1,838 research outputs found
Hafnia-rich mixed oxide ceramics of the system HfO2-ZrO2-TiO2 for heaters and heat exchangers in electrothermal thrusters: The effects of titania on selected electrical and mechanical properties of Hafnia-rich mixed oxides in the system Hafnia-Zirconia-Titania, volume 1
A study of the effects of titania on selected properties of hafnia-rich mixed oxides in the system hafnia-zirconia-titania (HZT) was made in the region 5 to 20 mol percent titania. The studied properties included electrical conductivity, thermal expansion, and fracture strength and toughness. The effects of titania on the properties were studied for the reduced state as well as the oxidized state of the sintered mixed oxides. X-ray analysis showed that the materials were not always single phase. The oxidized compositions went from being monoclinic solid solutions at low titania additions to having three phases (two monoclinic and a titanate phase) at high additions of titania. The reduced compositions showed an increasing cubic phase presence mixed with the monoclinic phase as titania was added. The electrical conductivity increased with temperature at approximately 0.1 mhos/cm at 1700 C for all compositions. The thermal expansion coefficient decreased with increasing titania as did the monoclinic to tetragonal transformation temperature. The fracture strength of the oxidized bars tended to decrease with the addition of titania owing to the presence of the second phase titania. The fracture strength of the reduced bars exhibited a minimum corresponding to a two-phase region of monoclinic and cubic phases. When the second phases were suppressed, the titania tended to increase the fracture strength slightly in both the oxidized and reduced states. The fracture toughness followed similar trends
Structural Evolution of Tungsten Surface Exposed to Sequential Low-Energy Helium Ion Irradiation and Transient Heat Loading
Structural damage due to high flux particle irradiation can result in significant changes to the thermal strength of the plasma facing component surface (PFC) during off-normal events in a tokamak. Low-energy He+ ion irradiation of tungsten (W), which is currently the leading candidate material for future PFCs, can result in the development of a fiber form nanostructure, known as “fuzz”. In the current study, mirror-finished W foils were exposed to 100 eV He+ ion irradiation at a fluence of 2.6 × 1024 ions m−2 and a temperature of 1200 K. Then, samples were exposed to two different types of pulsed heat loading meant to replicate type-I edge-localized mode (ELM) heating at varying energy densities and base temperatures. Millisecond (ms) laser exposure done at 1200 K revealed a reduction in fuzz density with increasing energy density due to the conglomeration and local melting of W fibers. At higher energy densities (∼ 1.5 MJ m−2), RT exposures resulted in surface cracking, while 1200 K exposures resulted in surface roughening, demonstrating the role of base temperature on the crack formation in W. Electron beam heating presented similar trends in surface morphology evolution; a higher penetration depth led to reduced melt motion and plasticity. In situ mass loss measurements obtained via a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) found an exponential increase in particle emission for RT exposures, while the prevalence of melting from 1200 K exposures yielded no observable trend
The Diffusion of Humans and Cultures in the Course of the Spread of Farming
The most profound change in the relationship between humans and their
environment was the introduction of agriculture and pastoralism. [....] For an
understanding of the expansion process, it appears appropriate to apply a
diffusive model. Broadly, these numerical modeling approaches can be catego-
rized in correlative, continuous and discrete. Common to all approaches is the
comparison to collections of radiocarbon data that show the apparent wave of
advance of the transition to farming. However, these data sets differ in entry
density and data quality. Often they disregard local and regional specifics and
research gaps, or dating uncertainties. Thus, most of these data bases may only
be used on a very general, broad scale. One of the pitfalls of using
irregularly spaced or irregularly documented radiocarbon data becomes evident
from the map generated by Fort (this volume, Chapter 16): while the general
east-west and south-north trends become evident, some areas appear as having
undergone anomalously early transitions to farming. This may be due to faulty
entries into the data base or regional problems with radiocarbon dating, if not
unnoticed or undocumented laboratory mistakes.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Diffusive Spreading in Nature,
Technology and Society, edited by Armin Bunde, J\"urgen Caro, J\"org
K\"arger, Gero Vogl, Chapter 1
Whispering gallery modes in open quantum billiards
The poles of the S-matrix and the wave functions of open 2D quantum billiards
with convex boundary of different shape are calculated by the method of complex
scaling. Two leads are attached to the cavities. The conductance of the
cavities is calculated at energies with one, two and three open channels in
each lead. Bands of overlapping resonance states appear which are localized
along the convex boundary of the cavities and contribute coherently to the
conductance. These bands correspond to the whispering gallery modes appearing
in the classical calculations.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures in jpg and gif forma
An amphitropic cAMP-binding protein in yeast mitochondria
ABSTRACT: We describe the first example of a mitochondrial protein with a covalently attached phos-phatidylinositol moiety acting as a membrane anchor. The protein can be metabolically labeled with both stearic acid and inositol. The stearic acid label is removed by phospholipase D whereupon the protein with the retained inositol label is released from the membrane. This protein is a cAMP receptor of the yeast Saccharomyces cereuisiae and tightly associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane. However, it is converted into a soluble form during incubation of isolated mitochondria with Ca2+ and phospholipid (or lipid derivatives). This transition requires the action of a proteinaceous, N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive component of the intermembrane space and is accompanied by a decrease in the lipophilicity of the cAMP receptor. We propose that the component of the intermembrane space triggers the amphitropic behavior of the mitochondrial lipid-modified CAMP-binding protein through a phospholipase activity. Only in recent years specific fatty acids have been recog-nized to play important roles in the association of proteins with membranes. Both noncovalent and covalent interactions be-tween fatty acids and proteins have been reported. Among the latter are GTP-binding proteins (Molenaar et al., 1988)
Health facility and skilled birth deliveries among poor women with Jamkesmas health insurance in Indonesia: a mixed-methods study
BACKGROUND: The growing momentum for quality and affordable health care for all has given rise to the recent global universal health coverage (UHC) movement. As part of Indonesia’s strategy to achieve the goal of UHC, large investments have been made to increase health access for the poor, resulting in the implementation of various health insurance schemes targeted towards the poor and near-poor, including the Jamkesmas program. In the backdrop of Indonesia’s aspiration to reach UHC is the high rate of maternal mortality that disproportionally affects poor women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of health facility and skilled birth deliveries among poor women with and without Jamkesmas and explore perceived barriers to health insurance membership and maternal health service utilization.
METHODS: We used a mixed-methods design. Utilizing data from the 2012 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (n = 45,607), secondary analysis using propensity score matching was performed on key outcomes of interest: health facility delivery (HFD) and skilled birth delivery (SBD). In-depth interviews (n = 51) were conducted in the provinces of Jakarta and Banten among poor women, midwives, and government representatives. Thematic framework analysis was performed on qualitative data to explore perceived barriers.
RESULTS: In 2012, 63.0% of women did not have health insurance; 19.1% had Jamkesmas. Poor women with Jamkesmas were 19% (OR = 1.19 [1.03–1.37]) more likely to have HFD and 17% (OR = 1.17 [1.01–1.35]) more likely to have SBD compared to poor women without insurance. Qualitative interviews highlighted key issues, including: lack of proper documentation for health insurance registration; the preference of pregnant women to deliver in their parents’ village; the use of traditional birth attendants; distance to health facilities; shortage of qualified health providers; overcrowded health facilities; and lack of health facility accreditation.
CONCLUSION: Poor women with Jamkesmas membership had a modest increase in HFD and SBD. These findings are consistent with economic theory that health insurance coverage can reduce financial barriers to care and increase service uptake. However, factors such as socio-cultural beliefs, accessibility, and quality of care are important elements that need to be addressed as part of the national UHC agenda to improve maternal health services in Indonesia
Conductance of Open Quantum Billiards and Classical Trajectories
We analyse the transport phenomena of 2D quantum billiards with convex
boundary of different shape. The quantum mechanical analysis is performed by
means of the poles of the S-matrix while the classical analysis is based on the
motion of a free particle inside the cavity along trajectories with a different
number of bounces at the boundary. The value of the conductance depends on the
manner the leads are attached to the cavity. The Fourier transform of the
transmission amplitudes is compared with the length of the classical paths.
There is good agreement between classical and quantum mechanical results when
the conductance is achieved mainly by special short-lived states such as
whispering gallery modes (WGM) and bouncing ball modes (BBM). In these cases,
also the localization of the wave functions agrees with the picture of the
classical paths. The S-matrix is calculated classically and compared with the
transmission coefficients of the quantum mechanical calculations for five modes
in each lead. The number of modes coupled to the special states is effectively
reduced.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures (jpg), 2 table
Cotranslational N-degron masking by acetylation promotes proteome stability in plants
N-terminal protein acetylation (NTA) is a prevalent protein modification essential for viability in animals and plants. The dominant executor of NTA is the ribosome tethered N-alpha-acetyltransferase A (NatA) complex. However, the impact of NatA on protein fate is still enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that depletion of NatA activity leads to a 4-fold increase in global protein turnover via the ubiquitin-proteasome system in Arabidopsis. Surprisingly, a concomitant increase in translation, actioned via enhanced Target-of-Rapamycin activity, is also observed, implying that defective NTA triggers feedback mechanisms to maintain steady-state protein abundance. Quantitative analysis of the proteome, the translatome, and the ubiquitome reveals that NatA substrates account for the bulk of this enhanced turnover. A targeted analysis of NatA substrate stability uncovers that NTA absence triggers protein destabilization via a previously undescribed and widely conserved nonAc/N-degron in plants. Hence, the imprinting of the proteome with acetylation marks is essential for coordinating proteome stability. N-terminal protein acetylation is required for plant viability. Here the authors show that reducing N-terminal acetylation by NatA leads to an increase in global protein turnover that is facilitated by absent masking of a novel N-degro
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