the air quality modeling procedure. Predicted NO_3 concentrations compare well with those measured by Platt et al. (Geophys. Res. Lett.7, 89–92, 1980). Analysis shows that transport, deposition and emissions, as well as chemistry, are important in explaining the behavior of NO_3 in the atmosphere

Carbon Free Boston: Technical Summary

Part of a series of reports that includes: Carbon Free Boston: Summary Report; Carbon Free Boston: Social Equity Report; Carbon Free Boston: Buildings Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Transportation Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Waste Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Energy Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Offsets Technical Report; Available at http://sites.bu.edu/cfb/OVERVIEW: This technical summary is intended to argument the rest of the Carbon Free Boston technical reports that seek to achieve this goal of deep mitigation. This document provides below: a rationale for carbon neutrality, a high level description of Carbon Free Boston’s analytical approach; a summary of crosssector strategies; a high level analysis of air quality impacts; and, a brief analysis of off-road and street light emissions.Published versio

Disclosure of Maternal HIV Status to Children: To Tell or Not To Tell . . . That Is the Question

HIV-infected mothers face the challenging decision of whether to disclose their serostatus to their children. From the perspective of both mother and child, we explored the process of disclosure, providing descriptive information and examining the relationships among disclosure, demographic variables, and child adjustment. Participants were 23 mothers and one of their noninfected children (9 to 16 years of age). Sixty-one percent of mothers disclosed. Consistent with previous research, disclosure was not related to child functioning. However, children sworn to secrecy demonstrated lower social competence and more externalizing problems. Differential disclosure, which occurred in one-third of the families, was associated with higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Finally, knowing more than mothers had themselves disclosed was related to child maladjustment across multiple domains. Clinical implications and the need for future research are considered

Sensitivity of Air Pollution-Induced Premature Mortality to Precursor Emissions Under the Influence of Climate Change

The relative contributions of PM2.5 and ozone precursor emissions to air pollution-related premature mortality modulated by climate change are estimated for the U.S. using sensitivities of air pollutants to precursor emissions and health outcomes for 2001 and 2050. Result suggests that states with high emission rates and significant premature mortality increases induced by PM2.5 will substantially benefit in the future from SO2, anthropogenic NOX and NH3 emissions reductions while states with premature mortality increases induced by O3 will benefit mainly from anthropogenic NOX emissions reduction. Much of the increase in premature mortality expected from climate changeinduced pollutant increases can be offset by targeting a specific precursor emission in most states based on the modeling approach followed here

Physical biomarkers of disease progression:on-chip monitoring of changes in mechanobiology of colorectal cancer cells

Disease can induce changes to subcellular components, altering cell phenotype and leading to measurable bulk-material mechanical properties. The mechanical phenotyping of single cells therefore offers many potential diagnostic applications. Cells are viscoelastic and their response to an applied stress is highly dependent on the magnitude and timescale of the actuation. Microfluidics can be used to measure cell deformability over a wide range of flow conditions, operating two distinct flow regimes (shear and inertial) which can expose subtle mechanical properties arising from subcellular components. Here, we investigate the deformability of three colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines using a range of flow conditions. These cell lines offer a model for CRC metastatic progression; SW480 derived from primary adenocarcinoma, HT29 from a more advanced primary tumor and SW620 from lymph-node metastasis. HL60 (leukemia cells) were also studied as a model circulatory cell, offering a non-epithelial comparison. We demonstrate that microfluidic induced flow deformation can be used to robustly detect mechanical changes associated with CRC progression. We also show that single-cell multivariate analysis, utilising deformation and relaxation dynamics, offers potential to distinguish these different cell types. These results point to the benefit of multiparameter determination for improving detection and accuracy of disease stage diagnosis