Inorganic separator for a high temperature silver-zinc battery

Electrode design, inorganic separators, and performance tests of multiplate five ampere-hour silver-zinc battery cel

IIR Adaptive Filters for Detection of Gravitational Waves from Coalescing Binaries

In this paper we propose a new strategy for gravitational waves detection from coalescing binaries, using IIR Adaptive Line Enhancer (ALE) filters. This strategy is a classical hierarchical strategy in which the ALE filters have the role of triggers, used to select data chunks which may contain gravitational events, to be further analyzed with more refined optimal techniques, like the the classical Matched Filter Technique. After a direct comparison of the performances of ALE filters with the Wiener-Komolgoroff optimum filters (matched filters), necessary to discuss their performance and to evaluate the statistical limitation in their use as triggers, we performed a series of tests, demonstrating that these filters are quite promising both for the relatively small computational power needed and for the robustness of the algorithms used. The performed tests have shown a weak point of ALE filters, that we fixed by introducing a further strategy, based on a dynamic bank of ALE filters, running simultaneously, but started after fixed delay times. The results of this global trigger strategy seems to be very promising, and can be already used in the present interferometers, since it has the great advantage of requiring a quite small computational power and can easily run in real-time, in parallel with other data analysis algorithms.Comment: Accepted at SPIE: "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation". 9 pages, 3 figure

Electromagnetic Energy, Absorption, and Casimir Forces. Inhomogeneous Dielectric Media

A general, exact formula is derived for the expectation value of the electromagnetic energy density of an inhomogeneous absorbing and dispersive dielectric medium in thermal equilibrium, assuming that the medium is well approximated as a continuum. From this formula we obtain the formal expression for the Casimir force density. Unlike most previous approaches to Casimir effects in which absorption is either ignored or admitted implicitly through the required analytic properties of the permittivity, we include dissipation explicitly via the coupling of each dipole oscillator of the medium to a reservoir of harmonic oscillators. We obtain the energy density and the Casimir force density as a consequence of the van der Waals interactions of the oscillators and also from Poynting's theorem.Comment: 13 pages, no figures. Updated version with generalization to finite temperature and added example

Keefektifan Teknik Mencatat Bacaan Dalam Memahami Teks Eksposisi Pada Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Prambon Nganjuk Tahun Pelajaran 2017/ 2018

Kemampuan memahami teks eksposisi siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Prambon Nganjuk belum memenuhi Kriteria Kelulusan Minimal dan kompetensi yang sesuai yang telah ditetapkan oleh sekolah. Nilai siswa dalam memahami teks eksposisi jauh dari keberhasilan berdasarkan KKM yang ada. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan proses pelaksanaan pembelajaran memahami teks eksposisi dengan menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan, mendeskripsikan keefektikan teknik mencatat bacaan dalam memahami teks eksposisi, dan mendeskripsikan respon siswa dalam pembelajaran memahami teks eksposisi dengan menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode eksperimen dengan rancangan penelitian eksperimen kuasi dengan melakukan tes awal dan tes akhir. Tes awal dilakukan sebelum pemberian materi dan perlakuan, sedangkan tes akhir dilakukan setelah pemberian materi dan perlakuan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan memahami teks eksposisi siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Prambon Nganjuk sebelum menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan masih sangat rendah. Hal tersebut dibuktikan dengan hasil pretes siswa di kelas kontrol maupun kelas eksperimen yang mayoritas siswanya mendapatkan nilai di bawah kriteria kelulusan minimal (KKM) yang telah ditetapkan sekolah yakni sebesar ≥75. Rerata nilai pretes siswa di kelas kontrol yakni 59 dan siswa yang nilainya telah memenuhi KKM hanya 2 siswa. Rerata nilai retes di kelas eksperimen yakni 59,5 dan dari 25 siswa yang nilainya memenuhi KKM hanya 4 siswa. Hasil postes menunjukkan kemampuan memahami teks eksposisi siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Prambon Nganjuk sesudah menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan tergolong tinggi. Hal tersebut dibuktikan dengan hasil postes kelas eksperimen sebesar 80% siswa mendapatkan nilai memenuhi KKM. Rerata nilai postes siswa kelas kontrol yakni 79,8 dan 18 siswa telah memenuhi nilai sesuai KKM. Rerata nilai siswa kelas eksperimen sebesar 80,12 dan 20 siswa nilainya telah memenuhi KKM. Teknik mencatat bacaan berpengaruh positif dalam memahami teks eksposisi pada siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Prambon. Hal tersebut terbukti dari selisih rerata nilai, pretes, dan postes yang menunjukkan secara signifikan pada kelas eksperimen. Dilihat dari nilai rerata postes kelas kontrol dan kelas eksperimen terdapat perbedaan sebesar 0,32. Hasil nilai rerata postes kelas eksperimen lebih baik dibandingkan dengan hasil nilai rerata postes kelas kontrol. Hasil nilai rerata postes kelas eksperimen sebesar 80,12, sedangkan nilai postes kelas kontrol yakni 79,8. Dari perbandingan hasil nilai postes kedua kelas tersebut dapat disimpulkan, bahwa pembelajaran memahami teks eksposisi dengan menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam memahami teks eksposisi. Selain itu, hasil uji t menunjukkan bahwa t hitung lebih besar daripada t tabel, yakni t0 = 0,955 > 0,851 > 0,529, sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada perbedaan yang signifikan pada pembelajaran memahami teks eksposisi antara kelas kontrol tanpa menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan dengan kelas eksperimen yang menggunakan teknik mencatat bacaan.  Kata Kunci: teknik mencatat bacaan, membaca pemahaman, dan keefektifan

Assessing the influence of the carbon oxidation-reduction state on organic pollutant biodegradation in algal-bacterial photobioreactors

The influence of the carbon oxidation-reduction state (CORS) of organic pollutants on their biodegradation in enclosed algal-bacterial photobioreactors was evaluated using a consortium of enriched wild-type methanotrophic bacteria and microalgae. Methane, methanol and glucose (with CORS -4, -2 and 0, respectively) were chosen as model organic pollutants. In the absence of external oxygen supply, microalgal photosynthesis was not capable of supporting a significant methane and methanol biodegradation due to their high oxygen demands per carbon unit, while glucose was fully oxidized by photosynthetic oxygenation. When bicarbonate was added, removal efficiencies of 37¿±¿4% (20 days), 65¿±¿4% (11 days) and 100% (2 days) were recorded for CH(4,) CH(3)OH and C(6)H(12)O(6), respectively due to the additional oxygen generated from photosynthetic bicarbonate assimilation. The use of NO(3)(-) instead of NH(4)(+) as nitrogen source (N oxidation-reduction state of +5 vs. -3) resulted in an increase in CH(4) degradation from 0 to 33¿±¿3% in the absence of bicarbonate and from 37¿±¿4% to 100% in the presence of bicarbonate, likely due to a decrease in the stoichiometric oxygen requirements and the higher photosynthetic oxygen production. Hypothetically, the CORS of the substrates might affect the CORS of the microalgal biomass composition (higher lipid content). However, the total lipid content of the algal-bacterial biomass was 19¿±¿7% in the absence and 16¿±¿2% in the presence of bicarbonat

La rappresentazione del rapporto tra utenti e sistema sanitario: I modelli culturali dei medici di medicina generale - The representation of the relationship between users and healthcare system: Cultural models of general practitioners

The present research study explores the emotional and symbolic representation of the Italian healthcare system and specifically of general medical services reported by a group of Italian general practitioners. General medicine is recently affected by a structural change which could be sustained also by a cultural revolution, however this revolution seems to be oriented to expected values without a clear methodology which promotes and accompanies this cultural change. The present study deals with the lack of practices due to these unrealized expected values and assumes that for intervening it is necessary knowing the existing culture before thinking to change it. Interviews to 36 general practitioners were analyzed by Emotional Text Analysis (AET). Results highlight a factorial space characterized by five clusters. According to respondents’ perspective, healthcare problems refer to two large issues characterized by powerlessness of general practitioners to intervene. On the one hand, there is health emergency, dealt with by first aid and emergency medicine. On the other hand, there is chronicity, especially affecting the elderly, which is dealt with by other workers (nurses, private family assistants, social workers) who care patients at home and replace physicians. The general practitioners’ work is difficult because of many different reasons; but the central theme is the lack of absolute power – based on morality and consciousness – which leads to the perception of catastrophic consequences for medical profession and the physician-patient relationship. Often, general practitioners are in their offices and are not able to go to patients’ home, therefore they cannot create care relationships based on trust and dependence which allow useful and trustworthy interventions. In sum, the core theme emerging from data refers to the general practitioners’ perceived lack of personal and trust-based relationships with patients