Large volume continuous counterflow dialyzer has high efficiency

Dialyzer separates macromolecules from small molecules in large volumes of solution. It takes advantage of the high area/volume ratio in commercially available 1/4-inch dialysis tubing and maintains a high concentration gradient at the dialyzing surface by counterflow

Continuous countercurrent dialysis of large volumes

Dialyzer for continuous countercurrent dialysis of large volume

Formulating a State Approach to Professional Development

When viewed from the perspective of an entire state\u27s needs, the challenges of designing professional development to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001 are daunting. In Oklahoma, the concerns about delivering to rural and urban populations which contain a variety of underserved populations are further complicated by the differences in the way science and mathematics are structured as disciplines. We describe two model programs, one in science and one in mathematics, which take much different approaches. However, the programs have three common elements that make them highly successful. Each program engages teachers strongly, seeks to change learning by altering both teachers\u27 behavior and content knowledge, and is continuously reflective

The Formation of Low-Mass Double White Dwarfs through an Initial Phase of Stable Non-Conservative Mass Transfer

Although many double white dwarfs (DWDs) have been observed, the evolutionary channel by which they are formed from low-mass/long-period red-giant-main-sequence (RG-MS) binaries remains uncertain. The canonical explanations involve some variant of double common-envelope (CE) evolution, however it has been found that such a mechanism cannot produce the observed distribution. We present a model for the initial episode of mass transfer (MT) in RG-MS binaries, and demonstrate that their evolution into double white dwarfs need not arise through a double-CE process, as long as the initial primary's core mass (Md,c) does not exceed 0.46M$_{\odot}$. Instead, the first episode of dramatic mass loss may be stable, non-conservative MT. We find a lower bound on the fraction of transferred mass that must be lost from the system in order to provide for MT, and demonstrate the feasibility of this channel in producing observed low-mass (with M$_{d,c}$ < 0.46M$_{\odot}$) DWD systems.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, Conference Proceedings for the International Conference on Binaries, Mykonos, Greec

On the Maximum Mass of Accreting Primordial Supermassive Stars

Supermassive primordial stars are suspected to be the progenitors of the most massive quasars at z~6. Previous studies of such stars were either unable to resolve hydrodynamical timescales or considered stars in isolation, not in the extreme accretion flows in which they actually form. Therefore, they could not self-consistently predict their final masses at collapse, or those of the resulting supermassive black hole seeds, but rather invoked comparison to simple polytropic models. Here, we systematically examine the birth, evolution and collapse of accreting non-rotating supermassive stars under accretion rates of 0.01-10 solar masses per year, using the stellar evolution code KEPLER. Our approach includes post-Newtonian corrections to the stellar structure and an adaptive nuclear network, and can transition to following the hydrodynamic evolution of supermassive stars after they encounter the general relativistic instability. We find that this instability triggers the collapse of the star at masses of 150,000-330,000 solar masses for accretion rates of 0.1-10 solar masses per year, and that the final mass of the star scales roughly logarithmically with the rate. The structure of the star, and thus its stability against collapse, is sensitive to the treatment of convection, and the heat content of the outer accreted envelope. Comparison with other codes suggests differences here may lead to small deviations in the evolutionary state of the star as a function of time, that worsen with accretion rate. Since the general relativistic instability leads to the immediate death of these stars, our models place an upper limit on the masses of the first quasars at birth.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted ApJ letter

The Evolution of Supermassive Population III Stars

Supermassive primordial stars forming in atomically-cooled halos at $z \sim15-20$ are currently thought to be the progenitors of the earliest quasars in the Universe. In this picture, the star evolves under accretion rates of $0.1 - 1$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ until the general relativistic instability triggers its collapse to a black hole at masses of $\sim10^5$ $M_\odot$. However, the ability of the accretion flow to sustain such high rates depends crucially on the photospheric properties of the accreting star, because its ionising radiation could reduce or even halt accretion. Here we present new models of supermassive Population III protostars accreting at rates $0.001 - 10$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, computed with the GENEVA stellar evolution code including general relativistic corrections to the internal structure. We use the polytropic stability criterion to estimate the mass at which the collapse occurs, which has been shown to give a lower limit of the actual mass at collapse in recent hydrodynamic simulations. We find that at accretion rates higher than $0.001$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ the stars evolve as red, cool supergiants with surface temperatures below $10^4$ K towards masses $>10^5$ $M_\odot$, and become blue and hot, with surface temperatures above $10^5$ K, only for rates $\lesssim0.001$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. Compared to previous studies, our results extend the range of masses and accretion rates at which the ionising feedback remains weak, reinforcing the case for direct collapse as the origin of the first quasars

On the Rotation of Supermassive Stars

Supermassive stars born from pristine gas in atomically-cooled haloes are thought to be the progenitors of supermassive black holes at high redshifts. However, the way they accrete their mass is still an unsolved problem. In particular, for accretion to proceed, a large amount of angular momentum has to be extracted from the collapsing gas. Here, we investigate the constraints stellar evolution imposes on this angular momentum problem. We present an evolution model of a supermassive Population III star including simultaneously accretion and rotation. We find that, for supermassive stars to form by accretion, the accreted angular momentum has to be about 1% of the Keplerian angular momentum. This tight constraint comes from the $\Omega\Gamma$-limit, at which the combination of radiation pressure and centrifugal force cancels gravity. It implies that supermassive stars are slow rotators, with a surface velocity less than 10-20% of their first critical velocity, at which the centrifugal force alone cancels gravity. At such low velocities, the deformation of the star due to rotation is negligible

Normal ground state of dense relativistic matter in a magnetic field

The properties of the ground state of relativistic matter in a magnetic field are examined within the framework of a Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. The main emphasis of this study is the normal ground state, which is realized at sufficiently high temperatures and/or sufficiently large chemical potentials. In contrast to the vacuum state, which is characterized by the magnetic catalysis of chiral symmetry breaking, the normal state is accompanied by the dynamical generation of the chiral shift parameter $\Delta$. In the chiral limit, the value of $\Delta$ determines a relative shift of the longitudinal momenta (along the direction of the magnetic field) in the dispersion relations of opposite chirality fermions. We argue that the chirality remains a good approximate quantum number even for massive fermions in the vicinity of the Fermi surface and, therefore, the chiral shift is expected to play an important role in many types of cold dense relativistic matter, relevant for applications in compact stars. The qualitative implications of the revealed structure of the normal ground state on the physics of protoneutron stars are discussed. A noticeable feature of the $\Delta$ parameter is that it is insensitive to temperature when $T \ll \mu_0$, where $\mu_0$ is the chemical potential, and {\it increases} with temperature for $T > \mu_0$. The latter implies that the chiral shift parameter is also generated in the regime relevant for heavy ion collisions.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures; v2: title changed in journa

Biophysical, morphological, canopy optical property, and productivity data from the Superior National Forest

Described here are the results of a NASA field experiment conducted in the Superior National Forest near Ely, Minnesota, during the summers of 1983 and 1984. The purpose of the experiment was to examine the use of remote sensing to provide measurements of biophysical parameters in the boreal forests. Leaf area index, biomass, net primary productivity, canopy coverage, overstory and understory species composition data are reported for about 60 sites, representing a range of stand density and age for aspen and spruce. Leaf, needle, and bark high-resolution spectral reflectance and transmittance data are reported for the major boreal forest species. Canopy bidirectional reflectance measurements are provided from a helicopter-mounted Barnes Multiband Modular Radiometer (MMR) and the Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) on the NASA C-130 aircraft