28 research outputs found
Structural study of CuSe alloys produced by mechanical alloying
The crystalline structures of superionic high temperature copper selenides
CuSe () produced by Mechanical Alloying were
investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The measured XRD patterns
showed the presence of the peaks corresponding to the crystalline superionic
high temperature -CuSe phase in the as-milled sample, and its
structural data were determined by means of a Rietveld refinement procedure.
After a heat treatment in argon at 200C for 90 h, this phase transforms
to the superionic high temperature -CuSe phase, whose
structural data where also determined through the Rietveld refinement. In this
phase, a very low occupation of the trigonal 32(f) sites (%) by Cu ions
is found. In order to explain the evolution of the phases in the samples, two
possible mechanisms are suggested: the high mobility of Cu ions in superionic
phases and the intense diffusive processes in the interfacial component of
samples produced by Mechanical Alloying.Comment: 2 figures, submitted to Acta Crystallographic
Impact of Storage at -80°C on Encapsulated Liver Spheroids After Liquid Nitrogen Storage
For many bioengineered tissues to have practical clinical application, cryopreservation for use on demand is essential. This study examined different thermal histories on warming and short holding periods at different subzero temperatures on subsequent functional recoveries of alginate encapsulated liver spheroids (ELS) for use in a bioartificial liver device. This mimicked transport at liquid nitrogen (-196°C) or dry ice (∼-80°C) temperatures. Holding at -80°C on warming after -196°C storage resulted in ELS expressing significant (p < 0.001) damage compared with direct thaw from liquid nitrogen, with viable cell number falling from 74.0 ± 8.4 million viable cells/mL without -80°C storage to 1.9 ± 0.6 million viable cells/mL 72 h post-thaw after 8 days storage at -80°C. Even 1 day at -80°C after -196°C storage resulted in lower viability (down 21% 24 h post-thaw), viable cell count (down 29% 24 h post-thaw), glucose, and alpha-1-fetoprotein production (reduced by 59% and 95% 24 h from 1 day post-thaw, respectively). Storage at -80°C was determined to be harmful only during the warming cycle. Chemical measurements of the alginate component of ELS were unchanged by cryogenic exposure in either condition
Laser spectroscopic electric field measurement in krypton
A laser spectroscopic method for sensitive electric field measurements using krypton has been developed. The Stark effect of high Rydberg states of the krypton autoionizing series can be measured by a technique called fluorescence dip spectroscopy (FDS) with high spatial and temporal resolution. Calibration measurements have been performed in a reference cell with known electric field and they agree very well with numerical solutions of Schrodinger's equation for jl-coupled states. The application of this method has been demonstrated in the sheath region of a capacitively coupled radiofrequency (RF) discharge. The laser spectroscopic method allows us to add krypton as a small admixture to various low temperature plasmas
Sub-micron level investigation reveals the inaccessibility of stabilized carbon in soil microaggregates
Abstract Direct evidence-based approaches are vital to evaluating newly proposed theories on the persistence of soil organic carbon and establishing the contributions of abiotic and biotic controls. Our primary goal was to directly identify the mechanisms of organic carbon stabilization in native-state, free soil microaggregates without disrupting the aggregate microstructure using scanning transmission x-ray microscopy coupled with near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM-NEXAFS). The influence of soil management practices on microaggregate associated-carbon was also assessed. Free, stable soil microaggregates were collected from a tropical agro-ecosystem in Cruz Alta, Brazil. The long-term experimental plots (>25 years) comparing two tillage systems: no-till and till with a complex crop rotation. Based on simultaneously collected multi-elemental associations and speciation, STXM-NEXAFS successfully provided submicron level information on organo-mineral associations. Simple organic carbon sources were found preserved within microaggregates; some still possessing original morphology, suggesting that their stabilization was not entirely governed by the substrate chemistry. Bulk analysis showed higher and younger organic carbon in microaggregates from no-till systems than tilled systems. These results provide direct submicron level evidence that the surrounding environment is involved in stabilizing organic carbon, thus favoring newly proposed concepts on the persistence of soil organic carbon