Visualizing particle networks in granular media by in situ X-ray computed tomography

In this contribution, cylindrical samples consisting of monodisperse soft (rubber) and stiff (glass) particles are pre-stressed under uniaxial compression. Acoustic P-waves at ultrasound frequencies are superimposed into prepared samples with different soft-stiff volume fractions. Earlier investigations showed the importance of particles networks, i.e. force chains, in controlling the effective mechanical properties of particulate systems. Measured P-wave modulus showed a significant decline while more soft particles are added due to a change in microstructure. However, for small contents of soft particles, it could be observed that the P-wave modulus is increasing. For the understanding of such kinds of effects, detailed insight into the microstructure of the system is required. To gain this information and link it to the effective properties, we made use of high-resolution micro X-ray Computed Tomography (micro-XRCT) imaging and combined it with the classical stiffness characterization. Both performed in situ meaning inside the laboratory-based XRCT scanner. With micro-XRCT imaging, the granular microstructure can be visualized in 3d and characterized subsequently. By post-processing of the data, the individual grains of the particulate systems could be uniquely identified. Finally, the contact network of the packings which connects the center of particles was established to demonstrate the network transition from stiff- to soft-dominated regimes. This has allowed for unprecedented observations and a renewed understanding of particulate systems. It has been demonstrated that micro-XRCT scans of particles packings can be analyzed and compared in 3d to gain extensive information on the scale of the single particles. Here, the in situ setup and workflow from the start of acquiring images in situ till the post-processing of the image data is explained and demonstrated by selected results.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Survey for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (GAMM Mitteilungen

Simulation of Cold Flow in a Truncated Ideal Nozzle with Film Cooling

Flow transients during rocket start-up and shut-down can lead to significant side loads on rocket nozzles. The capability to estimate these side loads computationally can streamline the nozzle design process. Towards this goal, the flow in a truncated ideal contour (TIC) nozzle has been simulated using RANS and URANS for a range of nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs) aimed to match a series of cold flow experiments performed at the NASA MSFC Nozzle Test Facility. These simulations were performed with varying turbulence model choices and for four approximations of the supersonic film injection geometry, each of which was created with a different simplification of the test article geometry. The results show that although a reasonable match to experiment can be obtained with varying levels of geometric fidelity, the modeling choices made do not fully represent the physics of flow separation in a TIC nozzle with film cooling

Effects of season and reproductive state on lipid intake and fatty acid composition of gastrointestinal tract contents in the European hare

We investigated lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of gastrointestinal tract contents in free-living, herbivorous European hares (Lepus europaeus). Mean crude fat content in hare stomachs and total gastrointestinal (GI) tracts was higher than expected for typical herbivore forages and peaked in late fall when hares massively deposited body fat reserves. Changes of FA proportions in different parts of the GI-tract indicated a highly preferential absorption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). A further reduction of PUFA content in the caecum, along with the appearance of odd-chained FAs in caecum, caecotrophes, and colon content, pointed to a biohydrogenation of PUFA in the hare's hindgut. GI-tract contents showed significant seasonal changes in their FA composition. Among PUFA, α-linolenic acid peaked in spring while linoleic acid was predominant in late summer and fall, which probably reflected changes in the plant composition of forage. However, independent of seasonal changes, GI-tracts of lactating females showed a significantly (+33%) higher content of linoleic acid, a FA that is known to increase reproductive performance in European hares. This finding suggests that lactating females actively selected dietary plants rich in linoleic acid, a PUFA that may represent a limited resource for European hare

Quantifying electronic correlation strength in a complex oxide: a combined DMFT and ARPES study of LaNiO3_3

The electronic correlation strength is a basic quantity that characterizes the physical properties of materials such as transition metal oxides. Determining correlation strengths requires both precise definitions and a careful comparison between experiment and theory. In this paper we define the correlation strength via the magnitude of the electron self-energy near the Fermi level. For the case of LaNiO$_3$, we obtain both the experimental and theoretical mass enhancements $m^\star/m$ by considering high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and density functional + dynamical mean field theory (DFT + DMFT) calculations. We use valence-band photoemission data to constrain the free parameters in the theory, and demonstrate a quantitative agreement between the experiment and theory when both the realistic crystal structure and strong electronic correlations are taken into account. These results provide a benchmark for the accuracy of the DFT+DMFT theoretical approach, and can serve as a test case when considering other complex materials. By establishing the level of accuracy of the theory, this work also will enable better quantitative predictions when engineering new emergent properties in nickelate heterostructures.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Probleme der Hörfunkpredigt (II)

Auf dem Hintergrund der vorausgegangenen Überlegungen soll jetzt von den besonderen Aufgaben des Hörfunkpredigers gesprochen werden; dabei ist nach Möglichkeiten zu suchen, wie die genannten Schwierigkeiten überwunden werden können. Es scheint, daß vier Regeln von jedem beachtet werden müssen, der über den Rundfunk eine große Hörergemeinde ansprechen will und der versucht, über diesesMedium die Frohbotschaft in den Raum der Welt zu tragen. (...)EnglishDespite its advantage in being able to contact a decidedly lagger audience who are left to listen in anonymity and in their very own specific milieu, the radio talk because of its uniqueness confronts the speaker with a whole series of new problems. There is the distance in space - and often also in time - between speaker and audience. Because circumstances do not allow of even a virtual dialogue or of the possibility of reactional feedback from the audience, the speaker must beware of delivering a formal lecture. He must remember that he is addressing a public which in occupation, education and especially religious sensibilities is much more highly differentiated than the audience he usually speaks to in church. Add to that the handicap of lack of gestures and that of being cramped by the time factor. Such conditions force the speaker to adjust himself to the actual situation of his listener - e. g. being at the breakfast table, -- and to pick an appropriate topic. He must be ablc to penetrate his hearer's consciousness, arouse his attention and then hold it by means of colorful language that does not detreact from the main theme; above all eise he must get the feel of his anonymous audience and for this nothing can substitutc for mail from his listeners. This will open to him all sorts of pastoral possibilities. The most deeply meaningful form of Catholic radio program is a broadcast of the mas

Characterisation of the new EpCAM-specific antibody HO-3: implications for trifunctional antibody immunotherapy of cancer

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is frequently overexpressed in a variety of carcinomas. This pan-carcinoma antigen has served as the target for a plethora of immunotherapies. Innovative therapeutic approaches include the use of trifunctional antibodies (trAbs) that recruit and activate different types of immune effector cells at the tumour site. The trAb catumaxomab has dual specificity for EpCAM and CD3. In patients with malignant ascites, catumaxomab significantly increased the paracentesis-free interval, corroborating the high efficacy of this therapeutic antibody. Here, we characterised the monoclonal antibody (mAb) HO-3, that is, the EpCAM-binding arm of catumaxomab. Peptide mapping indicated that HO-3 recognises a discontinuous epitope, having three binding sites in the extracellular region of EpCAM. Studies with glycosylation-deficient mutants showed that mAb HO-3 recognised EpCAM independently of its glycosylation status. High-affinity binding was not only detected for mAb HO-3, but also for the monovalent EpCAM-binding arm of catumaxomab with an excellent KD of 5.6 × 10−10 M. Furthermore, trAb catumaxomab was at least a 1000-fold more effective in eliciting the eradication of tumour cells by effector peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with mAb HO-3. These findings suggest the great therapeutic potential of trAbs and clearly speak in favour of EpCAM-directed cancer immunotherapies

Epstein-Barr Virus Independent Dysregulation of UBP43 Expression Alters Interferon-Stimulated Gene Expression in Burkitt Lymphoma

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) persists as a life-long latent infection within memory B cells, but how EBV may circumvent the innate immune response within this virus reservoir is unclear. Recent studies suggest that the latency-associated non-coding RNAs of EBV may actually induce type I (antiviral) interferon production, raising the question of how EBV counters the negative consequences this is likely to have on viral persistence. We addressed this by examining the type I interferon response in Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cell lines, the only in vitro model of the restricted program of EBV latency-gene expression in persistently infected B cells in vivo. Importantly, we observed no effect of EBV on interferon alpha-induced signaling or evidence of type I interferon production, suggesting that EBV in this latent state is silent to the cell's innate antiviral surveillance. We did uncover, however, a defect in the negative feedback control of interferon signaling in a subpopulation of BL lines as was revealed by prolonged interferon-stimulated gene transcription consistent with sustained tyrosine phosphorylation on STAT1 and STAT2. This was due to inadequate induction of expression of the ubiquitin-specific protease UBP43, which removes the ubiquitin-like ISG15 polypeptide conjugated to proteins (ISGylation) in response to type I interferons. Results here are consistent with previous findings in genetically engineered Ubp43−/− murine cells that UBP43 down-regulates interferon signaling, independent of its ISG15 isopeptidase activity, by precluding the protein kinase JAK1 from the interferon receptor. This natural deficiency in UBP43 expression may therefore provide a useful model to further probe the biological roles of UBP43 and ISGylation