233 research outputs found
A Classical Molecular Dynamics Study on the Effect of Si/Al Ratio and Silanol Nest Defects on Water Diffusion in Zeolite HY
Opportunities for Process Control and Quality Assurance Using Online NIR Analysis to a Continuous Wet Granulation Tableting Line
This paper investigates the application of online near-infrared measurements as a means to measure blend uniformity in a continuous tableting line. Underlying all the monitoring and control methods is the ability to measure key tablet properties online at a rate suitable for control purposes. The use of NIR to determine any deviations in blend uniformity is demonstrated by interpreting the relevant spectral signature allowing quantitative information to be acquired for process monitoring and quality assurance. In addition to demonstrating the functionality of the NIR probe, the practical issues arising in the application are discussed. The composition of the blend was measured using an NIR probe over a range of concentrations and the results were calculated comparing sub unit dose scale of scrutiny of small populations. This was compared with predicted product quality for whole tablets over the whole production period. This technique has demonstrated how data collected online can be used to successfully predict the quality of the whole production run for the purposes of real-time product quality assurance
Minimum Decision Cost for Quantum Ensembles
For a given ensemble of independent and identically prepared particles,
we calculate the binary decision costs of different strategies for measurement
of polarised spin 1/2 particles. The result proves that, for any given values
of the prior probabilities and any number of constituent particles, the cost
for a combined measurement is always less than or equal to that for any
combination of separate measurements upon sub-ensembles. The Bayes cost, which
is that associated with the optimal strategy (i.e., a combined measurement) is
obtained in a simple closed form.Comment: 11 pages, uses RevTe
Reactions of a Be-10 beam on proton and deuteron targets
The extraction of detailed nuclear structure information from transfer
reactions requires reliable, well-normalized data as well as optical potentials
and a theoretical framework demonstrated to work well in the relevant mass and
beam energy ranges. It is rare that the theoretical ingredients can be tested
well for exotic nuclei owing to the paucity of data. The halo nucleus Be-11 has
been examined through the 10Be(d,p) reaction in inverse kinematics at
equivalent deuteron energies of 12,15,18, and 21.4 MeV. Elastic scattering of
Be-10 on protons was used to select optical potentials for the analysis of the
transfer data. Additionally, data from the elastic and inelastic scattering of
Be-10 on deuterons was used to fit optical potentials at the four measured
energies. Transfers to the two bound states and the first resonance in Be-11
were analyzed using the Finite Range ADiabatic Wave Approximation (FR-ADWA).
Consistent values of the spectroscopic factor of both the ground and first
excited states were extracted from the four measurements, with average values
of 0.71(5) and 0.62(4) respectively. The calculations for transfer to the first
resonance were found to be sensitive to the size of the energy bin used and
therefore could not be used to extract a spectroscopic factor.Comment: 16 Pages, 10 figure
Comparative Outcomes of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery and Lung Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Background: Lung volume reduction (LVR) and lung transplantation (LTx) have been used in different populations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. To date, comparative study of LVR and LTx has not been performed. We sought to address this gap by pooling the existing evidence in the literature.
Methods: An electronic search was performed to identify all prospective studies on LVR and LTx published since 2000. Baseline characteristics, perioperative variables, and clinical outcomes were extracted and pooled for meta-analysis.
Results: The analysis included 65 prospective studies comprising 3,671 patients [LTx: 15 studies (n=1,445), LVR: 50 studies (n=2,226)]. Mean age was 60 [95% confidence interval (CI): 58–62] years and comparable between the two groups. Females were 51% (95% CI: 30–71%) in the LTx group vs. 28% (95% CI: 21–36%) in LVR group (P=0.05). Baseline 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and pulmonary function tests were comparable except for the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), which was lower in the LTx group [21.8% (95% CI: 16.8–26.7%) vs. 27.3% (95% CI: 25.5–29.2%), P=0.04]. Postoperatively, both groups experienced improved FEV1, however post-LTx FEV1 was significantly higher than post-LVR FEV1 [54.9% (95% CI: 41.4–68.4%) vs. 32.5% (95% CI: 30.1–34.8%), P\u3c0.01]. 6MWT was also improved after both procedures [LTx: 212.9 (95% CI: 119.0–306.9) to 454.4 m (95% CI: 334.7–574.2), P\u3c0.01; LVR: 286 (95% CI: 270.2–301.9) to 409.1 m (95% CI: 392.1–426.0), P\u3c0.01], however, with no significant difference between the groups. Pooled survival over time showed no significant difference between the groups.
Conclusions: LTx results in better FEV1 but otherwise has comparable outcomes to LVR
IPCC, 2019: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
Evidence for Planet-induced Chromospheric Activity on HD 179949
We have detected the synchronous enhancement of Ca II H & K emission with the
short-period planetary orbit in HD 179949. High-resolution spectra taken on
three observing runs extending more than a year show the enhancement coincides
with phi ~ 0 (the sub-planetary point) of the 3.093-day orbit with the effect
persisting for more than 100 orbits. The synchronous enhancement is consistent
with planet-induced chromospheric heating by magnetic rather than tidal
interaction. Something which can only be confirmed by further observations.
Independent observations are needed to determine whether the stellar rotation
is sychronous with the planet's orbit. Of the five 51 Peg-type systems
monitored, HD 179949 shows the greatest chromospheric H & K activity. Three
others show significant nightly variations but the lack of any phase coherence
prevents us saying whether the activity is induced by the planet. Our two
standards, tau Ceti and the Sun, show no such nightly variations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Ap
First direct measurement of Mg(,p)Al and implications for X-ray burst model-observation comparisons
Type-I X-ray burst (XRB) light curves are sensitive to the model's nuclear
input and consequently affects the model-observation comparisons.
Mg(,p)Al is among the most important reactions which
directly impact the XRB light curve. We report the first direct measurement of
Mg(,p)Al using the Active Target Time Projection Chamber.
XRB light curve model-observation comparison for the source
using new reaction rate implies a less-compact neutron star than previously
inferred. Additionally, our result removes an important uncertainty in XRB
model calculations that previously hindered extraction of the neutron star
compactness
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