Cerium oxide based nanometric powders: synthesis and characterization

Nanometric powders of solid solutions of cerium oxide were obtained by a modified glycine nitrate procedure. Solid solutions of the host compound CeO2 with one or more dopants in the lattice were synthesized. Rare earth cations (Re=Yb, Gd and Sm) were added to ceria in total concentration of x= 0.2 that was kept constant. The criterion in doping was to keep the value of lattice parameter of ceria unchanged. The lattice parameters were calculated by using the model that takes into account the existence of oxygen vacancies in the structure

Fruit and vegetable concentrate supplementation and cardiovascular health: A systematic review from a public health perspective

Fruits and vegetables (FV) are very important for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), but it has been demonstrated that FV consumption is below that recommended. Several companies have worked to offer FV concentrates, but it remains unclear whether they represent a potentially effective means of reducing the burden of NCDs. The present study provides a systematic review aimed at assessing the effect of FV concentrate supplementation on select parameters that are known to be risk factors for NCDs. The systematic review was done according to the PRISMA guidelines. Relevant studies were identified through the online databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. The physiological parameters of interest were total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, plasmatic homocysteine, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. Data extraction was performed in duplicate. The results of the systematic review provided input for a Markov chain simulation model aimed at estimating the public health consequences of various scenarios of FV concentrate utilization on NCDs burden. The present results suggest a positive and significant role of FV concentrate supplementation on select parameters known to affect the risk of NCDs. Such an effect might be hypothesized to turn into mitigation of the burden of those NCDs modulated by the physiological parameters analyzed in the present systematic review

Wear of diamond-coated cutting tool inserts upon machining of Al-12% Si and glass fiber/polyester resin composites

Results of the wear resistance of the diamond-coated cutting tool inserts upon machining Al-12% Si alloy and glass fiber/polyester resin composites are presented in this paper. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the advantages of application of cutting tool inserts with the diamond coating over the conventional tungsten-carbide (WC) tools, and to obtain the cheaper serial production (shorter machining time) and satisfactory lifetime of the diamond cutting tool inserts. Surface roughness of the machined samples was measured for both as-received and diamond coated inserts. The diamond microstructure of undamaged part of inserts as well as the appearance of microstructure of diamond coated inserts after machining has been investigated. Results of the behavior of two regimes of preparation of diamond-coated inserts were compared and analyzed. Generally, the wear resistance of the diamond-coated cutting tool is superior over the conventional tool

Results from the first use of low radioactivity argon in a dark matter search

Liquid argon is a bright scintillator with potent particle identification properties, making it an attractive target for direct-detection dark matter searches. The DarkSide-50 dark matter search here reports the first WIMP search results obtained using a target of low-radioactivity argon. DarkSide-50 is a dark matter detector, using two-phase liquid argon time projection chamber, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The underground argon is shown to contain Ar-39 at a level reduced by a factor (1.4 +- 0.2) x 10^3 relative to atmospheric argon. We report a background-free null result from (2616 +- 43) kg d of data, accumulated over 70.9 live-days. When combined with our previous search using an atmospheric argon, the 90 % C.L. upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section based on zero events found in the WIMP search regions, is 2.0 x 10^-44 cm^2 (8.6 x 10^-44 cm^2, 8.0 x 10^-43 cm^2) for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c^2 (1 TeV/c^2 , 10 TeV/c^2).Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev.

The Hawthorne Effect: a randomised, controlled trial

Background: The 'Hawthorne Effect' may be an important factor affecting the generalisability of clinical research to routine practice, but has been little studied. Hawthorne Effects have been reported in previous clinical trials in dementia but to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to quantify them. Our aim was to compare minimal follow- up to intensive follow-up in participants in a placebo controlled trial of Ginkgo biloba for treating mild-moderate dementia.Methods: Participants in a dementia trial were randomised to intensive follow- up (with comprehensive assessment visits at baseline and two, four and six months post randomisation) or minimal follow-up (with an abbreviated assessment at baseline and a full assessment at six months). Our primary outcomes were cognitive functioning (ADAS-Cog) and participant and carer-rated quality of life (QOL-AD).Results: We recruited 176 participants, mainly through general practices. The main analysis was based on Intention to treat (ITT), with available data. In the ANCOVA model with baseline score as a co- variate, follow-up group had a significant effect on outcome at six months on the ADAS-Cog score (n = 140; mean difference = -2.018; 95% Cl -3.914, -0.121; p = 0.037 favouring the intensive follow-up group), and on participant- rated quality of life score (n = 142; mean difference = -1.382; 95% Cl -2.642, -0.122; p = 0.032 favouring minimal follow-up group). There was no significant difference on carer quality of life.Conclusion: We found that more intensive follow-up of individuals in a placebo-controlled clinical trial of Ginkgo biloba for treating mild-moderate dementia resulted in a better outcome than minimal follow-up, as measured by their cognitive functioning

Changes in cognitive domains during three years in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with donepezil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective was to identify separate cognitive domains in the standard assessment tools (MMSE, ADAS-Cog) and analyze the process of decline within domains during three years in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with donepezil treatment.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>AD patients (n = 421) were recruited from a clinical multi-centre study program in Sweden. Patients were assessed every six months during three years. All patients received donepezil starting directly after study entry. After dropouts, 158 patients remained for analyses over three years. Data for the other patients were analysed until they dropped out (4 groups based on length in study).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factor analyses of all items suggested that there were three intercorrelated factors: a General, a Memory and a Spatial factor for which we constructed corresponding domains. Overall there was a cognitive improvement at six months followed by a linear drop over time for the three domains. Some group and domain differences were identified. Patients who remained longer in the study had better initial performance and a slower deterioration rate. The early dropouts showed no improvement at six months and many dropped out due to side effects. The other groups displayed a performance improvement at six months that was less pronounced in the Memory domain. Before dropping out, deterioration accelerated, particularly in the Spatial domain.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The course of illness in the three domains was heterogeneous among the patients. We were not able to identify any clinically relevant correlates of this heterogeneity. As an aid we constructed three algorithms corresponding to the cognitive domains, which can be used to characterize patients initially, identify rapid decliners and follow the course of the disease.</p

Measurement of the Generalized Polarizabilities of the Proton in Virtual Compton Scattering

We propose to conduct a measurement of the Virtual Compton Scattering reaction in Hall C that will allow the precise extraction of the two scalar Generalized Polarizabilities (GPs) of the proton in the region of $Q^2=0.05~(GeV/c)^2$ to $Q^2=0.50~(GeV/c)^2$. The Generalized Polarizabilities are fundamental properties of the proton, that characterize the system's response to an external electromagnetic (EM) field. They describe how easily the charge and magnetization distributions inside the system are distorted by the EM field, mapping out the resulting deformation of the densities in the proton. As such, they reveal unique information regarding the underlying system dynamics and provide a key for decoding the proton structure in terms of the theory of the strong interaction that binds its elementary quark and gluon constituents together. Recent measurements of the proton GPs have challenged the theoretical predictions, particularly in regard to the electric polarizability. The magnetic GP, on the other hand, can provide valuable insight to the competing paramagnetic and diamagnetic contributions in the proton, but it is poorly known within the region where the interplay of these processes is very dynamic and rapidly changing.The unique capabilities of Hall C, namely the high resolution of the spectrometers combined with the ability to place the spectrometers in small angles, will allow to pin down the dynamic signature of the GPs through high precision measurements combined with a fine mapping as a function of $Q^2$. The experimental setup utilizes standard Hall C equipment, as was previously employed in the VCS-I (E12-15-001) experiment, namely the HMS and SHMS spectrometers and a 10 cm liquid hydrogen target. A total of 59 days of unpolarized 75 $\mu A$ electron beam with energy of 1100 MeV (6 days) and 2200 MeV (53 days) is requested for this experiment

Land use and Europe’s renewable energy transition: identifying low-conflict areas for wind and solar development

Continued dependence on imported fossil fuels is rapidly becoming unsustainable in the face of the twin challenges of global climate change and energy security demands in Europe. Here we present scenarios in line with REPowerEU package to identify Renewables Acceleration Areas that support rapid renewable expansion, while ensuring minimal harm to places important for biodiversity and rural communities. We calculated the area needed to meet renewable energy objectives under Business-as-Usual (BAU) and Low-conflict (LCON) development scenarios within each country, providing a broad overview of the potential for renewable energy generation to reduce impacts when development is steered toward lower conflict lands. Our analysis shows that meeting renewable energy objectives would require a network of land-based wind turbines and solar arrays encompassing upwards of 164,789 km2 by 2030 and 445,654 km2 by 2050, the latter roughly equivalent to the land area of Sweden. Our results highlight that BAU development patterns disproportionately target high-conflict land cover types. By 2030, depending on the development pathway, solar and wind development are projected to impact approximately 4,386–20,996 km2 and 65,735–138,454 km2 of natural and agricultural lands, respectively. As renewable energy objectives increase from 2030 to 2050 impacts to natural and agricultural lands also increase, with upwards of 33,911 km2 from future solar development and 399,879 km2 from wind development. Despite this large footprint, low-conflict lands can generate substantial renewable energy: 6.6 million GWh of solar and 3.5 million GWh of wind, 8–31 times 2030 solar objectives and 3–5 times 2030 wind objectives. Given these patterns, we emphasize the need for careful planning in areas with greater impact potential, either due to a larger demand for land area or limited land availability. Top-emitting countries with large renewable energy objectives (Germany, Italy, Poland, France, Spain) and those with limited flexibility in meeting objectives on low-conflict land (Albania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Portugal, and Norway) should be priorities for country-level customizations to guide low-conflict siting and avoid disproportionate impacts on high-value areas