268 research outputs found
Monitoring participatory approaches in Mediterranean waterfront developments (El Mina, Lebanon; Alexandria, Egypt; and Antalya, Turkey)
Public participation is an important tool for communities to influence development decisions for public spaces in general and waterfronts in particular. In coastal cities, waterfronts are an important touristic attraction and are affected by social and economic issues. Users’ activities and responsiveness to waterfront projects are affected by the development types and methods. This study is part of ongoing research aiming to evaluate the participatory approach methods in the waterfronts of Mediterranean cities. It examines three coastal cities that have developed differently based on sustainable development studies. This study is a top–down approach that investigates the applied phases and methods of participation and evaluates these involvements after comparison with the preferred phases and methods. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative methods, which are based on analysis of social studies about participation priorities. It uses methods such as documentation, lengthy interviews and questionnaires with visitors. The outcome of this research proves the need for application of participatory approaches in Mediterranean cities
Biopolymer Thin Films Synthesized by Advanced Pulsed Laser Techniques
This chapter provides an overview of recent advances in the field of laser-based synthesis of biopolymer thin films for biomedical applications. The introduction addresses the importance of biopolymer thin films with respect to several applications like tissue engineering, cell instructive environments, and drug delivery systems. The next section is devoted to applications of the fabrication of organic and hybrid organic–inorganic coatings. Matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and Combinatorial-MAPLE are introduced and compared with other conventional methods of thin films assembling on solid substrates. Advantages and limitations of the methods are pointed out by focusing on the delicate transfer of bio-macromolecules, preservation of properties and on the prospect of combinatorial libraries’ synthesis in a single-step process. The following section provides a brief description of fundamental processes involved in the molecular transfer of delicate materials by MAPLE. Then, the chapter focuses on the laser synthesis of two polysaccharide thin films, namely Dextran doped with iron oxide nanoparticles and Levan, followed by an overview on the MAPLE synthesis of other biopolymers. The chapter ends with summary and perspectives of this fast-expanding research field, and a rich bibliographic database
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN USER\u27S DENSITIES AND FUNCTIONS DISTRIBUTION ON MEDITERRANEAN WATERFRONTS: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS APPROACH
The type of buildings and activities along the waterfronts have to stimulate the interactivity between public spaces and their users to reach the desired comfort, enjoyment and appropriate densities. This study is part of a continuing research and it aims to highlight the spatial relationship between the type of buildings and the densities on cities waterfronts of the Mediterranean Sea. It undertakes three case studies with different economic and touristic levels. It is a top-bottom approach that analyzes the existing population densities on waterfronts and the surrounding building functions. This paper uses quantitative analysis based on spatial statistics along each of the three waterfronts. The data collection is made through documentation, direct observations, mapping, Global Positioning System, and Geographic Information System software. The outcome of this research evaluates the relationship between functions and population densities to record how locations of functions increase population on waterfronts by making them attractive and recommends how waterfront zoning laws will consider specific land uses and techniques
Three-dimensional femtosecond laser processing for lab-on-a-chip applications
AbstractThe extremely high peak intensity associated with ultrashort pulse width of femtosecond laser allows us to induce nonlinear interaction such as multiphoton absorption and tunneling ionization with materials that are transparent to the laser wavelength. More importantly, focusing the femtosecond laser beam inside the transparent materials confines the nonlinear interaction only within the focal volume, enabling three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanofabrication. This 3D capability offers three different schemes, which involve undeformative, subtractive, and additive processing. The undeformative processing preforms internal refractive index modification to construct optical microcomponents including optical waveguides. Subtractive processing can realize the direct fabrication of 3D microfluidics, micromechanics, microelectronics, and photonic microcomponents in glass. Additive processing represented by two-photon polymerization enables the fabrication of 3D polymer micro- and nanostructures for photonic and microfluidic devices. These different schemes can be integrated to realize more functional microdevices including lab-on-a-chip devices, which are miniaturized laboratories that can perform reaction, detection, analysis, separation, and synthesis of biochemical materials with high efficiency, high speed, high sensitivity, low reagent consumption, and low waste production. This review paper describes the principles and applications of femtosecond laser 3D micro- and nanofabrication for lab-on-a-chip applications. A hybrid technique that promises to enhance functionality of lab-on-a-chip devices is also introduced
Direct synthesis of graphitic mesoporous carbon from green phenolic resins exposed to subsequent UV and IR laser irradiations
International audienc
INVESTIGATIONS OF THIN TITANIUM OXIDE FILMS GROWN BY REACTIVE PULSED LASER DEPOSITION
Titanium oxide thin films were deposited on Si monocrystalline substrate using the pulsed laser ablation
technique in a reactive oxygen atmosphere. The films were obtained starting from Ti and TiO2 targets which
were ablated using a KrF* excimer laser (λ = 248 nm). During the deposition, the Si substrates were heated at
300 °C under various high purity oxygen atmosphere of 1.0, 0.5 and 0.1 mbar. Grazing incidence X-ray
diffraction investigations revealed the presence of a nanostructured film consisting of a mixture of several
titanium oxides, with crystalline grains size of few nm to 10 nm. Only the film deposited from the Ti target at a
pressure of 1.0 mbar exhibited crystalline grains of 30-40 nm. Thin films surface morphology and topography,
studied using atomic force and scanning electron microscopy, revealed a relatively smooth surface with the
presence of some submicron droplets, typical for laser ablation technique. Films deposited at 0.5 mbar pressure
from both targets were significantly rougher than the other deposited film
Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory
A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding
eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers
with zenith angles greater than detected with the Pierre Auger
Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum
confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above
eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law with
index followed by
a smooth suppression region. For the energy () at which the
spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence
of suppression, we find
eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger
Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers.
These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of
the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray
energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30
to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of
the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is
determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated
using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due
to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components.
The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of
the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the
AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air
shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy
-- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy
estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the
surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator
scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent
emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for
the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at
least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio
emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate
energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of
15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV
arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling
quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from
state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our
measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric
energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with
our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector
against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI.
Supplemental material in the ancillary file
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