Elizabethan Gleanings 1

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An economic evaluation of the silica gel adsorption process for the separation of hafnium from zirconium

An economic evaluation has been made of the silica gel adsorption process for the separation of hafnium and zirconium. It is estimated that hafnium-free zirconium can be prepared at a cost of $7.10 per pound in the form of ZrOCl-2·8H-2O. This salt is satisfactory for the preparation of ZrF-4 by the Ames wet process

Using a Design Science Approach to Create and Evaluate a Social Media Crime Reporting Tool in a Developing Country: Case Jamaica

Latin America and Caribbean countries account for a considerable percentage of the homicide rate globally. The level of crime in this region has had a negative effect on growth and development. We posit that the use of social media as a crime reporting tool could have a positive impact in these economies. Therefore the purpose of this research is to use design science to create a social media crime reporting tool to be implemented in Jamaica. Over a period of eighteen months the research and development team engaged with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to assess design requirements for this artifact. We present the preliminary results from the first interaction of the design cycle, which suggest that privacy and security risks, protecting the identity of informants, verifying evidence submission and reconciling Jamaica’s legislation with the use of the artifact are major concerns for members of the JC

Mechanisms of growth inhibition of primary prostate epithelial cells following gamma irradiation or photodynamic therapy including senscence, necrosis, and autophagy, but not apoptosis

In comparison to more differentiated cells, prostate cancer stem-like cells are radioresistant, which could explain radio-recurrent prostate cancer. Improvement of radiotherapeutic efficacy may therefore require combination therapy. We have investigated the consequences of treating primary prostate epithelial cells with gamma irradiation and photodynamic therapy (PDT), both of which act through production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Primary prostate epithelial cells were cultured from patient samples of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer prior to treatment with PDT or gamma irradiation. Cell viability was measured using MTT and alamar blue assay, and cell recovery by colony-forming assays. Immunofluorescence of gamma-H2AX foci was used to quantify DNA damage, and autophagy and apoptosis were assessed using Western blots. Necrosis and senescence were measured by propidium iodide staining and beta-galactosidase staining, respectively. Both PDT and gamma irradiation reduced the colony-forming ability of primary prostate epithelial cells. PDT reduced the viability of all types of cells in the cultures, including stem-like cells and more differentiated cells. PDT induced necrosis and autophagy, whereas gamma irradiation induced senescence, but neither treatment induced apoptosis. PDT and gamma irradiation therefore inhibit cell growth by different mechanisms. We suggest these treatments would be suitable for use in combination as sequential treatments against prostate cancer

Polyurethane Microparticles for Stimuli Response and Reduced Oxidative Degradation in Highly Porous Shape Memory Polymers

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have been found to be promising biomaterials for a variety of medical applications; however, the clinical translation of such technology is dependent on tailorable properties such as gravimetric changes in degradation environments. For SMPs synthesized from amino-alcohols, oxidation resulting in rapid mass loss may be problematic in terms of loss of material functionality as well as toxicity and cytocompatibility concerns. Control of gravimetric changes was achieved through the incorporation of small molecule antioxidants, either directly into the polymer matrix or included in microparticles to form a SMP composite material. Direct incorporation of small molecule antioxidants, such as phenolic alcohols, was found to alter shape memory attributes and increase elastic modulus at the expense of the strain to failure. Such changes could not ensure retention of the antioxidants and therefore did not increase oxidative stability. However, the inclusion of antioxidants in microparticles was found to produce materials with similar thermomechanical and shape memory properties while increasing oxidative resistance compared to controls. The microparticle composite SMPs also act as a platform for environmental sensing, such as pH-dependent fluorescence shifts and payload release, as demonstrated by fluorescent dyes and the release of antioxidants. The use of polyurethane-urea microparticles in porous SMPs is demonstrated to increase biostability of the materials, by approximately 25%, and ultimately extend their lifespan for use in aneurysm occlusion as determined through calculated in vivo degradation rates corresponding to a porcine aneurysm environment

Collisional decoherence observed in matter wave interferometry

We study the loss of spatial coherence in the extended wave function of fullerenes due to collisions with background gases. From the gradual suppression of quantum interference with increasing gas pressure we are able to support quantitatively both the predictions of decoherence theory and our picture of the interaction process. We thus explore the practical limits of matter wave interferometry at finite gas pressures and estimate the required experimental vacuum conditions for interferometry with even larger objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Injection of photoelectrons into dense argon gas

The injection of photoelectrons in a gaseous or liquid sample is a widespread technique to produce a cold plasma in a weakly--ionized system in order to study the transport properties of electrons in a dense gas or liquid. We report here the experimental results of photoelectron injection into dense argon gas at the temperatureT=142.6 K as a function of the externally applied electric field and gas density. We show that the experimental data can be interpreted in terms of the so called Young-Bradbury model only if multiple scattering effects due to the dense environment are taken into account when computing the scattering properties and the energetics of the electrons.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, figure nr. 10 has been redrawn, to be submitted to Plasma Sources Science and Technolog

On the precise connection between the GRW master-equation and master-equations for the description of decoherence

We point out that the celebrated GRW master-equation is invariant under translations, reflecting the homogeneity of space, thus providing a particular realization of a general class of translation-covariant Markovian master-equations. Such master-equations are typically used for the description of decoherence due to momentum transfers between system and environment. Building on this analogy we show the exact relationship between the GRW master-equation and decoherence master-equations, further providing a collisional decoherence model formally equivalent to the GRW master-equation. This allows for a direct comparison of order of magnitudes of relevant parameters. This formal analogy should not lead to confusion on the utterly different spirit of the two research fields, in particular it has to be stressed that the decoherence approach does not lead to a solution of the measurement problem. Building on this analogy however the feasibility of the extension of spontaneous localization models in order to avoid the infinite energy growth is discussed. Apart from a particular case considered in the paper, it appears that the amplification mechanism is generally spoiled by such modifications.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures, to appear on J. Phys.