Slim building envelopes using vacuum glazing and high-performance insulation

To get a slim building envelope with low thermal transmittance, and hence a low energy consumption, vacuum glazing and high-performance insulation material have been combined. Preliminary investigations both experimental and numerical have been carried out to determine thermal, hygric and mechanical properties of these building components according to either existing standards or to best knowledge procedures. This includes measurement of the center-of-glass U-value, the simulation of the influence of support pillars on the glass surface temperature and comparison of measured and calculated results. Several specimens were measured under different temperature gradients to get more information about accuracy and deviation in the production of the vacuum glazing elements. Further, mechanical stability of larger specimens was tested by the standard pendulum tests for flat glass and compared to identical tests on conventional double-glazing elements of the same size. Finally, a onedimensional hygro-thermic analysis has been conducted to determine the temperature and moisture distribution within a thin wall construction containing high-performance insulation when submitted to climatic conditions in the Swiss Midlands

A Dieting Facilitator on the Fridge Door: Can Dieters Deliberately Apply Environmental Dieting Cues to Lose Weight?

Individuals exposed to dieting-related environmental cues have been repeatedly shown to be better able to resist tempting food. This especially applies to restrained eaters who hold a chronic dieting goal. Thus far, mainly short-term effects of environmental dieting cues have been examined and the individuals were typically unaware of being influenced. Yet, it is unclear whether individuals can deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate the pursuit of the longer-term goal of losing weight. The present longitudinal study applied a 2 (cue: visually dieting-related vs. visually neutral cue) × 2 (awareness: being aware vs. not being aware of the cue’s facilitating influence) between-subjects design for 6 months (N = 166 participants who started the study; Mage = 47.85 years; 69.9% female; MBMI = 29.07 kg/m2). Our results provide preliminary indications that cue, awareness, and restrained eating interact. The results suggest that high (vs. low) restrained eaters could deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate losing weight. However, further studies are needed to explore the effects of environmental dieting cues over a longer period of time

Plasmon excitations in graphitic carbon spheres

©1998 The American Physical Society. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.57.15599DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.57.15599Electron energy loss spectroscopy in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope has recently been used with success to characterize the electronic properties of closed cage nanometer-size graphitic particles. In the plasmon region, the experimental data reveal interesting size-dependent variations, which are not yet fully understood. The difficulties encountered in the interpretation of the spectra are principally due to the lack of a complete theoretical treatment of the anisotropic dielectric response in nanometer-size particles. In order to obtain a better understanding of the experimental data we propose a model based on nonrelativistic local dielectric response theory for electrons penetrating through a nested concentric-shell fullerene or the so-called ‘‘carbon onion.’’ The anisotropy of the electronic properties of the sphere is taken into account via the frequency-dependent dielectric tensor of graphite. The model can be applied to simulate electron energy loss spectra as well as line scans through energy filtered images and allows thus a direct comparison to experimental data

Plasmon excitations in carbon onions: Model vs. measurements

©1998 American Institute of PhysicsNon-relativistic local dielectric response theory has proven successful in the interpretation of Electron Energy Loss data of nanometer-size isotropic particles of different geometries. In previous work, we have adapted this model to take into account anisotropy as encountered in the case of carbon onions. We have shown that this anisotropy needs to be taken into account since important deviations with respect to an isotropic model can be observed. In this contribution, we report on the first energy filtered images of carbon onions and compare intensity profiles across the spheres to our calculations

Collective oscillations in a single-wall carbon nanotube excited by fast electrons

©2001 The American Physical Society. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.64.115424DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.64.115424Electron energy loss spectroscopy is a well adapted tool for the investigation of the valence excitations of individual nanometer-size particles. The interpretation of the loss spectra of such small particles, however, relies in most cases on a quantitative comparison with simulated excitation probabilities. Here we present a formalism developed for the interpretation of the energy loss data of single-wall carbon nanotubes based on the hydrodynamic theory of plasmon excitations by high-energy electrons. The nanotubes are modeled as a two-dimensional electron gas confined on the circumference of a cylinder. The plasmon excitation probabilities, directly comparable to measurements, are discussed for various parameters

A nudge in a healthier direction: How environmental cues help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal

Losing weight is a goal for many people, but it is hard to pursue. However, dieting cues in the environment hold promise for improving individuals' eating behavior. For example, exposure to thin, human-like sculptures by the artist Alberto Giacometti has been found to promote healthy snack choices at a vending machine. Whether health- or weight-related processes drive such effects has not yet been determined. However, a detailed understanding of the content-related drivers of environmental cues' effects provides the first indications regarding a cue's possible use. Therefore, two laboratory studies were conducted. They examined the Giacometti sculptures' effects on unhealthy and healthy food intake (Study 1) and on the completion of weight- and health-related fragmented words (Study 2). Study 1 indicated that the sculptures are weight-related by showing that they reduced food intake independent of food healthiness. Furthermore, the “Giacometti effect” was moderated by restrained eating. Restrained eaters, who are known for their weight-control goal, ate less after having been exposed to the thin sculptures. The results of Study 2 pointed in the same direction. Restrained eaters completed more weight-related words after being exposed to the sculptures. Overall, these studies suggest that the thin sculptures are primarily weight-related cues and particularly helpful for restrained eaters. Environmental weight-control cues such as the Giacometti sculptures could act as a counterforce to our obesogenic environment and help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal. In this way, they could nudge food decisions in a healthier direction

Mitochondrial oxidative stress causes insulin resistance without disrupting oxidative phosphorylation.

Mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, or both have been implicated in insulin resistance. However, disentangling the individual roles of these processes in insulin resistance has been difficult because they often occur in tandem, and tools that selectively increase oxidant production without impairing mitochondrial respiration have been lacking. Using the dimer/monomer status of peroxiredoxin isoforms as an indicator of compartmental hydrogen peroxide burden, we provide evidence that oxidative stress is localized to mitochondria in insulin-resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes and adipose tissue from mice. To dissociate oxidative stress from impaired oxidative phosphorylation and study whether mitochondrial oxidative stress per se can cause insulin resistance, we used mitochondria-targeted paraquat (MitoPQ) to generate superoxide within mitochondria without directly disrupting the respiratory chain. At ≤10 μm, MitoPQ specifically increased mitochondrial superoxide and hydrogen peroxide without altering mitochondrial respiration in intact cells. Under these conditions, MitoPQ impaired insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane in both adipocytes and myotubes. MitoPQ recapitulated many features of insulin resistance found in other experimental models, including increased oxidants in mitochondria but not cytosol; a more profound effect on glucose transport than on other insulin-regulated processes, such as protein synthesis and lipolysis; an absence of overt defects in insulin signaling; and defective insulin- but not AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-regulated GLUT4 translocation. We conclude that elevated mitochondrial oxidants rapidly impair insulin-regulated GLUT4 translocation and significantly contribute to insulin resistance and that MitoPQ is an ideal tool for studying the link between mitochondrial oxidative stress and regulated GLUT4 trafficking

Proteomic Analysis of GLUT4 Storage Vesicles Reveals Tumor Suppressor Candidate 5 (TUSC5) as a Novel Regulator of Insulin Action in Adipocytes.

Insulin signaling augments glucose transport by regulating glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) trafficking from specialized intracellular compartments, termed GLUT4 storage vesicles (GSVs), to the plasma membrane. Proteomic analysis of GSVs by mass spectrometry revealed enrichment of 59 proteins in these vesicles. We measured reduced abundance of 23 of these proteins following insulin stimulation and assigned these as high confidence GSV proteins. These included established GSV proteins such as GLUT4 and insulin-responsive aminopeptidase, as well as six proteins not previously reported to be localized to GSVs. Tumor suppressor candidate 5 (TUSC5) was shown to be a novel GSV protein that underwent a 3.7-fold increase in abundance at the plasma membrane in response to insulin. siRNA-mediated knockdown of TUSC5 decreased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, although overexpression of TUSC5 had the opposite effect, implicating TUSC5 as a positive regulator of insulin-stimulated glucose transport in adipocytes. Incubation of adipocytes with TNFα caused insulin resistance and a concomitant reduction in TUSC5. Consistent with previous studies, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ agonism reversed TNFα-induced insulin resistance. TUSC5 expression was necessary but insufficient for PPARγ-mediated reversal of insulin resistance. These findings functionally link TUSC5 to GLUT4 trafficking, insulin action, insulin resistance, and PPARγ action in the adipocyte. Further studies are required to establish the exact role of TUSC5 in adipocytes

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO