The ALEP platform for language research and engineering

This paper describes some of the aspects of the Advanced Linguistic Engineering Platform (ALEP) prototype system (ALEP-0) [SIM-93a]. ALEP is an initiative of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) to provide the natural language research and engineering community in Europe with a versatile and flexible general purpose development environment. The lingustic formalism and tools of the current prototype, and development of a full more extensive and open environment are outlined. The architecture of the platform which is intended to support cooperation, exchange and re-use of results and resources, comparative evaluation and application prototyping, is also described

Modelconcepten voor de interactie tussen verzadigd grondwater en oppervlaktewater

Uitgaande van de 3 kernbegrippen drainageflux, lekflux en voedingsflux is getracht een koppeling te vinden tussen het topsysteem en het diepe grondwater. Op weg naar deze koppeling zijn een aantal aannames gedaa

Balanced electron-hole transport in spin-orbit semimetal SrIrO3 heterostructures

Relating the band structure of correlated semimetals to their transport properties is a complex and often open issue. The partial occupation of numerous electron and hole bands can result in properties that are seemingly in contrast with one another, complicating the extraction of the transport coefficients of different bands. The 5d oxide SrIrO3 hosts parabolic bands of heavy holes and light electrons in gapped Dirac cones due to the interplay between electron-electron interactions and spin-orbit coupling. We present a multifold approach relying on different experimental techniques and theoretical calculations to disentangle its complex electronic properties. By combining magnetotransport and thermoelectric measurements in a field-effect geometry with first-principles calculations, we quantitatively determine the transport coefficients of different conduction channels. Despite their different dispersion relationships, electrons and holes are found to have strikingly similar transport coefficients, yielding a holelike response under field-effect and thermoelectric measurements and a linear, electronlike Hall effect up to 33 T.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

De parameterisatie van de interactie tussen grondwater en oppervlaktewater voor landelijke en regionale grondwatermodellering

Alterra, RIVM en RIZA richtten de Ad hoc Werkgroep Concensus Hydrologie op, waarbij de interactie tussen grond- en oppervlaktewater centraal staa

Isolation and characterization of few-layer black phosphorus

Isolation and characterization of mechanically exfoliated black phosphorus flakes with a thickness down to two single-layers is presented. A modification of the mechanical exfoliation method, which provides higher yield of atomically thin flakes than conventional mechanical exfoliation, has been developed. We present general guidelines to determine the number of layers using optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy in a fast and reliable way. Moreover, we demonstrate that the exfoliated flakes are highly crystalline and that they are stable even in free-standing form through Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements. A strong thickness dependence of the band structure is found by density functional theory calculations. The exciton binding energy, within an effective mass approximation, is also calculated for different number of layers. Our computational results for the optical gap are consistent with preliminary photoluminescence results on thin flakes. Finally, we study the environmental stability of black phosphorus flakes finding that the flakes are very hydrophilic and that long term exposure to air moisture etches black phosphorus away. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that the aging of the flakes is slow enough to allow fabrication of field-effect transistors with strong ambipolar behavior. Density functional theory calculations also give us insight into the water-induced changes of the structural and electronic properties of black phosphorus.Comment: 11 main figures, 7 supporting figure

Laser texturing of a St. Jude Medical Regent (TM) mechanical heart valve prosthesis:the proof of concept

OBJECTIVES: The liquid-solid interactions have attracted broad interest since solid surfaces can either repel or attract fluids, configuring a wide spectrum of wetting states (from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity). Since the blood-artificial surface interaction of bileaf-let mechanical heart valves essentially represents a liquid-solid interaction, we analysed the thrombogenicity of mechanical heart valve prostheses from innovative perspectives. The aim of the present study was to modify the surface wettability of standard St. Jude Medical Regent (TM) occluders. METHODS: Four pyrolytic carbon occluders were irradiated by means of ultra-short pulse laser, to create 4 different nanotextures (A-D), the essential prerequisite to achieve superhydrophobicity. The static surface wettability of the occluders was qualified by the contact angle (theta) of 2 mu l of purified water, using the sessile drop technique. The angle formed between the liquid-solid and the liquid-vapour interface was the contact angle and was obtained by analysing the droplet images captured by a camera. The morphology of the occluders was characterized and analysed by a scanning electron microscope at different magnifications. RESULTS: The scanning electron microscope analysis of the textures revealed 2 different configurations of the pillars since A and B showed well-rounded shaped tops and C and D flat tops. The measured highest contact angles were comprised between 108.1 degrees and 112.7 degrees, reflecting an improved hydrophobicity of the occluders. All the textures exhibited, to different extents, an orientation (horizontal or vertical), which was strictly related to the observed anisotropy. CONCLUSIONS: In this very early phase of our research, we were able to demonstrate that the intrinsic wettability of pyrolytic carbon occluders can be permanently modified, increasing the water repellency

Reversing Blood Flows Act through klf2a to Ensure Normal Valvulogenesis in the Developing Heart

Heart valve anomalies are some of the most common congenital heart defects, yet neither the genetic nor the epigenetic forces guiding heart valve development are well understood. When functioning normally, mature heart valves prevent intracardiac retrograde blood flow; before valves develop, there is considerable regurgitation, resulting in reversing (or oscillatory) flows between the atrium and ventricle. As reversing flows are particularly strong stimuli to endothelial cells in culture, an attractive hypothesis is that heart valves form as a developmental response to retrograde blood flows through the maturing heart. Here, we exploit the relationship between oscillatory flow and heart rate to manipulate the amount of retrograde flow in the atrioventricular (AV) canal before and during valvulogenesis, and find that this leads to arrested valve growth. Using this manipulation, we determined that klf2a is normally expressed in the valve precursors in response to reversing flows, and is dramatically reduced by treatments that decrease such flows. Experimentally knocking down the expression of this shear-responsive gene with morpholine antisense oligonucleotides (MOs) results in dysfunctional valves. Thus, klf2a expression appears to be necessary for normal valve formation. This, together with its dependence on intracardiac hemodynamic forces, makes klf2a expression an early and reliable indicator of proper valve development. Together, these results demonstrate a critical role for reversing flows during valvulogenesis and show how relatively subtle perturbations of normal hemodynamic patterns can lead to both major alterations in gene expression and severe valve dysgenesis