Effects of Hydrogen Bonding and Molecular Chain Flexibility of Substituted n-Alkyldimethylsilanes On Impact Ice Adhesion Shear Strength

The effects of hydrogen bonding and molecular flexibility upon ice adhesion shear strength were investigated using aluminum substrates coated with substituted n-alkyldimethylalkoxysilanes. The location of the chemical group substitution was on the opposing end of the linear n-alkyl chain with respect to silicon. Three hydrogen-bonding characteristics were evaluated: 1) non-hydrogen bonding, 2) donor/acceptor, and 3) acceptor. Varying the length of the n-alkyl chain provided an assessment of molecular chain flexibility. Coated and uncoated aluminum surfaces were characterized by receding water contact angle and surface roughness. Ice adhesion shear strength was determined in the Adverse Environment Rotor Test Stand facility from -16 to -8C that simulated aircraft in-flight icing conditions within the FAR Part 25/29 Appendix C icing envelope. Surface roughness of the coatings was similar allowing for comparison of the test results. An adhesion reduction factor, based on the ice adhesion shear strength data with respect to uncoated aluminum obtained at the same temperature, was calculated to compare the data. The results revealed complex interactions with impacting supercooled water droplets that were interdependent upon ice accretion temperature, surface energy characteristics of water and ice, hydrogen bonding characteristic of the substituent, and length of the n-alkyl chain. To aid in explaining the results, 1) changes in the surface energy component (i.e., non-polar and polar) values that water undergoes during its phase change from liquid to solid that arise from the freezing of impacting supercooled water droplets on the surface depended upon the temperature during accretion were taken into account and 2) the physical properties (i.e., water solubility and melting point) of small compounds analogous to the substituted n-alkyldimethylalkoxysilanes used in this study were compared

Decoupling Reinforcement Learning From 16 Bit Architectures in Suffix Trees

Recent advances in empathic archetypes and large- scale methodologies are based entirely on the assumption that Moore's Law and context-free grammar are not in conflict with the location-identity split. In our research, we verify the synthesis of congestion control. We explore a novel application for the typical unification of the World Wide Web and jour- naling file systems, which we call STIFLE

An Investigation of Mood and Executive Functioning Effects of Brief Auditory and Visual Mindfulness Meditations in Patients with Schizophrenia

Brief meditations led by audio versus visual stimuli can lead to differential effects on mood and cognition in healthy people. We examine whether similar effects were evident amongst schizophrenia patients. Forty-three patients underwent either 30-min image- (e.g. a mountain stream; n = 15) or audio-led (e.g. running water; n = 15) meditations or waited 30 min without instructions (n = 13). Prior to and following the meditation/wait, participants completed a self-report measure of positive and negative affect and the Trail Making Test to measure attentional shifting abilities. Participants who underwent a visual-led meditation were significantly more positive than those who underwent an audio-led meditation or if they did not meditate. Irrespective of meditation modality, participants showed significant improvement in attentional shifting abilities. Brief meditative practice amongst patients with schizophrenia may have immediate effects on mood and cognition. Future research must explore these effects in larger mindfulness programmes and with longer follow-up assessments.</p

La Incidencia Misional de la Iglesia Israel, en las Congregaciones Plantadas en Guayaquil, Ecuador

La Iglesia Bautista Israel responde a la formación de una iglesia Bautista clásica de cuarenta y un años, que en los últimos ocho años se desafió a cambiar su modelo, interactuado con la comunidad en diferentes proyectos misionales, donde la filosofía de ser Iglesia en la comunidad ha movilizado a los creyentes a responder a las necesidades manifiestas en la ciudad. Esta interacción es producto de una iglesia que se estructuró en comunidades eclesiales para acompañar a los creyentes en su hábitat, a fin de enseñarles a ser Iglesia donde ellos participan de forma cotidiana. En la actualidad contamos con doce congregaciones que desarrollan todos los servicios de forma descentralizada. Este estudio busca establecer las razones por las cuales unas congregaciones mantuvieron su identidad misional, a diferencia de otras, que desarrollaron el modelo clásico de una iglesia Bautista, como es conocida en Ecuador. En la primera parte de este proyecto abordaremos los fundamentos de la iglesia, su historia, y trasfondo Bautista del Sur. También se analizará el papel de los misioneros que participaron en su fundación, al igual que consideraremos el marco más amplio, en relación a la conformación de la obra Bautista ecuatoriana y su incidencia en la praxis de la iglesia Israel. La segunda parte realiza un rastreo de los principios bíblico-teológicos que la iglesia Israel desarrolló en sus primeros treinta años de ministerio, donde la incidencia de una salvación personal es consecuente con una lectura de los Bautistas del Sur, influidos fuertemente por su cosmovisión separatista. Esta realidad el entendimiento de ser Bautista ha cambiado en los últimos ocho años, porque lo que se entiende por ser Bautista se ha ampliado, desarrollándose una teología que responde a la misión integral. En este sentido procuraremos presentar la tensión entre una perspectiva de ser una iglesia con la filosofía clásica, y a la vez ser una iglesia con el enfoque comunitario. En la tercera parte se establece la metodología y el proceso que se lleva a cabo para el estudio cualitativo. Las conversaciones se desarrollaron mediante una guía pauta con los once líderes de las congregaciones, girando alrededor la identidad misional, perspectiva bíblica-teológica de ser iglesia, responsabilidad social de la iglesia, e incidencia de la congregación en procesos de transformación en la comunidad. Con los resultados alcanzados se levantó una estrategia, que sirve para plantar las nuevas congregaciones, donde la identidad misional se fortalece

Tracking end-of-life stage of chemicals: A scalable data-centric and chemical-centric approach.

[EN]Chemical flow analysis (CFA) can be used for collecting life-cycle inventory (LCI), estimating environmental releases, and identifying potential exposure scenarios for chemicals of concern at the end-of-life (EoL) stage. Nonetheless, the demand for comprehensive data and the epistemic uncertainties about the pathway taken by the chemical flows make CFA, LCI, and exposure assessment time-consuming and challenging tasks. Due to the continuous growth of computer power and the appearance of more robust algorithms, data-driven modelling represents an attractive tool for streamlining these tasks. However, a data ingestion pipeline is required for the deployment of serving data-driven models in the real world. Hence, this work moves forward by contributing a chemical-centric and data-centric approach to extract, transform, and load comprehensive data for CFA at the EoL, integrating cross-year and country data and its provenance as part of the data lifecycle. The framework is scalable and adaptable to production-level machine learning operations. The framework can supply data at an annual rate, making it possible to deal with changes in the statistical distributions of model predictors like transferred amount and target variables (e.g., EoL activity identification) to avoid potential data-driven model performance decay over time. For instance, it can detect that recycling transfers of 643 chemicals over the reporting years (1988 to 2020) are 29.87%, 17.79%, and 20.56% for Canada, Australia, and the U.S. Finally, the developed approach enables research advancements on data-driven modelling to easily connect with other data sources for economic information on industry sectors, the economic value of chemicals, and the environmental regulatory implications that may affect the occurrence of an EoL transfer class or activity like recycling of a chemical over years and countries. Finally, stakeholders gain more context about environmental regulation stringency and economic affairs that could affect environmental decision-making and EoL chemical exposure predictions.USEP

Preliminary study on the use of near infrared hyperspectral imaging for quantitation and localisation of total glucosinolates in freeze-dried broccoli

peer-reviewedThe use of hyperspectral imaging to (a) quantify and (b) localise total glucosinolates in florets of a single broccoli species has been examined. Two different spectral regions (vis–NIR and NIR), a number of spectral pre-treatments and different mask development strategies were studied to develop the quantitative models. These models were then applied to freeze-dried slices of broccoli to identify regions within individual florets which were rich in glucosinolates. The procedure demonstrates potential for the quantitative screening and localisation of total glucosinolates in broccoli using the 950–1650 nm wavelength range. These compounds were mainly located in the external part of florets.Universidad de SevillaJ.M. Hernández-Hierro thanks the Spanish MICINN for the Juan de la Cierva contract (JCI-2011-09201) and Universidad de Sevilla for the mobility Grant (Universidad de Sevilla Research Plan). Spanish MICINN Project AGL2011-30254-C02 and Junta de Andalucia PGC Project AGR 6331

Honeycomb monolithic design to enhance the performance of Ni-based catalysts for dry reforming of methane

Supported Ni catalysts (4,5% wt%) using a Ce-Zr oxide (18/82 molar ratio and a ceria rich surface) depicting advanced redox properties, were deposited by washcoating over cordierite honeycombs (230 and 400 cpsi). FIB-STEM unveiled nanostructure details otherwise undistinguishable by conventional techniques. The catalytic performance was evaluated in the dry reforming of methane al 700-900 degree C, using a CH4:CO2 1:1 feddstock, and exploring high Weight Hourly Space Velocity (115-346 L.g-1.h-1). The structured catalyts exhibited better performance than the corresponding powers, reaching values close to rhermodynamics limits for booth reactants conversion and H2/CO ratio, from 750 dgree C, and no deactivation was observed in prolongued experiments (24-48 h). This was related to both the high catalytic efficiency after being deposited with low loading on the cordierite and the intrinsic advantages of the monolithic reactor, like preventing from the kinetic control that operates in powdered samples under high WHSV or limiting the deactivation.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, 61 reference

Gonadal Development and Sexual Dimorphism of Gobiomorus dormitor from the Estuarine System of Tecolutla, Veracruz, Mexico

The bigmouth sleeper, Gobiomorus dormitor, is a benthic, euryhaline species, and is very abundant in river mouths, coastal lagoons, and sites away from marine influence from south Florida to Dutch Guyana. There are few studies of its life history, ecology, and abundance, particularly within Mexican waters. Nine trips to Tecolutla estuary, Veracruz, Mexico, were taken between October 1995 and May 1998 to estimate the gonadal development and sexual dimorphism of G. dormitor. A total of 94 individuals ranging from 15–260 mm SL and 0.05–181 g were captured. Seventy-two specimens were adults (60 females, 12 males) and 22 were juveniles that did not show external sexual dimorphism. Both juvenile and adult stages of G. dormitor were captured year-round in seagrass beds and adjacent shallow, muddy or sandy areas. This study has shown that G. dormitor are resident and undergo sexual maturation in the Tecolutla estuary. Histological evidence suggests both males and females undergo gonadal recrudescence in the estuary and have an extended reproductive season from May through November. However, it is unclear if the species actually spawns in the estuary, since females in the final stages of oocyte maturation were not captured. Additional research on the reproductive biology and ecology of this under-studied species is necessary to determine its role in tropical estuaries in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Information learned from areas in the center of its distribution may aid in conserving the species at the periphery of its range in Florida, where it is considered threatened

Tensegrity, Experimentation in the Removal of Compression Stability Elements

Tensegrity strives to create an impossible floating structure. To achieve this mark, cables are used to suspend the pavilion mid-air which creates an axial stress governed system. Within this axial force design constraint, a 3D space truss becomes the form. This structure pays homage to famous structural designers of the past such as Santiago Calatrava and Kenneth Snelson. Similar to these artists, tensile elements are at the forefront of the design. To accomodate the user, we have provided a sitting space nestled in the center of system. This is intended for visitors first to be puzzled by the seemingly discontinuous load path, then for them to learn and understand this large-scale tensegrity experiment

Techno-economic evaluation of a grid-connected hybrid PV-wind power generation system in San Luis Potosi, Mexico

This paper presents a study of the installation of a hybrid PV-Wind power generation system for social interest houses in the city of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. To assess the benefits of the implementation of this type of systems, a technological, economic and environmental evaluation is carried out based on the available renewable energy resources and considering a typical load profile of consumers. The obtained results show the feasibility of installation of small capacity hybrid generation systems in the city, however governmental incentives must be implemented to make more attractive and affordable the proposed systems for medium/low income users