14,114 research outputs found
Reaction engineering of emerging oxidation processes
A review of the recent developments in emerging multiphase catalytic oxidation processes for the manufacture of various key chemicals, and an overview of reaction engineering principles needed for reactor design and interpretation of performance are presented. The utility of combining a knowledge of the catalytic chemistry through fundamental mechanisms and kinetics with transport effects and hydrodynamics using recent advances in experimental methods is also discussed and reviewed with reference to liquid phase oxidation
Quantum ratchet transport with minimal dispersion rate
We analyze the performance of quantum ratchets by considering the dynamics of
an initially localized wave packet loaded into a flashing periodic potential.
The directed center-of-mass motion can be initiated by the uniform modulation
of the potential height, provided that the modulation protocol breaks all
relevant time- and spatial reflection symmetries. A poor performance of quantum
ratchet transport is characterized by a slow net motion and a fast diffusive
spreading of the wave packet, while the desirable optimal performance is the
contrary. By invoking a quantum analog of the classical P\'eclet number, namely
the quotient of the group velocity and the dispersion of the propagating wave
packet, we calibrate the transport properties of flashing quantum ratchets and
discuss the mechanisms that yield low-dispersive directed transport.Comment: 6 pages; 3 figures; 1 tabl
If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with: How individual habituation of agent interactions improves global utility
Simple distributed strategies that modify the behaviour of selfish individuals in a manner that enhances cooperation or global efficiency have proved difficult to identify. We consider a network of selfish agents who each optimise their individual utilities by coordinating (or anti-coordinating) with their neighbours, to maximise the pay-offs from randomly weighted pair-wise games. In general, agents will opt for the behaviour that is the best compromise (for them) of the many conflicting constraints created by their neighbours, but the attractors of the system as a whole will not maximise total utility. We then consider agents that act as 'creatures of habit' by increasing their preference to coordinate (anti-coordinate) with whichever neighbours they are coordinated (anti-coordinated) with at the present moment. These preferences change slowly while the system is repeatedly perturbed such that it settles to many different local attractors. We find that under these conditions, with each perturbation there is a progressively higher chance of the system settling to a configuration with high total utility. Eventually, only one attractor remains, and that attractor is very likely to maximise (or almost maximise) global utility. This counterintutitve result can be understood using theory from computational neuroscience; we show that this simple form of habituation is equivalent to Hebbian learning, and the improved optimisation of global utility that is observed results from wellknown generalisation capabilities of associative memory acting at the network scale. This causes the system of selfish agents, each acting individually but habitually, to collectively identify configurations that maximise total utility
Heat Bath Particle Number Spectrum
We calculate the number spectrum of particles radiated during a scattering
into a heat bath using the thermal largest-time equation and the
Dyson-Schwinger equation. We show how one can systematically calculate
{d}/{d\omega} to any order using modified real time
finite-temperature diagrams. Our approach is demonstrated on a simple model
where two scalar particles scatter, within a photon-electron heat bath, into a
pair of charged particles and it is shown how to calculate the resulting
changes in the number spectra of the photons and electrons.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX; 14 figure
The potential benefit of pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential in peripheral vascular disease
Choosing the most distal amputation level that will heal is difficult in patients with peripheral vascular disease. From 1984 to 1988,965 patients underwent 1 563 amputations for lower limb peripheral vascular disease at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. The primary amputation revision rate was 51% with a mortality rate of 23,1%. Random pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential using a transcutaneous oxygen pressure index was investigated over the 4-year period, 1987 - 1990. This was responsible for a reduction in the amputation revision rate to 8,2% in patients tested
Screw dislocation in zirconium: An ab initio study
Plasticity in zirconium is controlled by 1/3 screw dislocations
gliding in the prism planes of the hexagonal close-packed structure. This
prismatic and not basal glide is observed for a given set of transition metals
like zirconium and is known to be related to the number of valence electrons in
the d band. We use ab initio calculations based on the density functional
theory to study the core structure of screw dislocations in zirconium.
Dislocations are found to dissociate in the prism plane in two partial
dislocations, each with a pure screw character. Ab initio calculations also
show that the dissociation in the basal plane is unstable. We calculate then
the Peierls barrier for a screw dislocation gliding in the prism plane and
obtain a small barrier. The Peierls stress deduced from this barrier is lower
than 21 MPa, which is in agreement with experimental data. The ability of an
empirical potential relying on the embedded atom method (EAM) to model
dislocations in zirconium is also tested against these ab initio calculations
Magnetization damping in a local-density approximation
The linear response of itinerant transition metal ferromagnets to transverse
magnetic fields is studied in a self-consistent adiabatic local-density
approximation. The susceptibility is calculated from a microscopic Hamiltonian,
including spin-conserving impurities, impurity induced spin-orbit interaction
and magnetic impurities using the Keldysh formalism. The Gilbert damping
constant in the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation is identified, parametrized by
an effective transverse spin dephasing rate, and is found to be inversely
proportional to the exchange splitting. Our result justify the phenomenological
treatment of transverse spin dephasing in the study of current-induced
magnetization dynamics in weak, itinerant ferromagnets by Tserkovnyak
\textit{et al.}. We show that neglect of gradient corrections in the
quasiclassical transport equations leads to incorrect results when the exchange
potential becomes of the order of the Fermi energy.Comment: 11 pages, 41 references, no figure
Rat mammary carcinogenesis following neutron- or X-radiation
Female 61 to 63 - day - old Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed once to a single dose of either 0.43 - MeV
neutrons or 250 - kVX - rays . For neutrons 23 rats were exposed in plastic tubes rotated around and 31 c m from
a water-cooled tritium impregnated target bombarded with 2.45 - MeV protons from a V a n de Graaff generator.
The mean kerma was measured at the rat location by integrating the response of a rat - sized homogeneous
tissue equivalent ionization chamber of minimum mass. The ratio between absorbed dose and kerma is under
investigation and is anticipated to be approximately 0.7. A compensated GM gamma-ray dosimeter indicated
that the gamma - ray doses were 3.5% of the total dose. All rats were examined weekly for the presence
of breast tumours and these were removed, fixed, stained and verified histologically as mammary neoplasms.
At 10 months after exposure 98<7ο of the rats were a live . The neutron kerma, the per cent of rats with
mammary neoplasia, and the number of rats were, respectively: 0.125 rads, 8.2°}o, 182; 0.5 rads, 9.0^0,
89; 2 rads, 20. 6,68; and 8 rads, 31.1%, 45. The X - ray results were: 30 R, 1.4% 95; 60 R, 27. l°Io, 48;
and 90 R, 35.4%, 48. A 3. O^o incidence was found in 167 control rats. At 10 months after exposure the
mammary neoplastic response after 8 rads of neutrons corresponds approximately to that after 60 - 90 R of
X - rays . Similarly, the response after 2 rads of neutrons was intermediate between 30 and 60 R of X - rays and
the response after 0 . 125 and 0.5 rads of neutrons was similar to that after 30 R of X - rays . This demonstrates
that the RBE for 0.43 - MeV neutrons is much lower at high doses than at low doses. Determination of the
confidence limits for the dose-RBE dependence and dose-incidence relationship will be determined as additional
data are collected
Outcomes of a remote, decentralized health center-based HIV/AIDS antiretroviral program in Zambia, 2003 to 2007
A cross-sectional study of patients living with HIV/ AIDS treated during 2003 to 2007 in decentralized, rural health centers in Zambia was performed to measure virological outcomes after 12 months of antiretroviral therapy and identify factors associated with virological failure. Data from 228 patients who started antiretroviral therapy >12 months prior were analyzed. In all, 93% received stavudine + lamivudine + nevirapine regimens, and median antiretroviral therapy duration was 23.5 months (interquartile range 20-28). Of the 205 patients tested for viral load, 177 (86%) had viral load <1000 copies/mL. Probability of developing virological failure (viral load >1000 copies/mL) was 8.9% at 24 months and 19.6% at 32 months. Predictors for virological failure were <100% adherence, body mass index <18.5 kg/m(2), and women <40 years old. Of those with virological failure who underwent 3 to 6 months of intensive adherence counseling, 45% obtained virological success. In a remote, resource-limited setting in decentralized health centers, virological and immunological assessments of patients on antiretroviral therapy >12 months showed that positive health outcomes are achievable
Hydrogen-enhanced local plasticity in aluminum: an ab initio study
Dislocation core properties of Al with and without H impurities are studied
using the Peierls-Nabarro model with parameters determined by ab initio
calculations. We find that H not only facilitates dislocation emission from the
crack tip but also enhances dislocation mobility dramatically, leading to
macroscopically softening and thinning of the material ahead of the crack tip.
We observe strong binding between H and dislocation cores, with the binding
energy depending on dislocation character. This dependence can directly affect
the mechanical properties of Al by inhibiting dislocation cross-slip and
developing slip planarity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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