1,833 research outputs found
Localized fluidization in granular materials: Theoretical and numerical study
We present analytical and numerical results on localized fluidization within
a granular layer subjected to a local injection of fluid. As the injection rate
increases the three different regimes previously reported in the literature are
recovered: homogeneous expansion of the bed, fluidized cavity in which
fluidization starts developing above the injection area, and finally the
chimney of fluidized grains when the fluidization zone reaches the free
surface. The analytical approach is at the continuum scale, based on Darcy's
law and Therzaghi's effective stress principle. It provides a good description
of the phenomenon as long as the porosity of the granular assembly remains
relatively homogeneous, i.e. for small injection rates. The numerical approach
is at the particle scale based on the coupled DEM-PFV method. It tackles the
more heterogeneous situations which occur at larger injection rates. The
results from both methods are in qualitative agreement with data published
independently. A more quantitative agreement is achieved by the numerical
model. A direct link is evidenced between the occurrence of the different
regimes of fluidization and the injection aperture. While narrow apertures let
the three different regimes be distinguished clearly, larger apertures tend to
produce a single homogeneous fluidization regime. In the former case, it is
found that the transition between the cavity regime and the chimney regime for
an increasing injection rate coincides with a peak in the evolution of inlet
pressure. Finally, the occurrence of the different regimes is defined in terms
of the normalized flux and aperture
Elevated Hippocampal Cholinergic Neurostimulating Peptide precursor protein (HCNP-pp) mRNA in the amygdala in major depression
The amygdala is innervated by the cholinergic system and is involved in major depressive disorder (MDD). Evidence suggests a hyper-activate cholinergic system in MDD. Hippocampal Cholinergic Neurostimulating Peptide (HCNP) regulates acetylcholine synthesis. The aim of the present work was to investigate expression levels of HCNP-precursor protein (HCNP-pp) mRNA and other cholinergic-related genes in the postmortem amygdala of MDD patients and matched controls (females: N=16 pairs; males: N=12 pairs), and in the mouse unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) model that induced elevated anxiety-/depressive-like behaviors (females: N=6 pairs; males: N=6 pairs). Results indicate an up-regulation of HCNP-pp mRNA in the amygdala of women with MDD (p<0.0001), but not males, and of UCMS-exposed mice (males and females; p=0.037). HCNP-pp protein levels were investigated in the human female cohort, but no difference was found. There were no differences in gene expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), muscarinic (mAChRs) or nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) between MDD subjects and controls or UCMS and control mice, except for an up-regulation of AChE in UCMS-exposed mice (males and females; p=0.044). Exploratory analyses revealed a baseline expression difference of cholinergic signaling-related genes between women and men (p<0.0001). In conclusion, elevated amygdala HCNP-pp expression may contribute to mechanisms of MDD in women, potentially independently from regulating the cholinergic system. The differential expression of genes between women and men could also contribute to the increased vulnerability of females to develop MDD.Fil: Bassi, Sabrina Cecilia. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Seney, Marianne L.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Argibay, Pablo. Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sibille, Etienne. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Toronto; Canad
DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDIZED LUNAR REGOLITH SIMULANT MATERIALS
Lunar exploration activities require scientific and engineering studies that use standardized testing procedures and ultimately support flight certification of hardware and the development of technologies for their use on the lunar surface. It is necessary to anticipate the full range of source materials and environmental constraints that are expected on the Moon and Mars, and to evaluate in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) coupled with testing and development. Historical use of lunar simulants has focused on physical aspects of the lunar regolith for landing and transportation activities. Lunar mare simulants MLS-1 and JSC-1 have been developed, but supplies have been exhausted. Renewed emphasis on exploration and ISRU activities requires development of standardized simulant reference materials that are traceable interlaboratory standards for testing and simulate the lunar regolith in terms of physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. This new generation of lunar regolith simulants must therefore support both technological development and testing methods. These issues were extensively discussed at the 2005 Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials Workshop
Two mini-band model for self-sustained oscillations of the current through resonant tunneling semiconductor superlattices
A two miniband model for electron transport in semiconductor superlattices
that includes scattering and interminiband tunnelling is proposed. The model is
formulated in terms of Wigner functions in a basis spanned by Pauli matrices,
includes electron-electron scattering in the Hartree approximation and modified
Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook collision tems. For strong applied fields, balance
equations for the electric field and the miniband populations are derived using
a Chapman-Enskog perturbation technique. These equations are then solved
numerically for a dc voltage biased superlattice. Results include
self-sustained current oscillations due to repeated nucleation of electric
field pulses at the injecting contact region and their motion towards the
collector. Numerical reconstruction of the Wigner functions shows that the
miniband with higher energy is empty during most of the oscillation period: it
becomes populated only when the local electric field (corresponding to the
passing pulse) is sufficiently large to trigger resonant tunneling.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Characterization of Standardized Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials
Lunar exploration requires scientific and engineering studies using standardized testing procedures that ultimately support flight certification of technologies and hardware. This motivates the development of traceable, standardized lunar regolith simulant (SLRS) materials. For details, refer to the 2005 Workshop on Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials
Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials: Recommendations for Standardization, Production, and Usage
Experience gained during the Apollo program demonstrated the need for extensive testing of surface systems in relevant environments, including regolith materials similar to those encountered on the lunar surface. As NASA embarks on a return to the Moon, it is clear that the current lunar sample inventory is not only insufficient to support lunar surface technology and system development, but its scientific value is too great to be consumed by destructive studies. Every effort must be made to utilize standard simulant materials, which will allow developers to reduce the cost, development, and operational risks to surface systems. The Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials Workshop held in Huntsville, AL, on January 24 26, 2005, identified the need for widely accepted standard reference lunar simulant materials to perform research and development of technologies required for lunar operations. The workshop also established a need for a common, traceable, and repeatable process regarding the standardization, characterization, and distribution of lunar simulants. This document presents recommendations for the standardization, production and usage of lunar regolith simulant materials
Crystal structure and phonon softening in Ca3Ir4Sn13
We investigated the crystal structure and lattice excitations of the ternary
intermetallic stannide Ca3Ir4Sn13 using neutron and x-ray scattering
techniques. For T > T* ~ 38 K the x-ray diffraction data can be satisfactorily
refined using the space group Pm-3n. Below T* the crystal structure is
modulated with a propagation vector of q = (1/2, 1/2, 0). This may arise from a
merohedral twinning in which three tetragonal domains overlap to mimic a higher
symmetry, or from a doubling of the cubic unit cell. Neutron diffraction and
neutron spectroscopy results show that the structural transition at T* is of a
second-order, and that it is well described by mean-field theory. Inelastic
neutron scattering data point towards a displacive structural transition at T*
arising from the softening of a low-energy phonon mode with an energy gap of
Delta(120 K) = 1.05 meV. Using density functional theory the soft phonon mode
is identified as a 'breathing' mode of the Sn12 icosahedra and is consistent
with the thermal ellipsoids of the Sn2 atoms found by single crystal
diffraction data
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