The development of a dielectric separation technique for diamond

Imperial Users onl

Characterization of trace gas emissions at an intermediate port

Growing ship traffic in Atlantic Canada strengthens the local economy but also plays an important role in greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions in this coastal environment. A mobile open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR; acronyms defined in Appendix A) spectrometer was set up in Halifax Harbour (Nova Scotia, Canada), an intermediate harbour integrated into the downtown core, to measure trace gas concentrations in the vicinity of marine vessels, in some cases with direct or near-direct marine combustion plume intercepts. This is the first application of the OP-FTIR measurement technique to real-time, spectroscopic measurements of CO2, CO, O3, NO2, NH3, CH3OH, HCHO, CH4 and N2O in the vicinity of harbour emissions originating from a variety of marine vessels, and the first measurement of shipping emissions in the ambient environment along the eastern seaboard of North America outside of the Gulf Coast. The spectrometer, its active mid-IR source and its detector were located on shore while the passive retroreflector was on a nearby island, yielding a 455&thinsp;m open path over the ocean (910&thinsp;m two-way). Atmospheric absorption spectra were recorded during day, night, sunny, cloudy and substantially foggy or precipitating conditions, with a temporal resolution of 1&thinsp;min or better. A weather station was co-located with the retroreflector to aid in the processing of absorption spectra and the interpretation of results, while a webcam recorded images of the harbour once per minute. Trace gas concentrations were retrieved from spectra by the MALT non-linear least squares iterative fitting routine. During field measurements (7 days in July–August 2016; 12 days in January 2017) AIS information on nearby ship activity was manually collected from a commercial website and used to calculate emission rates of shipping combustion products (CO2, CO, NOx, HC, SO2), which were then linked to measured concentration variations using ship position and wind information. During periods of low wind speed we observed extended ( ∼ 9&thinsp;h) emission accumulations combined with near-complete O3 titration, both in winter and in summer. Our results compare well with a NAPS monitoring station  ∼ 1&thinsp;km away, pointing to the extended spatial scale of this effect, commonly found in much larger European shipping channels. We calculated total marine sector emissions in Halifax Harbour based on a complete AIS dataset of ship activity during the cruise ship season (May–October 2015) and the remainder of the year (November 2015–April 2016) and found trace gas emissions (tonnes) to be 2.8&thinsp;% higher on average during the cruise ship season, when passenger ship emissions were found to contribute 18&thinsp;% of emitted CO2, CO, NOx, SO2 and HC (0.5&thinsp;% in the off season due to occasional cruise ships arriving, even in April). Similarly, calculated particulate emissions are 4.1&thinsp;% higher during the cruise ship season, when passenger ship emissions contribute 18&thinsp;% of the emitted particulate matter (PM) (0.5&thinsp;% in the off season). Tugs were found to make the biggest contribution to harbour emissions of trace gases in both cruise ship season (23&thinsp;% NOx, 24&thinsp;% SO2) and the off season (26&thinsp;% of both SO2 and NOx), followed by container ships (25&thinsp;% NOx and SO2 in the off season, 21&thinsp;% NOx and SO2 in cruise ship season). In the cruise ship season cruise ships were observed to be in third place regarding trace gas emissions, whilst tankers were in third place in the off season, with both being responsible for 18&thinsp;% of the calculated emissions. While the concentrations of all regulated trace gases measured by OP-FTIR as well as the nearby in situ NAPS sensors were well below maximum hourly permissible levels at all times during the 19-day measurement period, we find that AIS-based shipping emissions of NOx over the course of 1 year are 4.2 times greater than those of a nearby 500&thinsp;MW stationary source emitter and greater than or comparable to all vehicle NOx emissions in the city. Our findings highlight the need to accurately represent emissions from the shipping and marine sectors at intermediate ports integrated into urban environments. Emissions can be represented as pseudo-stationary and/or pseudo-line sources.</p

n-XYTER: A CMOS read-out ASIC for a new generation of high rate multichannel counting mode neutron detectors

For a new generation of 2-D neutron detectors developed in the framework of the EU NMI3 project DETNI [1], the 128-channel frontend chip n-XYTER has been designed. To facilitate the reconstruction of single neutron incidence points, the chip has to provide a spatial coordinate (represented by the channel number), as well as time stamp and amplitude information to match the data of x- and y-coordinates. While the random nature of the input signals calls for self-triggered operation of the chip, on-chip derandomisation and sparsi cation is required to exploit the enormous rate capability of these detectors ( 4 106cm2s1). The chosen architecture implements a preampli er driving two shapers with di erent time constants per channel. The faster shaper drives a single-pulse discriminator with subsequent time-walk compensation. The output of this circuit is used to latch a 14-bit time stamp with a 2 ns resolution and to enable a peak detector circuit fed by the slower shaper branch. The analogue output of the peak detector as well as the time stamp are stored in a 4-stage FIFO for derandomisation. The readout of these FIFOs is accomplished by a token-ring based multiplexer working at 32 MHz, which accounts for further derandomisation, sparsi cation and dynamic bandwidth distribution. The chip was submitted for manufacturing in AMS's C35B4M3 0.35µm CMOS technology in June 2006

Silicon strip detectors for two-dimensional soft X-ray imaging at normal incidence

A simple prototype system for static two-dimensional soft X-ray imaging using silicon microstrip detectors irradiated at normal incidence is presented. Radiation sensors consist of single-sided silicon detectors made from 300 mum thick wafers, read by RX64 ASICs. Data acquisition and control is performed by a Windows PC workstation running dedicated LabVIEW routines, connected to the sensors through a PCI-DIO-96 interface. Two-dimensional images are obtained by scanning a lead collimator with a thin slit perpendicular to the strip axis, along the whole detector size; the several strip profiles (slices) taken at each position are then put together to form a planar image. Preliminary results are presented, illustrating the high-resolution imaging capabilities of the system with soft X-rays. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hot topics in allergen immunotherapy, 2023: Current status and future perspective

The importance of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is multifaceted, encompassing both clinical and quality‐of‐life improvements and cost‐effectiveness in the long term. Key mechanisms of allergen tolerance induced by AIT include changes in memory type allergen‐specific T‐ and B‐cell responses towards a regulatory phenotype with decreased Type 2 responses, suppression of allergen‐specific IgE and increased IgG$_{1}$ and IgG$_{4}$, decreased mast cell and eosinophil numbers in allergic tissues and increased activation thresholds. The potential of novel patient enrolment strategies for AIT is taking into account recent advances in biomarkers discoveries, molecular allergy diagnostics and mobile health applications contributing to a personalized approach enhancement that can increase AIT efficacy and compliance. Artificial intelligence can help manage and interpret complex and heterogeneous data, including big data from omics and non‐omics research, potentially predict disease subtypes, identify biomarkers and monitor patient responses to AIT. Novel AIT preparations, such as synthetic compounds, innovative carrier systems and adjuvants, are also of great promise. Advances in clinical trial models, including adaptive, complex and hybrid designs as well as real‐world evidence, allow more flexibility and cost reduction. The analyses of AIT cost‐effectiveness show a clear long‐term advantage compared to pharmacotherapy. Important research questions, such as defining clinical endpoints, biomarkers of patient selection and efficacy, mechanisms and the modulation of the placebo effect and alternatives to conventional field trials, including allergen exposure chamber studies are still to be elucidated. This review demonstrates that AIT is still in its growth phase and shows immense development prospects

Comparisons between SCIAMACHY and ground-based FTIR data for total columns of CO, CH₄, CO₂ and N₂O

Total column amounts of CO, CH4, CO2 and N2O retrieved from SCIAMACHY nadir observations in ist near-infrared channels have been compared to data from a ground-based quasi-global network of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. The SCIAMACHY data considered here have been produced by three different retrieval algorithms, WFM-DOAS (version 0.5 for CO and CH4 and version 0.4 for CO2 and N2O), IMAP-DOAS (version 1.1 and 0.9 (for CO)) and IMLM (version 6.3) and cover the January to December 2003 time period. Comparisons have been made for individual data, as well as for monthly averages. To maximize the number of reliable coincidences that satisfy the temporal and spatial collocation criteria, the SCIAMACHY data have been compared with a temporal 3rd order polynomial interpolation of the ground-based data. Particular attention has been given to the question whether SCIAMACHY observes correctly the seasonal and latitudinal variability of the target species. The present results indicate that the individual SCIAMACHY data obtained with the actual versions of the algorithms have been significantly improved, but that the quality requirements, for estimating emissions on regional scales, are not yet met. Nevertheless, possible directions for further algorithm upgrades have been identified which should result in more reliable data products in a near future

Overview of IFMIF-DONES diagnostics: Requirements and techniques

The IFMIF-DONES Facility is a unique first-class scientific infrastructure whose construction is foreseen in Granada, Spain, in the coming years. Strong integration efforts are being made at the current project phase aiming at harmonizing the ongoing design of the different and complex Systems of the facility. The consolidation of the Diagnostics and Instrumentation, transversal across many of them, is a key element of this purpose. A top-down strategy is proposed for a systematic Diagnostics Review and Requirement definition, putting emphasis in the one-of-a-kind instruments necessary by the operational particularities of some of the Systems, as well as to the harsh environment that they shall survive. In addition, other transversal aspects such as the ones related to Safety and Machine Protection and their respective requirements shall be also considered. The goal is therefore to advance further and solidly in the respective designs, identify problems in advance, and steer the Diagnostics development and validation campaigns that will be required. The present work provides an overview of this integration strategy as well as a description of some of the most challenging Diagnostics and Instruments within the facility, including several proposed techniques currently under study

1964

Turf Management Club by John Traynor (page 1) Who Is Superintendent Here by H.E. Frenette (1) Good Turf Can Result from good Sodding (3) Golf Course Superintendent by Edwart Wiacek (4) Picture - Outstanding Senior Prof. Troll Picture - recognition for Blazers St. Andrew\u27s, Scotland by William Hynd (5) Analogy of a Turf Manager by James B. Cole (6) Fish Trouble by Peter A. Langelier and Dennis P. Leger (8) Square Rings by Robert P. McGuire (9) A Different Type of Course by Robert Hall (10) Literature by Pierre Coste (11) Weeds in Golf Course Turf and Their Control by John F. Cornman (A-1) The USe of Liquid Fertilizer by Anthony B. Longo (A-3) Fertilizing a Golf Course Through an Irrigation System by Herbert E. Berg (A-6) The Extent of Winter Injury on Golf Courses by James L. Holmes (A-11) The Problem of Winter Injury by James B. Beard (A-13) Establishing, Maintaining, and Selling Sod for Turf Areas in New England by George F. Stewart (A-20) Problems of Maintaining Turf Around Industrial Grounds by George Moore (A-22) Landscaping Industrial sites by A.W. Boicourt (A-25) Introduction to the panel Discussion on Grasses for Tees and Their Management by Alexander M. Radko (A-28) Building a Golf Tee by Phil Cassidy (A-29) Grasses for Tees and Their Management by Wm. Dest (A-31) Golf Course Tee maintenance by Jim Fulwider (A-32) Tees by F. Thompson (A-33) How to Draw up a Contract by Lawrence D. Rhoades (A-34) My Contract by Lucien E. Duval (A-37) The Golf Car Problem by Geoffrey S. Cornish (A-41) Golf Cars and Turfgrass by Lee Record (A-42) Course Design and Golf Cars by William F. Mitchell (A-42) Golf Cars and the Established Course by Sherwood Moore (A-45) Course Design and Golf Cars by Phil Wogan (a-52) Introduction of Cars to the New Course by M. Ovian (A-56

Nomenclature of allergic diseases and hypersensitivity reactions: Adapted to modern needs: An EAACI position paper

The exponential growth of precision diagnostic tools, including omic technologies, molecular diagnostics, sophisticated genetic and epigenetic editing, imaging and nano-technologies and patient access to extensive health care, has resulted in vast amounts of unbiased data enabling in-depth disease characterization. New disease endotypes have been identified for various allergic diseases and triggered the gradual transition from a disease description focused on symptoms to identifying biomarkers and intricate pathogenetic and metabolic pathways. Consequently, the current disease taxonomy has to be revised for better categorization. This European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Position Paper responds to this challenge and provides a modern nomenclature for allergic diseases, which respects the earlier classifications back to the early 20th century. Hypersensitivity reactions originally described by Gell and Coombs have been extended into nine different types comprising antibody- (I-III), cell-mediated (IVa-c), tissue-driven mechanisms (V-VI) and direct response to chemicals (VII). Types I-III are linked to classical and newly described clinical conditions. Type IVa-c are specified and detailed according to the current understanding of T1, T2 and T3 responses. Types V-VI involve epithelial barrier defects and metabolic-induced immune dysregulation, while direct cellular and inflammatory responses to chemicals are covered in type VII. It is notable that several combinations of mixed types may appear in the clinical setting. The clinical relevance of the current approach for allergy practice will be conferred in another article that will follow this year, aiming at showing the relevance in clinical practice where various endotypes can overlap and evolve over the lifetime