Extracting spectral density function of a binary composite without a-priori assumption

The spectral representation separates the contributions of geometrical arrangement (topology) and intrinsic constituent properties in a composite. The aim of paper is to present a numerical algorithm based on the Monte Carlo integration and contrainted-least-squares methods to resolve the spectral density function for a given system. The numerical method is verified by comparing the results with those of Maxwell-Garnett effective permittivity expression. Later, it is applied to a well-studied rock-and-brine system to instruct its utility. The presented method yields significant microstructural information in improving our understanding how microstructure influences the macroscopic behaviour of composites without any intricate mathematics.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures and 1 tabl

On micro-structural effects in dielectric mixtures

The paper presents numerical simulations performed on dielectric properties of two-dimensional binary composites on eleven regular space filling tessellations. First, significant contributions of different parameters, which play an important role in the electrical properties of the composite, are introduced both for designing and analyzing material mixtures. Later, influence of structural differences and intrinsic electrical properties of constituents on the composite's over all electrical properties are investigated. The structural differences are resolved by the spectral density representation approach. The numerical technique, without any {\em a-priori} assumptions, for extracting the spectral density function is also presented.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure and 7 tables. It is submitted to IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulatio

Fractional Equations of Curie-von Schweidler and Gauss Laws

The dielectric susceptibility of most materials follows a fractional power-law frequency dependence that is called the "universal" response. We prove that in the time domain this dependence gives differential equations with derivatives and integrals of noninteger order. We obtain equations that describe "universal" Curie-von Schweidler and Gauss laws for such dielectric materials. These laws are presented by fractional differential equations such that the electromagnetic fields in the materials demonstrate "universal" fractional damping. The suggested fractional equations are common (universal) to a wide class of materials, regardless of the type of physical structure, chemical composition or of the nature of the polarization.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Modeling of Cu oxidation in adiabatic fixed-bed reactor with N2 recycling in a Ca/Cu chemical loop

A dynamic model has been constructed to describe the Cu oxidation reaction within a large-scale Cu/CuO chemical looping process in adiabatic fixed-bed reactors. Careful control of the temperature is required during Cu oxidation because of its high reaction enthalpy. The recycling of a large amount of nitrogen, previously cooled down, and its mixture with air for Cu oxidation regulates the temperature in the reaction front, ensuring that undesirable hot spots that would lead to the irreversible loss of Cu activity are avoided. Since the gas/solid heat exchange front advances faster than the reaction front, the bed is eventually left at a low temperature. An additional stage was added to allow a gas/solid heat exchange between the hot recycled gas and the oxidized bed. This ensures that the fixed-bed is ready for the next reaction step that involves the reduction of CuO by a fuel gas. A sensitivity analysis of the main operating parameters confirms the theoretical viability of this operation. Cu oxidation is favored at high pressure and therefore fast reaction rates were achieved, even with low contents of oxygen in the feed (around 3–4%). The recirculation of more than 80% of the exit gas from the oxidation reactor and its subsequent cooling down to around 423 K keep the maximum temperature down to within reasonable values (1173 K). Although this work was focused on the boundary conditions of the Ca/Cu looping process for hydrogen production and/or power generation, some of the trends observed may be considered valid for other CLC systems that use similar N2 recycles.The authors acknowledge the grant awarded by the Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry under the project ENE2009-11353 and CSIC (201280E017).Peer reviewe

A three-dimensional comparison of a morphometric and conventional cephalometric midsagittal planes for craniofacial asymmetry

Morphometric methods are used in biology to study object symmetry in living organisms and to determine the true plane of symmetry. The aim of this study was to determine if there are clinical differences between three-dimensional (3D) cephalometric midsagittal planes used to describe craniofacial asymmetry and a true symmetry plane derived from a morphometric method based on visible facial features. The sample consisted of 14 dry skulls (9 symmetric and 5 asymmetric) with metallic markers which were imaged with cone-beam computed tomography. An error study and statistical analysis were performed to validate the morphometric method. The morphometric and conventional cephalometric planes were constructed and compared. The 3D cephalometric planes constructed as perpendiculars to the Frankfort horizontal plane resembled the morphometric plane the most in both the symmetric and asymmetric groups with mean differences of less than 1.00 mm for most variables. However, the standard deviations were often large and clinically significant for these variables. There were clinically relevant differences (>1.00 mm) between the different 3D cephalometric midsagittal planes and the true plane of symmetry determined by the visible facial features. The difference between 3D cephalometric midsagittal planes and the true plane of symmetry determined by the visible facial features were clinically relevant. Care has to be taken using cephalometric midsagittal planes for diagnosis and treatment planning of craniofacial asymmetry as they might differ from the true plane of symmetry as determined by morphometrics

New Mediterranean biodiversity records (March 2016)

In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries mainly throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five Phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: Callinectes sapidus and Chelidonura fulvipunctata; Monaco: Aplysia dactylomela; Italy: Charybdis (Charybdis) feriata, Carcharodon carcharias, Seriola fasciata, and Siganus rivulatus; Malta: Pomacanthus asfur; Croatia: Lagocephalus sceleratus and Pomadasys incisus; Montenegro: Lagocephalus sceleratus; Greece: Amathia (Zoobotryon) verticillata, Atys macandrewii, Cerithium scabridum, Chama pacifica, Dendostrea cf. folium, Ergalatax junionae, Septifer cumingii, Syphonota geographica, Syrnola fasciata, Oxyu- richthys petersi, Scarus ghobban, Scorpaena maderensis, Solea aegyptiaca and Upeneus pori; Turkey: Lobotes surinamensis, Ruvettus pretiosus and Ophiocten abyssicolum. In the current article, the presence of Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann, 1887) is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean from Italy. The great contribution of citizen scientists in monitoring biodiversity records is reflected herein, as 10% of the authors are citizen scientists, and contributed 37.5% of the new findings.peer-reviewe

Corrosion behaviour of porous Ti intended for biomedical applications

Porous Ti implants are being developed inorder to reduce the biomechanical mismatch between theimplant and the bone, as well as increasing the osseointegrationby improving the bone in-growth. Most of the focusin the literature has been on the structural, biological andmechanical characterization of porous Ti whereas there islimited information on the electrochemical characterization.Therefore, the present work aims to study the corrosionbehaviour of porous Ti having 30 and 50 % ofnominal porosity, produced by powder metallurgy routeusing the space holder technique. The percentage, size anddistribution of the pores were determined by image analysis.Electrochemical tests consisting of potentiodynamicpolarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopywere performed in 9 g/L NaCl solution at body temperature.Electrochemical studies revealed that samples presenteda less stable oxide film at increased porosity, morespecifically, the complex geometry and the interconnectivityof the pores resulted in formation of less protectiveoxide film in the pores.This study was supported by FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizac¸a˜o (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145- FEDER-006941, Programa de Acc¸o˜es Universita´rias Integradas LusoFrancesas’ (PAUILF TC-12_14), and The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation through ‘‘Programa de Mobilidade Acade´mica para Professores’’. The authors would also like to acknowledge Prof. Ana Senos (University of Aveiro) and Prof. Jose´ Carlos Teixeira (University of Minho) for the provision of the characterization facilities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Management and Outcome of Cardiac and Endovascular Cystic Echinococcosis

Cardiac and vascular involvement are infrequent in classical cystic echinococcosis (CE), but when they occur they tend to present earlier and are associated with complications that may be life threatening. Cardiovascular CE usually requires complex surgery, so in low-income countries the outcome is frequently fatal. This case series describes the characteristics of cardiovascular CE in patients diagnosed and treated at a Tropical Medicine & Clinical Parasitology Center in Spain. A retrospective case series of 11 patients with cardiac and/or endovascular CE, followed-up over a period of 15 years (1995–2009) is reported. The main clinical manifestations included thoracic pain or dyspnea, although 2 patients were asymptomatic. The clinical picture and complications vary according to cyst location. Isolated cardiac CE may be cured after surgery, while endovascular extracardiac involvement is associated with severe chronic complications. CE should be included in the differential diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in patients from endemic areas. CE is a neglected disease and further studies are necessary in order to make more definite management recommendations for this rare and severe form of the disease. The authors propose a general approach based on cyst location: exclusively cardiac, endovascular or both