New Aspects of Thromboangiitis obliterans (von Winiwarter-Buerger's Disease)

The existence of thromboangiitis obliterans as a clinical entity has been a matter of debate for many years. In contrast to other immunovasculitides there is no organ involvement while peripheral vessels are affected. Heavy smokers under 40 years of age have a high predisposition for the disease. The cerebral form shows relapsing brain infarctions which can be visualized in CCT while panarteriography remains negative. Apart from unspecific inflammatory signs in blood and CSF there are distinctive laboratory findings proving the autoimmunological character of von Winiwarter-Buerger's disease. In the serum anti-elastin antibodies, IgE and anticollagen antibody activity are detectable. In 3 patients the authors detected specific immunohistochemical findings in a biopsy specimen of the temporal artery. In addition to platelet-inhibiting substances corticoids in acute and azathioprine in chronic treatment becomes necessary

The eye that binds : Feature integration is not disrupted by saccadic eye movements

Open Access via the Springer Compact Agreement FundRef James S. McDonnell Foundation The data for both experiments, as well as a file containing the stimuli of experiment 1 are available at https://osf.io/k49mf/, where experiment 1 was also preregistered. Acknowledgements: The authors thank Johanna Barclay, Rachel Buhler, Qjan Li, Jesus Rendon, Caitlyn Smith, Alejandro Suarez and Vasilena Voynikova, who collected the data of experiment 2 as part of a group project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

PFBC and IGCC power generation technologies: status and opportunities

View graphs are presented for pressurized fluidized bed combustion and combined-cycle power plants/coal gasification technologies. Photographs, graphs and flowsheets are included covering the following topics: product line; product goals; product development strategy; this year`s success; barrier issues; key plans for next year; technical status; and market opportunities

Anomalous expansion and phonon damping due to the Co spin-state transition in RCoO_3 with R = La, Pr, Nd and Eu

We present a combined study of the thermal expansion and the thermal conductivity of the perovskite series RCoO_3 with R = La, Nd, Pr and Eu. The well-known spin-state transition in LaCoO_3 is strongly affected by the exchange of the R ions due to their different ionic radii, i.e. chemical pressure. This can be monitored in detail by measurements of the thermal expansion, which is a highly sensitive probe for detecting spin-state transitions. The Co ions in the higher spin state act as additional scattering centers for phonons, therefore suppressing the phonon thermal conductivity. Based on the analysis of the interplay between spin-state transition and heat transport, we present a quantitative model of the thermal conductivity for the entire series. In PrCoO_3, an additional scattering effect is active at low temperatures. This effect arises from the crystal field splitting of the 4f multiplet, which allows for resonant scattering of phonons between the various 4f levels.Comment: 15 pages including 5 figure

Relevance of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model for the honeycomb lattice iridates A_2IrO_3

Combining thermodynamic measurements with theoretical density functional and thermodynamic calculations we demonstrate that the honeycomb lattice iridates A2IrO3 (A = Na, Li) are magnetically ordered Mott insulators where the magnetism of the effective spin-orbital S = 1/2 moments can be captured by a Heisenberg-Kitaev (HK) model with Heisenberg interactions beyond nearest-neighbor exchange. Experimentally, we observe an increase of the Curie-Weiss temperature from \theta = -125 K for Na2IrO3 to \theta = -33 K for Li2IrO3, while the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature remains roughly the same T_N = 15 K for both materials. Using finite-temperature functional renormalization group calculations we show that this evolution of \theta, T_N, the frustration parameter f = \theta/T_N, and the zig-zag magnetic ordering structure suggested for both materials by density functional theory can be captured within this extended HK model. Combining our experimental and theoretical results, we estimate that Na2IrO3 is deep in the magnetically ordered regime of the HK model (\alpha \approx 0.25), while Li2IrO3 appears to be close to a spin-liquid regime (0.6 < \alpha < 0.7).Comment: Version accepted for publication in PRL. Additional DFT and thermodynamic calculations have been included. 6 pages of supplementary material include

Thermal Conductivity, Thermopower, and Figure of Merit of La_{1-x}Sr_xCoO_3

We present a study of the thermal conductivity k and the thermopower S of single crystals of La_{1-x}Sr_xCoO_3 with 0<= x <= 0.3. For all Sr concentrations La_{1-x}Sr_xCoO_3 has rather low k values, whereas S strongly changes as a function of x. We discuss the influence of the temperature- and the doping-induced spin-state transitions of the Co ions on both, S and k. From S, k, and the electrical resistivity rho we derive the thermoelectric figure of merit Z=S^2/(k*rho). For intermediate Sr concentrations we find notably large values of Z indicating that Co-based materials could be promising candidates for thermoelectric cooling.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures included, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Performance and economics of co-firing a coal/waste slurry in advanced fluidized-bed combustion

This study`s objective was to investigate co-firing a pressurized fluidized-bed combustor with coal and refuse-derived fuel for the production of electricity and the efficient disposal of waste. Performance evaluation of the pressurized fluidized-bed combustor (PFBC) power plant co-fired with refuse-derived fuel showed only slightly lower overall thermal efficiency than similar sized plants without waste co-firing. Capital costs and costs of electricity are within 4.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, of waste-free operation. The results also indicate that there are no technology barriers to the co-firing of waste materials with coal in a PFBC power plant. The potential to produce cost-competitive electrical power and support environmentally acceptable waste disposal exists with this approach. However, as part of technology development, there remain several design and operational areas requiring data and verification before this concept can realize commercial acceptance. 3 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs