738 research outputs found
Fiber Optic Sensing System for Temperature and Gas Monitoring in Coal Waste Pile Combustion Environments
International audienceIt is presented an optical fiber sensing system projected to operate in the demanding conditions associated with coal waste piles in combustion. Distributed temperature measurement and spot gas sensing are requirements for such a system. A field prototype has been installed and is continuously gathering data, which will input a geological model of the coal waste piles in combustion aiming to understand their dynamics and evolution. Results are presented on distributed temperature and ammonia measurement, being noticed any significant methane emission in the short time period considered. Carbon dioxide is also a targeted gas for measurement, with validated results available soon. The assessment of this technology as an effective and reliable tool to address the problem of monitoring coal waste piles in combustion opens the possibility of its widespread application in view of the worldwide presence of coal related fires
Use of calculus of variations to determine the shape of hovering rotors of minimum power and its application to micro air vehicles
In this paper, calculus of variations and combined blade element and momentum theory (BEMT) are used to demonstrate that, in hover, when neither root nor tip losses are considered; the rotor, which minimizes the total power (MPR), generates an induced velocity that varies linearly along the blade span. The angle of attack of every blade element is constant and equal to its optimum value. The traditional ideal twist (ITR) and optimum (OR) rotors are revisited in the context of this variational framework. Two more optimum rotors are obtained considering root and tip losses, the ORL, and the MPRL. A comparison between these five rotors is presented and discussed. The MPR and MPRL present a remarkable saving of power for low values of both thrust coefficient and maximum aerodynamic efficiency. The result obtained can be exploited to improve the aerodynamic behaviour of rotary wing micro air vehicles (MAV). A comparison with experimental results obtained from the literature is presented
POISSON project - II - A multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric survey of young protostars in L 1641
Characterising stellar and circumstellar properties of embedded young stellar
objects (YSOs) is mandatory for understanding the early stages of the stellar
evolution. This task requires the combination of both spectroscopy and
photometry, covering the widest possible wavelength range, to disentangle the
various protostellar components and activities. As part of the POISSON project,
we present a multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric investigation of
embedded YSOs in L1641, aimed to derive the stellar parameters and evolutionary
stages and to infer their accretion properties. Our database includes
low-resolution optical-IR spectra from the NTT and Spitzer (0.6-40 um) and
photometric data covering a spectral range from 0.4 to 1100 um, which allow us
to construct the YSOs spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and to infer the
main stellar parameters. The SED analysis allows us to group our 27 YSOs into
nine Class I, eleven Flat, and seven Class II objects. However, on the basis of
the derived stellar properties, only six Class I YSOs have an age of ~10^5 yr,
while the others are older 5x10^5-10^6 yr), and, among the Flat sources, three
out of eleven are more evolved objects (5x10^6-10^7 yr), indicating that
geometrical effects can significantly modify the SED shapes. Inferred mass
accretion rates (Macc) show a wide range of values (3.6x10^-9 to 1.2x10^-5
M_sun yr^-1), which reflects the age spread observed in our sample. Average
values of mass accretion rates, extinction, and spectral indices decrease with
the YSO class. The youngest YSOs have the highest Macc, whereas the oldest YSOs
do not show any detectable jet activity in either images and spectra. We also
observe a clear correlation among the YSO Macc, M*, and age, consistent with
mass accretion evolution in viscous disc models.Comment: 61 pages, 16 figures; A&A in pres
Tracing kinematical and physical asymmetries in the jet from DG Tau B
Stellar jets can be highly asymmetric and have multiple velocity components.
To clarify the origin of jet asymmetries and constrain their launch mechanism
we study the physical and kinematical structure of the flow emitted by DG Tau
B. The analysis of deep spectra taken at the KECK telescope allows us to infer
the physical properties (the electron and total density, ne and nh, the
ionisation fraction, xe, and the temperature, te) and the spatial distribution
of the velocity components in the two jet lobes. The presence of dust grains in
the jet is investigated by estimating the gas-phase abundance of calcium with
respect to its solar value. At the base of the jet the lines are broad (~100
km/s) and up to three velocity components are detected. At 5" from the source,
however, only the denser and more excited high velocity components survive and
the lines are narrower (~10-30 km/s). The jet is strongly asymmetric both in
velocity and in its physical structure. The red lobe, slower (~140 km/s) and
more collimated, presents low ionisation fractions (xe~0.1-0.4) and
temperatures (te<5e3 K), while the total density is up to ~2.5e4 ccm. The blue
lobe, faster (~-320 km/s) and less collimated, is also less dense (nh~1e4 ccm)
but highly excited (te up to ~5e4 K and xe up to 0.9). The estimated mass loss
rate is similar in the two lobes (~6-8e-9 Msol/yr), suggesting that the
ejection power is comparable on the two sides of the system, as expected from a
magneto-centrifugal ejection mechanism, and that the observed asymmetries are
due to different mass load and propagation properties in an inhomogeneous
environment. Calcium is strongly depleted, indicating that the jet contains
dust grains and, therefore, should originate from a region of the disk
extending beyond the dust sublimation radius. The depletion is lower for higher
velocities, consistent with dust destruction by shocks.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted by A&
Inhibitory effect against polymerase and ribonuclease activities of HIV-reverse transcriptase of the aqueous leaf extract of Terminalia triflora
Dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous extracts from the leaves of Terminalia triflora were investigated for their inhibitory effect on polymerase and ribonuclease activities of HIV reverse transcriptase.The most potent activity was found in the aqueous extract, which inhibited both polymerase and ribonuclease activities of the enzyme with an IC50 of 1.6 micro g/mL and 1.8 micro g/mL respectively. The antiinfective activity of the extract was demonstrated in HLT4LacZ-IIIB cell culture with an IC50 of 1.0 micro g/mL. The extract was submitted to a purification process by extractive and chromatographic methods. The activity remained in the hydrophillic fraction. Tannins present in this active purified fraction, as determined by TLC and HPLC methods, could account for the anti HIV-RT activity found in the aqueous extract
HBM4EU chromates study - the measurement of hexavalent and trivalent chromium in exhaled breath condensate samples from occupationally exposed workers across Europe
The aim of this study was to investigate the practicability of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) as a biological matrix to detect and measure hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) in workers occupationally exposed to Cr(VI). EBC samples were collected from workers in France, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom from three different target activities: chrome platers, stainless steel welders and surface treatment workers. Pre and post working week EBC samples were collected from 177 exposed workers and 98 unexposed workers (control group). Hyphenated chromatography systems with inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were for the analysis. The results showed that the occupationally exposed workers had significantly higher levels of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) than the control group. Chrome platers exhibited the highest Cr(VI) levels in their EBC samples, with a significant increase from their pre to post samples for both Cr(VI) and Cr(III). A significant difference was also found between pre and post EBC samples for Cr(III) in welders. This study has shown that EBC has the potential to be a valid, non-invasive biological matrix to assess occupational exposure to Cr(VI) and Cr(III) for biological monitoring assessment, with the ability to detect low level inhalation exposures.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 733032 and received co-funding from the author’s organizations and/or Ministries.S
Massive star formation and tidal structures in HCG 31
We present new broad-band optical and near-infrared CCD imaging together with
deep optical intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of the Hickson Compact Group
31. We analyze the morphology and colors of the stellar populations of the
galaxies, as well as the kinematics, physical conditions and chemical
composition of the ionized gas in order to get a more complete view on the
origin and evolution of the system. We estimate the ages of the most recent
star formation bursts of the system, finding an excellent consistency among the
values obtained with different indicators and starburst models. We find that
member F hosts the youngest starburst of the group, showing a substantial
population of Wolf-Rayet stars. The chemical abundances are fairly similar in
all the members of the group despite their very different absolute magnitudes.
We argue that the use of traditional metallicity-luminosity relations based on
the absolute -magnitude is not appropriate for dwarf starburst galaxies,
because their luminosity is dominated by the transient contribution of the
starburst to the blue luminosity. We think that members E and F of the group
are candidate tidal dwarf galaxies because of their high metallicity, their
kinematics, and the absence of underlying old stellar populations. Finally, we
propose that HCG~31 is suffering several almost simultaneous interaction
processes. The most relevant of these processes are: (a) the merging of members
A and C, that would have produced two optical tidal tails; and (b) a fly-by
encounter between G and the A+C complex, that would have produced an \ion{H}{1}
tidal tail from the stripping of the external gas of A+C, from which members F
and E have originated.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJS, 41 pages, 15 figures, 9 table
Release of a New Forage Bermudagrass Cultivar from the USDA-NPGS Cynodon Collection
Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA. In Florida specifically, bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) support 1 million head of cattle and 15,000 beef cattle operations. Bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species in the southeastern USA, planted in approximately 15 million ha and used for grazing, hay and silage. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections have revealed a high degree of genetic variability within the genus. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection of bermudagrass plant introduction (PIs) in Griffin, GA, USA and the USDA Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Station, Tifton, GA, maintains additional forage germplasm. Multi-location trials were established in 2014 in four states (FL, GA, NC and OK) to screen the collection for herbage accumulation (HA) and nutritive value (NV). Due to the large genotype by environment interaction for HA across states, we focused on selecting accessions adapted to South Georgia and Florida. Several PIs showed improved HA and NV compared to ‘Tifton 85’ across several trials and years. Particularly, PI 316510 produced high HA in Citra, FL and Tifton, GA, had improved NV traits, and faster establishment compared to Tifton 85. We confirmed that PI 316510 is tetraploid by chromosome counts and flow cytometry. The PI 316510 has been released by the University of Florida under the name “Newell”
CDMSlite: A Search for Low-Mass WIMPs using Voltage-Assisted Calorimetric Ionization Detection in the SuperCDMS Experiment
SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect Weakly Interacting
Massive Particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in
the Universe. In this paper, we present WIMP-search results using a
calorimetric technique we call CDMSlite, which relies on voltage- assisted
Luke-Neganov amplification of the ionization energy deposited by particle
interactions. The data were collected with a single 0.6 kg germanium detector
running for 10 live days at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. A low energy
threshold of 170 eVee (electron equivalent) was obtained, which allows us to
constrain new WIMP-nucleon spin-independent parameter space for WIMP masses
below 6 GeV/c2.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
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