1,765 research outputs found
Designing a Solid Waste Infrastructure Management Model for Integration into a National Infrastructure System-of Systems
Solid waste management is arguably one of the most important municipal services provided by government1. Given
the rapid socio-economic changes that are projected to take place in the UK2 it is important that we plan our future
waste management capacity to ensure the continuance of this valuable service. The Solid Waste Infrastructure
Management System (SWIMS) model was designed to model the current solid waste infrastructure requirements
(from collection through treatment and disposal) for an area based on its solid waste arisings. SWIMS allows an area’s
waste treatment capacity requirements to be forecast against future socio-economic change to help decision-makers
choose the right solid waste infrastructure given their goals, constraints and ideas about future conditions. The
modelling of solid waste management systems has been carried out since the 1970s3 and such modelling exercises
have been undertaken for numerous different geographical areas around the world4. However, the SWIMS model
is unique in that it was designed to also operate within a larger national infrastructure system-of-systems model,
including interdependencies with other infrastructure sectors including energy, water and waste water. To achieve
such flexibility the SWIMS model was carefully designed using object-oriented programming (OOP) principles. In
documenting this model’s design methodology we hope to demonstrate how applying OOP principles enables such
models to not only be more flexible and more easily integrated with other modelling efforts, but also more easily
understood by system experts and end-users
Vapor phase interaction of trimethylaluminum with graphite during OMVPE
Journal ArticleWe have used a molecular beam mass spectrometer to study the interaction of trimethylaluminum (TMA) with graphite surfaces. Our results indicate that a strong adsorption effect occurs which explains phenomena occuring during OMVPE growth of AlxGa1-xAs, such as long A1 transients, oxygen gettering, and reduced incorporation of selenium
Effects of low surfactant Sb coverage on Zn and C incorporation in GaP
Journal ArticleThe use of surfactants during the vapor phase growth of III-V materials to control fundamental characteristics of epitaxial layers is becoming increasingly important. We have investigated the remarkable effects of Sb, from triethylantimony (TESb) Pyrolysis, on the Zn doping during the organometallic vapor phase epitaxial growth (OMVPE) of GaP. Antimony is isoelectric with the P host; therefore it is not a dopant in this material. It is also much larger than P so little incorporation occurs
Controlled MOCVD growth of Bi2Se3 topological insulator nanoribbons
Topological insulators are a new class of materials that support
topologically protected electronic surface states. Potential applications of
the surface states in low dissipation electronic devices have motivated efforts
to create nanoscale samples with large surface-to-volume ratios and highly
controlled stoichiometry. Se vacancies in Bi2Se3 give rise to bulk conduction,
which masks the transport properties of the surface states. We have therefore
developed a new route for the synthesis of topological insulator nanostructures
using metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). MOCVD allows for control
of the Se/Bi flux ratio during growth. With the aim of rational growth, we vary
the Se/Bi flux ratio, growth time, and substrate temperature, and observe
morphological changes which indicate a growth regime in which nanoribbon
formation is limited by the Bi precursor mass-flow. MOCVD growth of Bi2Se3
nanostructures occurs via a distinct growth mechanism that is nucleated by gold
nanoparticles at the base of the nanowire. By tuning the reaction conditions,
we obtain either single-crystalline ribbons up to 10 microns long or thin
micron-sized platelets.Comment: Related papers at http://pettagroup.princeton.ed
Development and operation of research-scale III-V nanowire growth reactors
III-V nanowires are useful platforms for studying the electronic and
mechanical properties of materials at the nanometer scale. However, the costs
associated with commercial nanowire growth reactors are prohibitive for most
research groups. We developed hot-wall and cold-wall metal organic vapor phase
epitaxy (MOVPE) reactors for the growth of InAs nanowires, which both use the
same gas handling system. The hot-wall reactor is based on an inexpensive
quartz tube furnace and yields InAs nanowires for a narrow range of operating
conditions. Improvement of crystal quality and an increase in growth run to
growth run reproducibility are obtained using a homebuilt UHV cold-wall reactor
with a base pressure of 2 X 10 Torr. A load-lock on the UHV reactor
prevents the growth chamber from being exposed to atmospheric conditions during
sample transfers. Nanowires grown in the cold-wall system have a low defect
density, as determined using transmission electron microscopy, and exhibit
field effect gating with mobilities approaching 16,000 cm(V.s).Comment: Related papers at http://pettagroup.princeton.ed
V1647 Ori (IRAS 05436-0007) in Outburst: the First Three Months
We report on photometric (BVRIJHK) and low dispersion spectroscopic
observations of V1647 Ori, the star that drives McNeil's Nebula, between 10
February and 7 May 2004. The star is photometrically variable atop a general
decline in brightness of about 0.3-0.4 magnitudes during these 87 days. The
spectra are featureless, aside from H-alpha and the Ca II infrared triplet in
emission, and a Na I D absorption feature. The Ca II triplet line ratios are
typical of young stellar objects. The H-alpha equivalent width may be modulated
on a period of about 60 days. The post-outburst extinction appears to be less
than 7 mag. The data are suggestive of an FU Orionis-like event, but further
monitoring will be needed to definitively characterize the outburst.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Effect of bismuth citrate, lactose, and organic acid on necrotic enteritis in broilers
Clostridium perfringens-associated ne- crotic enteritis causes significant economic losses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of bismuth citrate, lactose, and organic acid on the devel- opment of necrotic enteritis in broilers. The first study was a dose response that evaluated bismuth citrate at 50, 100, or 200 ppm on bacterial intestinal coloniza- tion and lesion development associated with our C. perfringens challenge model. The second study evalu- ated bismuth citrate, lactose, and citric acid on intes- tinal pH and lesion development. For the third study, we determined if lactose would enhance the efficacy of bismuth citrate against intestinal colonization and lesion development associated with C. perfringens. In study 1, intestinal lesion scores at the 50, 100, and 200 ppm bismuth citrate treatment level were reduced (P ≤ 0.05) when compared with the birds fed 0 ppm bismuth citrate. Intestinal C. perfringens colonization of the 100 and 200 ppm bismuth citrate treatment group was sig- nificantly reduced when compared with birds fed 0 ppm bismuth citrate. In study 2, we found no significant differences in lesion development, after C. perfringens challenge, between birds fed 100 ppm bismuth citrate or fed a combination of 100 ppm bismuth citrate with dietary lactose or citric acid relative to the controls. The intestinal pH of birds fed 100 ppm bismuth cit- rate or fed a combination of 100 ppm bismuth citrate with dietary lactose or citric acid was not significantly reduced when compared with the controls. However, a significant reduction in pH was observed in birds fed a combination of 100 ppm bismuth citrate and lactose relative to the negative controls. In study 3, a decrease (P ≤ 0.05) in intestinal lesion scores occurred in birds fed lactose with 100 ppm bismuth citrate, compared with the positive controls. There were no significant differences in intestinal bacterial colonization. These preliminary data suggest that bismuth citrate may re- duce intestinal lesion development and C. perfringens colonization in broilers infected with necrotic enteritis
Effects of anharmonic strain on phase stability of epitaxial films and superlattices: applications to noble metals
Epitaxial strain energies of epitaxial films and bulk superlattices are
studied via first-principles total energy calculations using the local-density
approximation. Anharmonic effects due to large lattice mismatch, beyond the
reach of the harmonic elasticity theory, are found to be very important in
Cu/Au (lattice mismatch 12%), Cu/Ag (12%) and Ni/Au (15%). We find that
is the elastically soft direction for biaxial expansion of Cu and Ni, but it is
for large biaxial compression of Cu, Ag, and Au. The stability of
superlattices is discussed in terms of the coherency strain and interfacial
energies. We find that in phase-separating systems such as Cu-Ag the
superlattice formation energies decrease with superlattice period, and the
interfacial energy is positive. Superlattices are formed easiest on (001) and
hardest on (111) substrates. For ordering systems, such as Cu-Au and Ag-Au, the
formation energy of superlattices increases with period, and interfacial
energies are negative. These superlattices are formed easiest on (001) or (110)
and hardest on (111) substrates. For Ni-Au we find a hybrid behavior:
superlattices along and like in phase-separating systems, while for
they behave like in ordering systems. Finally, recent experimental
results on epitaxial stabilization of disordered Ni-Au and Cu-Ag alloys,
immiscible in the bulk form, are explained in terms of destabilization of the
phase separated state due to lattice mismatch between the substrate and
constituents.Comment: RevTeX galley format, 16 pages, includes 9 EPS figures, to appear in
Physical Review
SMASHing the LMC: A Tidally-induced Warp in the Outer LMC and a Large-scale Reddening Map
We present a study of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using ~2.2 million red clump (RC) stars selected from
the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History. To correct for line-of-sight dust
extinction, the intrinsic RC color and magnitude and their radial dependence
are carefully measured by using internal nearly dust-free regions. These are
then used to construct an accurate 2D reddening map (165 square degrees with
~10 arcmin resolution) of the LMC disk and the 3D spatial distribution of RC
stars. An inclined disk model is fit to the 2D distance map yielding a best-fit
inclination angle i = 25.86(+0.73,-1.39) degrees with random errors of +\-0.19
degrees and line-of-nodes position angle theta = 149.23(+6.43,-8.35) degrees
with random errors of +/-0.49 degrees. These angles vary with galactic radius,
indicating that the LMC disk is warped and twisted likely due to the repeated
tidal interactions with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). For the first time,
our data reveal a significant warp in the southwestern part of the outer disk
starting at rho ~ 7 degrees that departs from the defined LMC plane up to ~4
kpc toward the SMC, suggesting that it originated from a strong interaction
with the SMC. In addition, the inner disk encompassing the off-centered bar
appears to be tilted up to 5-15 degrees relative to the rest of the LMC disk.
These findings on the outer warp and the tilted bar are consistent with the
predictions from the Besla et al. simulation of a recent direct collision with
the SMC.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, published in Ap
Star formation triggered by HII regions in our Galaxy: First results for N49 from the Herschel infrared survey of the Galactic plane
It has been shown that by means of different physical mechanisms the
expansion of HII regions can trigger the formation of new stars of all masses.
This process may be important to the formation of massive stars but has never
been quantified in the Galaxy. We use Herschel-PACS and -SPIRE images from the
Herschel Infrared survey of the Galactic plane, Hi-GAL, to perform this study.
We combine the Spitzer-GLIMPSE and -MIPSGAL, radio-continuum and sub-millimeter
surveys such as ATLASGAL with Hi-GAL to study Young Stellar Objects (YSOs)
observed towards Galactic HII regions. We select a representative HII region,
N49, located in the field centered on l=30 degr observed as part of the Hi-GAL
Science Demonstration Phase, to demonstrate the importance Hi-GAL will have to
this field of research. Hi-GAL PACS and SPIRE images reveal a new population of
embedded young stars, coincident with bright ATLASGAL condensations. The Hi-GAL
images also allow us, for the first time, to constrain the physical properties
of the newly formed stars by means of fits to their spectral energy
distribution. Massive young stellar objects are observed at the borders of the
N49 region and represent second generation massive stars whose formation has
been triggered by the expansion of the ionized region. Hi-GAL enables us to
detect a population of young stars at different evolutionary stages, cold
condensations only being detected in the SPIRE wavelength range. The far IR
coverage of Hi-GAL strongly constrains the physical properties of the YSOs. The
large and unbiased spatial coverage of this survey offers us a unique
opportunity to lead, for the first time, a global study of star formation
triggered by HII regions in our Galaxy.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A&A (Special issue on Herschel first
results
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