3,199 research outputs found
Fungal solid state fermentation on agro-industrial wastes for acid wastewater decolourization in a continuous flow packed-bed bioreactor
This study was aimed at developing a process of solid state fermentation (SSF) with the fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor on apple processing residues for wastewater decolorization. Both fungi were able to colonize apple residues without any addition of nutrients, material support or water. P. ostreatus produced the highest levels of laccases (up to 9 U g-1 of dry matter) and xylanases (up to 80 U g-1 of dry matter). A repeated batch decolorization experiment was set up with apple residues colonized by P. ostreatus, achieving 50% decolorization and 100% detoxification after 24 h, and, adding fresh wastewater every 24 h, a constant decolorization of 50% was measured for at least 1 month. A continuous decolorization experiment was set up by a packed-bed reactor based on colonized apple residues achieving a performance of 100 mg dye L-1 day-1 at a retention time of 50
Rejection of randomly coinciding events in ZnMoO scintillating bolometers
Random coincidence of events (particularly from two neutrino double beta
decay) could be one of the main sources of background in the search for
neutrinoless double beta decay with cryogenic bolometers due to their poor time
resolution. Pulse-shape discrimination by using front edge analysis, mean-time
and methods was applied to discriminate randomly coinciding events in
ZnMoO cryogenic scintillating bolometers. These events can be effectively
rejected at the level of 99% by the analysis of the heat signals with rise-time
of about 14 ms and signal-to-noise ratio of 900, and at the level of 92% by the
analysis of the light signals with rise-time of about 3 ms and signal-to-noise
ratio of 30, under the requirement to detect 95% of single events. These
rejection efficiencies are compatible with extremely low background levels in
the region of interest of neutrinoless double beta decay of Mo for
enriched ZnMoO detectors, of the order of counts/(y keV kg).
Pulse-shape parameters have been chosen on the basis of the performance of a
real massive ZnMoO scintillating bolometer. Importance of the
signal-to-noise ratio, correct finding of the signal start and choice of an
appropriate sampling frequency are discussed
Metastability and small eigenvalues in Markov chains
In this letter we announce rigorous results that elucidate the relation
between metastable states and low-lying eigenvalues in Markov chains in a much
more general setting and with considerable greater precision as was so far
available. This includes a sharp uncertainty principle relating all low-lying
eigenvalues to mean times of metastable transitions, a relation between the
support of eigenfunctions and the attractor of a metastable state, and sharp
estimates on the convergence of probability distribution of the metastable
transition times to the exponential distribution.Comment: 5pp, AMSTe
Perturbative analysis of disordered Ising models close to criticality
We consider a two-dimensional Ising model with random i.i.d. nearest-neighbor
ferromagnetic couplings and no external magnetic field. We show that, if the
probability of supercritical couplings is small enough, the system admits a
convergent cluster expansion with probability one. The associated polymers are
defined on a sequence of increasing scales; in particular the convergence of
the above expansion implies the infinite differentiability of the free energy
but not its analyticity. The basic tools in the proof are a general theory of
graded cluster expansions and a stochastic domination of the disorder
Role of the microbiota in the modulation of vaccine immune responses
The human immune system and the microbiota co-evolve, and their balanced relationship is based on crosstalk between the two systems through the course of life. This tight association and the overall composition and richness of the microbiota play an important role in the modulation of host immunity and may impact the immune response to vaccination. The availability of innovative technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and correlated bioinformatics tools, allows a deeper investigation of the crosstalk between the microbiota and human immune responses. This review discusses the current knowledge on the influence of the microbiota on the immune response to vaccination and novel tools to deeply analyze the impact of the microbiome on vaccine responses
Assessment and monitoring of ventilatory function and cough efficacy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Assessing and monitoring respiratory muscle function is crucial in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, since impaired function can lead to either ventilatory failure or respiratory tract infection. Spirometry, diffusing capacity of the lung, breathing pattern, sleep study, blood gas analysis and respiratory muscle strength tests, as well as cough peak flow and cough expiratory volume measurements can provide relevant information on ventilatory function and cough efficacy. With regard to respiratory muscle strength testing, the rational approach consists in starting with volitional and non-invasive tests and later using invasive and non-volitional tests. This review focuses on both ventilatory and respiratory muscle strength testing, in order to undertake a timely treatment of respiratory failure and/or impaired cough efficacy. So far, the current literature has not highlighted any gold standard which stipulates when to commence ventilation and cough support in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. A composite set of clinical and functional parameters is required for treatment scheduling to monitor lung involvement and follow-up in these patients
Rejection of randomly coinciding events in LiMoO scintillating bolometers using light detectors based on the Neganov-Luke effect
Random coincidences of nuclear events can be one of the main background
sources in low-temperature calorimetric experiments looking for neutrinoless
double-beta decay, especially in those searches based on scintillating
bolometers embedding the promising double-beta candidate Mo, because of
the relatively short half-life of the two-neutrino double-beta decay of this
nucleus. We show in this work that randomly coinciding events of the
two-neutrino double decay of Mo in enriched LiMoO
detectors can be effectively discriminated by pulse-shape analysis in the light
channel if the scintillating bolometer is provided with a Neganov-Luke light
detector, which can improve the signal-to-noise ratio by a large factor,
assumed here at the level of on the basis of preliminary
experimental results obtained with these devices. The achieved pile-up
rejection efficiency results in a very low contribution, of the order of counts/(keVkgy), to the background counting rate
in the region of interest for a large volume ( cm)
LiMoO detector. This background level is very encouraging in
view of a possible use of the LiMoO solution for a bolometric
tonne-scale next-generation experiment as that proposed in the CUPID project
First exit times of solutions of stochastic differential equations driven by multiplicative Levy noise with heavy tails
In this paper we study first exit times from a bounded domain of a gradient
dynamical system perturbed by a small multiplicative
L\'evy noise with heavy tails. A special attention is paid to the way the
multiplicative noise is introduced. In particular we determine the asymptotics
of the first exit time of solutions of It\^o, Stratonovich and Marcus canonical
SDEs.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
Diversity on Jesuit Higher Education Websites
Thesis advisor: Ana M. Martínez AlemánThe term “diversity” was popularized in Justice Powell’s opinion in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which identified the benefits of a diverse student body as a compelling state interest. Forty years after Bakke, deep inequities remain in higher education and racist events occur with regularity on college campuses (“Campus Racial Incidents : The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education,” n.d.). Institutions continue to struggle to address student concerns and a significant gap remains between students and administrators on the topic of diversity and inclusion. Because the public website is the face of the university to the world and the most powerful platform for conveying institutional values, goals, and priorities, representations of diversity on university webpages are potent statements about how institutions address these topics (Snider & Martin, 2012). Jesuit universities in particular have a 500-year tradition in education that is founded on a deep respect for cultural difference, making them an excellent choice for a study on diversity (O’Malley, 2014). This exploratory qualitative study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how diversity is characterized on Jesuit higher education websites. The 28 Jesuit higher education institutions in the United States were analyzed during two time periods using a framework combining elements of Fairclough (2003) and McGregor (2014). The data were interpreted through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT), which posits that racism continues to be endemic and omnipresent in the United States. CRT scholarship on microaggressions, whiteness, and colorblindness is a foundational element of this analysis Based on this analysis, institutions were placed in an adapted model of diversity development based on Williams (2013). While respecting cultural difference and care for the marginalized is at the core of the Jesuit mission, translating this to an inclusive diversity web presence has presented challenges for institutions. In this study, just 3 of the 28 Jesuit higher education institutions attained the most advanced stage—Inclusive Excellence. Few Jesuit institutions placed diversity at the core of the mission or maintained cohesive and powerful diversity messaging across the website. This study found instances where imagery, prose, and information architecture issues reinforced hegemonic norms and objectified individuals. This analysis concludes with diversity website content recommendations for administrators, communications professionals, and faculty who seek to be inclusive rather than alienate, deconstruct hegemonic norms rather than reinforce them, and balance marketing goals with campus authenticity.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
- …