1,990 research outputs found
Pulse-density-modulated power control of a 4 kW, 450 kHz voltage-source inverter for induction melting applications
This paper presents a 4 kW, 450 kHz voltage-source inverter with a series resonant circuit for induction melting applications, which is characterized by the power control based on pulse density modulation (PDM). The pulse-density-modulated inverter makes an induction melting system simple and compact, thus leading to higher efficiency. A modulation strategy is proposed to realize the induction melting system capable of operation at the frequency and power level of interest. Some interesting experimental results are shown to verify the validity of the concept </p
Emission factors for open and domestic biomass burning for use in atmospheric models
Biomass burning (BB) is the second largest source of trace gases and the largest source of primary fine carbonaceous particles in the global troposphere. Many recent BB studies have provided new emission factor (EF) measurements. This is especially true for non-methane organic compounds (NMOC), which influence secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and ozone formation. New EF should improve regional to global BB emissions estimates and therefore, the input for atmospheric models. In this work we present an up-to-date, comprehensive tabulation of EF for known pyrogenic species based on measurements made in smoke that has cooled to ambient temperature, but not yet undergone significant photochemical processing. All EFs are converted to one standard form (g compound emitted per kg dry biomass burned) using the carbon mass balance method and they are categorized into 14 fuel or vegetation types. Biomass burning terminology is defined to promote consistency. We compile a large number of measurements of biomass consumption per unit area for important fire types and summarize several recent estimates of global biomass consumption by the major types of biomass burning. Post emission processes are discussed to provide a context for the emission factor concept within overall atmospheric chemistry and also highlight the potential for rapid changes relative to the scale of some models or remote sensing products. Recent work shows that individual biomass fires emit significantly more gas-phase NMOC than previously thought and that including additional NMOC can improve photochemical model performance. A detailed global estimate suggests that BB emits at least 400 Tg yr^(−1) of gas-phase NMOC, which is almost 3 times larger than most previous estimates. Selected recent results (e.g. measurements of HONO and the BB tracers HCN and CH_3CN) are highlighted and key areas requiring future research are briefly discussed
Activin and TGFβ use diverging mitogenic signaling in advanced colon cancer.
BackgroundUnderstanding cell signaling pathways that contribute to metastatic colon cancer is critical to risk stratification in the era of personalized therapeutics. Here, we dissect the unique involvement of mitogenic pathways in a TGFβ or activin-induced metastatic phenotype of colon cancer.MethodMitogenic signaling/growth factor receptor status and p21 localization were correlated in primary colon cancers and intestinal tumors from either AOM/DSS treated ACVR2A (activin receptor 2) -/- or wild type mice. Colon cancer cell lines (+/- SMAD4) were interrogated for ligand-induced PI3K and MEK/ERK pathway activation and downstream protein/phospho-isoform expression/association after knockdown and pharmacologic inhibition of pathway members. EMT was assessed using epithelial/mesenchymal markers and migration assays.ResultsIn primary colon cancers, loss of nuclear p21 correlated with upstream activation of activin/PI3K while nuclear p21 expression was associated with TGFβ/MEK/ERK pathway activation. Activin, but not TGFβ, led to PI3K activation via interaction of ACVR1B and p85 independent of SMAD4, resulting in p21 downregulation. In contrast, TGFβ increased p21 via MEK/ERK pathway through a SMAD4-dependent mechanism. While activin induced EMT via PI3K, TGFβ induced EMT via MEK/ERK activation. In vivo, loss of ACVR2A resulted in loss of pAkt, consistent with activin-dependent PI3K signaling.ConclusionAlthough activin and TGFβ share growth suppressive SMAD signaling in colon cancer, they diverge in their SMAD4-independent pro-migratory signaling utilizing distinct mitogenic signaling pathways that affect EMT. p21 localization in colon cancer may determine a dominant activin versus TGFβ ligand signaling phenotype warranting further validation as a therapeutic biomarker prior to targeting TGFβ family receptors
Analysis of quantum conductance of carbon nanotube junctions by the effective mass approximation
The electron transport through the nanotube junctions which connect the
different metallic nanotubes by a pair of a pentagonal defect and a heptagonal
defect is investigated by Landauer's formula and the effective mass
approximation. From our previous calculations based on the tight binding model,
it has been known that the conductance is determined almost only by two
parameters,i.e., the energy in the unit of the onset energy of more than two
channels and the ratio of the radii of the two nanotubes. The conductance is
calculated again by the effective mass theory in this paper and a simple
analytical form of the conductance is obtained considering a special boundary
conditions of the envelop wavefunctions. The two scaling parameters appear
naturally in this treatment. The results by this formula coincide fairly well
with those of the tight binding model.
The physical origin of the scaling law is clarified by this approach.Comment: RevTe
Evolution of trace gases and particles emitted by a chaparral fire in California
Biomass burning (BB) is a major global source of trace gases and particles. Accurately representing the production and evolution of these emissions is an important goal for atmospheric chemical transport models. We measured a suite of gases and aerosols emitted from an 81 hectare prescribed fire in chaparral fuels on the central coast of California, US on 17 November 2009. We also measured physical and chemical changes that occurred in the isolated downwind plume in the first ~4 h after emission. The measurements were carried out onboard a Twin Otter aircraft outfitted with an airborne Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (AFTIR), aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), single particle soot photometer (SP2), nephelometer, LiCor CO_2 analyzer, a chemiluminescence ozone instrument, and a wing-mounted meteorological probe. Our measurements included: CO_2; CO; NO_x; NH_3; non-methane organic compounds; organic aerosol (OA); inorganic aerosol (nitrate, ammonium, sulfate, and chloride); aerosol light scattering; refractory black carbon (rBC); and ambient temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and three-dimensional wind velocity. The molar ratio of excess O_3 to excess CO in the plume (ΔO_3/ΔCO) increased from −5.13 (±1.13) × 10^(−3) to 10.2 (±2.16) × 10^(−2) in ~4.5 h following smoke emission. Excess acetic and formic acid (normalized to excess CO) increased by factors of 1.73 ± 0.43 and 7.34 ± 3.03 (respectively) over the same time since emission. Based on the rapid decay of C_2H_4 we infer an in-plume average OH concentration of 5.27 (±0.97) × 10^6 molec cm^(−3), consistent with previous studies showing elevated OH concentrations in biomass burning plumes. Ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate all increased over the course of 4 h. The observed ammonium increase was a factor of 3.90 ± 2.93 in about 4 h, but accounted for just ~36% of the gaseous ammonia lost on a molar basis. Some of the gas phase NH_3 loss may have been due to condensation on, or formation of, particles below the AMS detection range. NO_x was converted to PAN and particle nitrate with PAN production being about two times greater than production of observable nitrate in the first ~4 h following emission. The excess aerosol light scattering in the plume (normalized to excess CO_2) increased by a factor of 2.50 ± 0.74 over 4 h. The increase in light scattering was similar to that observed in an earlier study of a biomass burning plume in Mexico where significant secondary formation of OA closely tracked the increase in scattering. In the California plume, however, ΔOA/ΔCO_2 decreased sharply for the first hour and then increased slowly with a net decrease of ~20% over 4 h. The fraction of thickly coated rBC particles increased up to ~85% over the 4 h aging period. Decreasing OA accompanied by increased scattering/particle coating in initial aging may be due to a combination of particle coagulation and evaporation processes. Recondensation of species initially evaporated from the particles may have contributed to the subsequent slow rise in OA. We compare our results to observations from other plume aging studies and suggest that differences in environmental factors such as smoke concentration, oxidant concentration, actinic flux, and RH contribute significantly to the variation in plume evolution observations
Band structures of periodic carbon nanotube junctions and their symmetries analyzed by the effective mass approximation
The band structures of the periodic nanotube junctions are investigated by
the effective mass theory and the tight binding model.
The periodic junctions are constructed by introducing pairs of a pentagonal
defect and a heptagonal defect periodically in the carbon nanotube.
We treat the periodic junctions whose unit cell is composed by two kinds of
metallic nanotubes with almost same radii, the ratio of which is between 0.7
and 1 .
The discussed energy region is near the undoped Fermi level where the channel
number is kept to two, so there are two bands.
The energy bands are expressed with closed analytical forms by the effective
mass theory with some assumptions, and they coincide well with the numerical
results by the tight binding model. Differences between the two methods are
also discussed. Origin of correspondence between the band structures and the
phason pattern discussed in Phys. Rev. B {\bf 53}, 2114, is clarified. The
width of the gap and the band are in inverse proportion to the length of the
unit cell, which is the sum of the lengths measured along the tube axis in each
tube part and along 'radial' direction in the junction part. The degeneracy and
repulsion between the two bands are determined only from symmetries.Comment: RevTeX, gif fil
Radiative Corrections to Double Dalitz Decays: Effects on Invariant Mass Distributions and Angular Correlations
We review the theory of meson decays to two lepton pairs, including the cases
of identical as well as non-identical leptons, as well as CP-conserving and
CP-violating couplings. A complete lowest-order calculation of QED radiative
corrections to these decays is discussed, and comparisons of predicted rates
and kinematic distributions between tree-level and one-loop-corrected
calculations are presented for both pi-zero and K-zero decays.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, added figures and commentar
Development of an intense positron source using a crystal--amorphous hybrid target for linear colliders
In a conventional positron source driven by a few GeV electron beam, a high
amount of heat is loaded into a positron converter target to generate intense
positrons required by linear colliders, and which would eventually damage the
converter target. A hybrid target, composed of a single crystal target as a
radiator of intense gamma--rays, and an amorphous converter target placed
downstream of the crystal, was proposed as a scheme which could overcome the
problem.This paper describes the development of an intense positron source with
the hybrid target. A series of experiments on positron generation with the
hybrid target has been carried out with a 8--GeV electron beam at the KEKB
linac. We observed that positron yield from the hybrid target increased when
the incident electron beam was aligned to the crystal axis and exceeded the one
from the conventional target with the converter target of the same thickness,
when its thickness is less than about 2 radiation length. The measurements in
the temperature rise of the amorphous converter target was successfully carried
out by use of thermocouples. These results lead to establishment to the
evaluation of the hybrid target as an intense positron source.Comment: 17pages, 10figure
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