Cascade coherence transfer and magneto-optical resonances at 455 nm excitation of Cesium

We present and experimental and theoretical study of nonlinear magneto-optical resonances observed in the fluorescence to the ground state from the 7P_{3/2} state of cesium, which was populated directly by laser radiation at 455 nm, and from the 6P_{1/2} and 6P_{3/2} states, which were populated via cascade transitions that started from the 7P_{3/2} state and passed through various intermediate states. The laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was observed as the magnetic field was scanned through zero. Signals were recorded for the two orthogonal, linearly polarized components of the LIF. We compared the measured signals with the results of calculations from a model that was based on the optical Bloch equations and averaged over the Doppler profile. This model was adapted from a model that had been developed for D_1 and D_2 excitation of alkali metal atoms. The calculations agree quite well with the measurements, especially when taking into account the fact that some experimental parameters were only estimated in the model.Comment: small changes to text of previous version; 12 pages, 8 figure

Sudden drop of fractal dimension of electromagnetic emissions recorded prior to significant earthquake

The variation of fractal dimension and entropy during a damage evolution process, especially approaching critical failure, has been recently investigated. A sudden drop of fractal dimension has been proposed as a quantitative indicator of damage localization or a likely precursor of an impending catastrophic failure. In this contribution, electromagnetic emissions recorded prior to significant earthquake are analysed to investigate whether they also present such sudden fractal dimension and entropy drops as the main catastrophic event is approaching. The pre-earthquake electromagnetic time series analysis results reveal a good agreement to the theoretically expected ones indicating that the critical fracture is approaching

Influence of amyloglucosidase in bread crust properties

Enzymes are used in baking as a useful tool for improving the processing behavior or properties of baked products. A number of enzymes have been proposed for improving specific volume, imparting softness, or extend the shelf life of breads, but scarce studies have been focused on bread crust. The aim of this study was to determine the use of amyloglucosidase for modulating the properties of the bread crust and increase its crispness. Increasing levels of enzyme were applied onto the surface of two different partially bake breads (thin and thick crust bread). Amyloglucosidase treatment affected significantly (P<0.05) the color of the crust and decreased the moisture content and water activity of the crusts. Mechanical properties were modified by amyloglucosidase, namely increasing levels of enzyme promoted a decrease in the force (Fm) required for crust rupture and an increase in the number of fracture events (Nwr) related to crispy products. Crust microstructure analysis confirmed that enzymatic treatment caused changes in the bread crust structure, leading to a disruption of the structure, by removing the starchy layer that covered the granules and increasing the number of voids, which agree with the texture fragility.Authors acknowledge the financial support of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Sustainability (Project AGL2011-23802), the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), Generalitat Valenciana (Project Prometeo 2012/064) and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC). R. Altamirano-Fortoul would like to thank her grant to CSIC. The authors also thank Forns Valencians S. A. (Spain) for supplying commercial frozen partially baked breads.Altamirano Fortoul, RDC.; Hernando Hernando, MI.; Molina Rosell, MC. (2014). Influence of amyloglucosidase in bread crust properties. 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Distinguishing closely related amyloid precursors using an RNA aptamer

Although amyloid fibrils assembled in vitro commonly involve a single protein, fibrils formed in vivo can contain multiple protein sequences. The amyloidogenic protein human ?2-microglobulin (h?2m) can co-polymerize with its N-terminally truncated variant (?N6) in vitro to form hetero-polymeric fibrils that differ from their homo-polymeric counterparts. Discrimination between the different assembly precursors, for example by binding of a biomolecule to one species in a mixture of conformers, offers an opportunity to alter the course of co-assembly and the properties of the fibrils formed. Here, using h?2m and its amyloidogenic counterpart, ??6, we describe selection of a 2'F-modified RNA aptamer able to distinguish between these very similar proteins. SELEX with a N30 RNA pool yielded an aptamer (B6) that binds h?2m with an EC50 of ?200 nM. NMR spectroscopy was used to assign the (1)H-(15)N HSQC spectrum of the B6-h?2m complex, revealing that the aptamer binds to the face of h?2m containing the A, B, E, and D ?-strands. In contrast, binding of B6 to ?N6 is weak and less specific. Kinetic analysis of the effect of B6 on co-polymerization of h?2m and ?N6 revealed that the aptamer alters the kinetics of co-polymerization of the two proteins. The results reveal the potential of RNA aptamers as tools for elucidating the mechanisms of co-assembly in amyloid formation and as reagents able to discriminate between very similar protein conformers with different amyloid propensity

High-reliability extra-large motor drives for oil and gas industry

Oil and gas are the most important energy resources on the globe. They need to be transported to feed the energy to remote cities and towns. For efficient use of energy, variable frequency drives (VFD) are used in domestic and industrial appliances. In Industrial applications such as the gas industry, capacity of driven compressors is extraordinary large and rated up to 100MW. Then, different VFD technology is required from those for general machines. This paper introduces advanced Megawatt inverter technology for extra-large compressor drive use. The description includes performance evaluation, quality control and field experiences of the extra-large inverters. High reliability, which is critical in oil and gas industry application, is achieved. This paper addresses also issues related to AC grid connection of the extra-large inverters. © 2013 IEEE