Ultrasonic inspection of flooded mineshafts for stability monitoring

This is the author accepted manuscript.The final version is available from Maney via the DOI in this record.Inspecting abandoned mine shafts is critical in ensuring their safety through early identification of signs of deterioration. Since the common inspection methods of CCTV and LiDAR are not very effective underwater, two modules have been designed for inspecting the linings of flooded, abandoned mine shafts. Using sonar technology, they allow the early stages of degradation to the lining to be detected which – since this could be indicative of imminent collapse – provides protection against the consequential risk to property and human life. Detailed measurements of several shafts’ cross-sections have been recorded using profiling and imaging sonar technology. Although imaging sonar provides very different results in the confined and reverberant environment of a mine shaft, compared to its more common environment of a seabed, it was shown that when combined with the profiling sonar, it allows shafts to be surveyed in a shorter period of time and improves the reliability of the profiling function.European Commissio

X-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy of zinc protoporphyrin adsorbed on rutile TiO2(110) prepared by in situ electrospray deposition

Zinc-protoporphyrin, adsorbed on the rutile TiO2(110) surface, has been studied using photoemission spectroscopy and near-edge absorption fine structure spectroscopy to deduce the nature of the molecule-surface bonding and the chemical environment of the central metal atom. To overcome the difficulties associated with sublimation of the porphyrin molecules, samples were prepared in situ using ultrahigh vacuum electrospray deposition, a technique which facilitates the deposition of nonvolatile and fragile molecules. Monolayers of Zn protoporphyrin are found to bond to the surface via the oxygen atoms of the deprotonated carboxyl groups. The molecules initially lie largely parallel to the surface, reorienting to an upright geometry as the coverage is increased up to a monolayer. For those molecules directly chemisorbed to the surface, the interaction is sufficiently strong to pull the central metal atom out of the molecule. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics

Photoemission, resonant photoemission, and x-ray absorption of a Ru(II) complex adsorbed on rutile TiO2 (110) prepared by in situ electrospray deposition

An experimental study of the bonding geometry and electronic coupling of cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium( II) (N3) adsorbed on rutile TiO2(110) is presented, along with supporting theoretical calculations of the bonding geometry. Samples were prepared in situ using ultrahigh vacuum electrospray deposition. Core-level photoemission spectroscopy was used to characterize the system and to deduce the nature of the molecule-surface bonding. Valence band photoemission and N 1s x-ray absorption spectra were aligned in a common binding energy scale to enable a quantitative analysis of the bandgap region. A consideration of the energetics in relation to optical absorption is used to identify the photoexcitation channel between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals in this system, and also to quantify the relative binding energies of core and valence excitons. The core-hole clock implementation of resonant photoemission spectroscopy is used to reveal that electron delocalization from N3 occurs within 16 fs. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2975339

STAMS : New tools for monitoring flooded and nonflooded mine shaft

International audienceIn European coalmines, there are many unequipped, abandoned shafts (in Poland, Germany, France, Spain, UK and other countries) in which the long term stability is a cause of concern. The need for continuous assessment and monitoring of the stability of abandoned shafts present a real challenge particularly for deep shafts. The European STAMS research project (Long term STability Assessment and Monitoring of flooded Shafts), subsidized by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel programme (RFCS), is addressing this issue. The objective of the STAMS project is to implement Periodic Inspection Modules, and to design permanently installed monitoring systems, to achieve periodic and long term continuous monitoring and condition assessment of flooded mine shafts. The project proposes solutions to monitor and to assess the stability and the conditions of flooded shafts, including the non flooded portions of partially flooded shafts, for long periods of time. The Multi functional Monitoring Module is able to make periodic measurements in order to assess the stability of a flooded shaft. The Ultrasonic Inspection Module allows the detection of lining deformations with high precision between periodic inspections of shafts. In addition to monitoring, a modelling approach has been developed to assess the long term stability of shafts during and after flooding by coupling the hydro mechanical behaviour with the chemical reactions which occur between the mine water and the shaft lining components. A database of the flooded shafts has been established. Laboratory and trials tests are carried out by the partners of the project to check the tools and to test them under real conditions. This paper presents and describes the developed modules and the first obtained results

Signal regulatory protein molecules are differentially expressed by CD8- dendritic cells.

A normalized subtracted gene expression library was generated from freshly isolated mouse dendritic cells (DC) of all subtypes, then used to construct cDNA microarrays. The gene expression profiles of the three splenic conventional DC (cDC) subsets were compared by microarray hybridization and two genes encoding signal regulatory protein beta (Sirpbeta1 and Sirpbeta4) molecules were identified as differentially expressed in CD8(-) cDC. Genomic sequence analysis revealed a third Sirpbeta member localized in the same gene cluster. These Sirpbeta genes encode cell surface molecules containing extracellular Ig domains and short intracytoplasmic domains that have a charged amino acid in the transmembrane region which can potentially interact with ITAM-bearing molecules to mediate signaling. Indeed, we demonstrated interactions between Sirpbeta1 and beta2 with the ITAM-bearing signaling molecule Dap12. Real-time PCR analysis showed that all three Sirpbeta genes were expressed by CD8(-) cDC, but not by CD8(+) cDC or plasmacytoid pre-DC. The related Sirpalpha gene showed a similar expression profile on cDC subtypes but was also expressed by plasmacytoid pre-DC. The differential expression of Sirpalpha and Sirpbeta1 molecules on DC was confirmed by staining with mAbs, including a new mAb recognizing Sirpbeta1. Cross-linking of Sirpbeta1 on DC resulted in a reduction in phagocytosis of Leishmania major parasites, but did not affect phagocytosis of latex beads, perhaps indicating that the regulation of phagocytosis by Sirpbeta1 is a ligand-dependent interaction. Thus, we postulate that the differential expression of these molecules may confer the ability to regulate the phagocytosis of particular ligands to CD8(-) cDC