603 research outputs found
Harnessing poly(ionic liquid)s for sensing applications
The interest in poly(ionic liquid)s for sensing applications is derived from their strong interactions to a variety of analytes. By combining the desirable mechanical properties of polymers with the physical and chemical properties of ILs, new materials can be created. The tunable nature of both ionic liquids and polymers allows for incredible diversity, which is exemplified in their broad applicability. In this article we examine the new field of poly(ionic liquid) sensors by providing a detailed look at the current state-of-the-art sensing devices for solvents, gases, biomolecules, pH, and anions
Resin-supported iridium complex for low-temperature vanillin hydrogenation using formic acid in water
Biorefinery seeks to utilize biomass waste streams as a source of chemical precursors with which to feed the chemical industry. This goal seeks to replace petroleum as the main feedstock,} however this task requires the development of efficient catalysts capable of transforming substances derived from biomass into useful chemical products. In this study{,} we demonstrate that a highly-active iridium complex can be solid-supported and used as a low-temperature catalyst for both the decomposition of formic acid (FA) to produce hydrogen{,} and as a hydrogenation catalyst to produce vanillyl alcohol (VA) and 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP) from vanillin (V); a lignin-derived feedstock. These hydrogenation products are promising precursors for epoxy resins and thus demonstrate an approach for their production without the need for petroleum. In contrast to other catalysts that require temperatures exceeding 100 °C{,} here we accomplish this at a temperature of <50 °C in water under autogenous pressure. This approach provides an avenue towards biorefinery with lower energy demands{, which is central to the decentralization and broad implementation. We found that the high activity of the iridium complex transfers to the solid-support and is capable of accelerating the rate determining step; the decomposition of FA into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The yield of both VA and MMP can be independently tuned depending on the temperature. The simplicity of this approach expands the utility of molecular metal complexes and provides new catalyst opportunities in biorefinery
Tropical polyhedra are equivalent to mean payoff games
We show that several decision problems originating from max-plus or tropical
convexity are equivalent to zero-sum two player game problems. In particular,
we set up an equivalence between the external representation of tropical convex
sets and zero-sum stochastic games, in which tropical polyhedra correspond to
deterministic games with finite action spaces. Then, we show that the winning
initial positions can be determined from the associated tropical polyhedron. We
obtain as a corollary a game theoretical proof of the fact that the tropical
rank of a matrix, defined as the maximal size of a submatrix for which the
optimal assignment problem has a unique solution, coincides with the maximal
number of rows (or columns) of the matrix which are linearly independent in the
tropical sense. Our proofs rely on techniques from non-linear Perron-Frobenius
theory.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures; v2: updated references, added background
materials and illustrations; v3: minor improvements, references update
ARCHI: pipeline for light curve extraction of CHEOPS background star
High precision time series photometry from space is being used for a number
of scientific cases. In this context, the recently launched CHEOPS (ESA)
mission promises to bring 20 ppm precision over an exposure time of 6 hours,
when targeting nearby bright stars, having in mind the detailed
characterization of exoplanetary systems through transit measurements. However,
the official CHEOPS (ESA) mission pipeline only provides photometry for the
main target (the central star in the field). In order to explore the potential
of CHEOPS photometry for all stars in the field, in this paper we present
archi, an additional open-source pipeline module{\dag}to analyse the background
stars present in the image. As archi uses the official Data Reduction Pipeline
data as input, it is not meant to be used as independent tool to process raw
CHEOPS data but, instead, to be used as an add-on to the official pipeline. We
test archi using CHEOPS simulated images, and show that photometry of
background stars in CHEOPS images is only slightly degraded (by a factor of 2
to 3) with respect to the main target. This opens a potential for the use of
CHEOPS to produce photometric time series of several close-by targets at once,
as well as to use different stars in the image to calibrate systematic errors.
We also show one clear scientific application where the study of the companion
light curve can be important for the understanding of the contamination on the
main target.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, all code
available at https://github.com/Kamuish/arch
An Investigation into the Radial Velocity Variations of CoRoT-7
CoRoT-7b, the first transiting ``superearth'' exoplanet, has a radius of 1.7
R_Earth and a mass of 4.8 M_Earth. Ground-based radial velocity measurements
also detected an additional companion with a period of 3.7 days (CoRoT-7c) and
a mass of 8.4 M_Earth. The mass of CoRoT-7b is a crucial parameter for planet
structure models, but is difficult to determine because CoRoT-7 is a modestly
active star and there is at least one additional companion. A Fourier analysis
was performed on spectral data for CoRoT-7 taken with the HARPS spectrograph.
These data include RV measurements, spectral line bisectors, the full width at
half maximum of the cross-correlation function, and Ca II emission. The latter
3 quantities vary due to stellar activity and were used to assess the nature of
the observed RV variations. An analysis of a sub-set of the RV measurements
where multiple observations were made per night was also used to estimate the
RV amplitude from CoRoT-7b that was less sensitive to activity variations. Our
analysis indicates that the 0.85-d and 3.7-d RV signals of CoRoT-7b and
CoRoT-7c are present in the spectral data with a high degree of statistical
significance. We also find evidence for another significant RV signal at 9
days. An analysis of the activity indicator data reveals that this 9-d signal
most likely does not arise from activity, but possibly from an additional
companion. If due to a planetary companion the mass is m = 19.5 M_Earth,
assuming co-planarity with CoRoT-7b. A dynamical study of the three planet
system shows that it is stable over several hundred millions of years. Our
analysis yields a RV amplitude of 5.04 +/- 1.09 m/s for CoRoT-7b which
corresponds to a planet mass of m = 6.9 +/- 1.4 M_Earth. This increased mass
would make the planet CoRoT-7b more Earth-like in its internal structure.Comment: 20 pages, 20 figure
Modulation of DNA damage tolerance in Escherichia coli recG and ruv strains by mutations affecting PriB, the ribosome and RNA polymerase
RecG is a DNA translocase that helps to maintain genomic integrity. Initial studies suggested a role in promoting recombination, a possibility consistent with synergism between recG and ruv null alleles and reinforced when the protein was shown to unwind Holliday junctions. In this article we describe novel suppressors of recG and show that the pathology seen without RecG is suppressed on reducing or eliminating PriB, a component of the PriA system for replisome assembly and replication restart. Suppression is conditional, depending on additional mutations that modify ribosomal subunit S6 or one of three subunits of RNA polymerase. The latter suppress phenotypes associated with deletion of priB, enabling the deletion to suppress recG. They include alleles likely to disrupt interactions with transcription anti-terminator, NusA. Deleting priB has a different effect in ruv strains. It provokes abortive recombination and compromises DNA repair in a manner consistent with PriB being required to limit exposure of recombinogenic ssDNA. This synergism is reduced by the RNA polymerase mutations identified. Taken together, the results reveal that RecG curbs a potentially negative effect of proteins that direct replication fork assembly at sites removed from the normal origin, a facility needed to resolve conflicts between replication and transcription
Implementing an inpatient social early warning system for child maltreatment
Objectives: The current article describes the process evaluation of a social early warning system (SEWS) for the prevention of
child maltreatment in the federal state of Hamburg. This prevention initiative targets expectant mothers and their partners
including an initial screening of risk factors for child maltreatment, a subsequent structured clearing interview further exploring risks
and identifying protective factors and an optional referral to the regional health and social care system. Method: The process
evaluation was conducted by examining the flow of participants through the different stages of the SEWS as well as asking social
education workers, parents, and regional institutions about their satisfaction with the process of the SEWS. Results: The participation
rate throughout the SEWS as well as the satisfaction rates were high. Conclusions: The SEWS is a secondary prevention
initiative with a substantial difference to other early prevention initiatives, as it aims to facilitate intervention rather than providing it
A phosphorus-rich polymer as a homogeneous catalyst scavenger
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017. A soft polymer network prepared through a phosphane-ene reaction successfully sequestered Rh and Ru from hydrogenation and ring closing metathesis reactions, respectively. Scavenging effectively quenches catalytic activity and ultimately removes \u3e98% of the metal
A First-Year Research Experience: The Freshman Project in Physics at Loyola University Chicago
Undergraduate research has become an essential mode of engaging and retaining students in physics. At Loyola University Chicago, first-year physics students have been participating in the Freshman Projects program for over twenty years, which has coincided with a period of significant growth for our department. In this paper, we describe how the Freshman Projects program has played an important role in advancing undergraduate research at Loyola and the profound impact it has made on our program. We conclude with suggestions for adoption of similar programs at other institutions
Removing systematics from the CoRoT light curves: I. Magnitude-Dependent Zero Point
This paper presents an analysis that searched for systematic effects within
the CoRoT exoplanet field light curves. The analysis identified a systematic
effect that modified the zero point of most CoRoT exposures as a function of
stellar magnitude. We could find this effect only after preparing a set of
learning light curves that were relatively free of stellar and instrumental
noise. Correcting for this effect, rejecting outliers that appear in almost
every exposure, and applying SysRem, reduced the stellar RMS by about 20 %,
without attenuating transit signals.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
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