Insulating fcc YH3-ô stabilized by MgH2

We study the structural, optical, and electrical properties of MgzY1-z switchable mirrors upon hydrogenation. It is found that the alloys disproportionate into essentially pure YH3-δ and MgH2 with the crystal structure of YH3-δ dependent on the Mg concentration z. For 0~0.1 only cubic YH3-δ is present. Interestingly, cubic YH3-δ is expanded compared to YH2, in disagreement with theoretical predictions. From optical and electrical measurements we conclude that cubic YH3-δ is a transparent insulator with properties similar to hexagonal YH3-δ. Our results are inconsistent with calculations predicting fcc YH3-δ to be metallic, but they are in good agreement with recent GW calculations on both hcp and fcc YH3. Finally, we find an increase in the effective band gap of the hydrided MgzY1-z alloys with increasing z. Possibly this is due to quantum confinement effects in the small YH3 clusters

Future Food Basket : methodology for the forecasting of the future food demand

Research by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) on global food and nutrition security focuses on the question how to achieve transitions to a food system that will be adequately equipped to nourish the growing world population. One of the challenges of this transition is to evolve to a food system that will be sustainable (resource-efficient and with minimal impact on climate change and global warming), yielding affordable, trustworthy (safe), high-quality food products. This particular report is part of a study on the redesign of food value chains from linear value chains into circular adaptive value chain networks for nutrition and food security (Redesign or Adaptive Value Chain Networks for food and nutrition security (AdVaNs)). In view of the global trends of world population growth, urbanization, the efficient use of natural resources, mitigation of the impact of food production on climate change and global warming, this research addresses global food and nutrition security by developing a forecast model for the content and composition of local food baskets. Enablers of changes in these future food baskets are the growing economic welfare, advancing information technologies and sustainability issues that affect regional and global value chains. Knowledge about these trends in this future demand on food is searched for by policy makers and governments that are in need of accurate and reliable quantitative information for strategic decision-making. By developing forecasting models that are dedicated to human nutritional needs and consumption patterns, historic quantitative data can be transferred into future trends and predictions regarding food demand in specific regions. A methodology, using autonomous time based linear regression, was developed by the authors to predict a future food basket in terms of energy, composition and products for the near future in 2030 based on available historical data. The methodology was used for 4 regions in Mexico (Mexico City, North-, South- and Central Mexico). Also the amount of micro-nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, in the food was estimated. The forecasted results were also categorised by two demographic characteristics: income class (low income vs. high income) and the residential environment (urban vs. rural environment). The forecasting is based on FAO data in combination with national data for the prediction of the specific regional food baskets in Mexico. The results show that the urban region obtains more energy and vegetables, fruit and meat, having also the more wealthy class of the population. Also in Mexico most proteins and carbohydrates are consumed as part of staple foods. In this research validation of the methodology was carried out by using data from the past to predict the situation in 2011 of the composition of the food basket. This comparison of the present data with the forecasted data shows that this linear regression method can be used to forecast the food basket in 2030 for a majority of product groups, but to a smaller extent for milk and pulses in particular

Towards virtual histology with X-ray grating interferometry

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer worldwide. Diagnosing breast cancer relies on clinical examination, imaging and biopsy. A core-needle biopsy enables a morphological and biochemical characterization of the cancer and is considered the gold standard for breast cancer diagnosis. A histopathological examination uses high-resolution microscopes with outstanding contrast in the 2D plane, but the spatial resolution in the third, Z-direction, is reduced. In the present paper, we propose two high-resolution table-top systems for phase-contrast X-ray tomography of soft-tissue samples. The first system implements a classical Talbot-Lau interferometer and allows to perform ex-vivo imaging of human breast samples with a voxel size of 5.57 μm. The second system with a comparable voxel size relies on a Sigray MAAST X-ray source with structured anode. For the first time, we demonstrate the applicability of the latter to perform X-ray imaging of human breast specimens with ductal carcinoma in-situ. We assessed image quality of both setups and compared it to histology. We showed that both setups made it possible to target internal features of breast specimens with better resolution and contrast than previously achieved, demonstrating that grating-based phase-contrast X-ray CT could be a complementary tool for clinical histopathology

Isotope effects in switchable metal-hydride mirrors

Measurements of optical reflectance, transmittance, and electrical resistivity on the switchable mirror systems YHx and YDx show that the absorption of hydrogen induces the same variations as that of deuterium. In both cases there is a weak transparency window for the metallic dihydride (dideuteride) phase and a yellowish transparency in the insulating trihydride (trideuteride) phase. The slightly higher electrical resistivity of the deuterides is related to the lower energy of their optical phonons. The absence of significant isotope effects in the optical properties of YHx(YDx) is at variance with Peierls-like theoretical models. It is, however, compatible with strong electron correlation model

Prospective evaluation of voice outcome during the first two years in male patients treated by radiotherapy or laser surgery for T1a glottic carcinoma

In this prospective cohort study, we assessed voice outcome in patients before and up to 2 years after treatment for early glottic cancer either by radiotherapy or by laser surgery; 106 male patients, treated for T1aN0M0 glottic cancer either by endoscopic laser surgery (n = 67) or by radiotherapy (n = 39), participated in the study. Patients’ voices were recorded and analysed pre-treatment and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-treatment at their routine visit at the outpatient clinic. Average fundamental frequency (F0), percent jitter, percent shimmer and normalized noise energy (NNE) were determined. After 2 years, local control rate was 95% in the radiotherapy group and 97% in the laser surgery group. Larynx preservation rate was 95% after radiotherapy and 100% after laser surgery. Voice outcome recovers more quickly in patients treated with laser surgery in comparison to radiotherapy: 3 months after laser surgery there is no longer a difference with regard to normal voices except for the fundamental frequency, which remains higher pitched, even in the longer term. For patients treated with radiotherapy it takes longer for jitter, shimmer and NNE to become normal, where jitter remains significantly different from normal voices even after 2 years. According to these results, we believe that laser surgery is the first treatment of choice in the treatment of selected cases of T1a glottic carcinomas with good functional and oncological results