Thermal-mechanical behavior of compacted GMZ Bentonite

International audienceThe THM behavior of compacted GMZ bentonite has been investigated using a suction-temperature controlled isotropic cell. The results obtained were compared with the existing results on other reference bentonites (MX80, FEBEX, FoCa, and Kunigel-V1). It has been observed that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the compacted GMZ bentonite is 2 x 10-4°C-1, similar to the values of compacted MX80 and FEBEX bentonites. The heating tests of the GMZ bentonite also show that the suction is an important parameter that governs the thermal volumetric behavior of unsaturated soils. Unlike temperature, suction has a significant effect on the compressibility parameters. Examination of the mineralogy of various bentonites showed that a good correlation can be generally established between the montmorillonite content and the cations exchange capacity (CEC) or the specific surface area (S). Nevertheless, both the basic geotechnical properties and the swelling potential seem to depend not only on the montmorillonite content but also on other factors such as the nature of base exchangeable cations. The quartz content of the GMZ bentonite is relatively high (11.7%). This could explain its relatively large values of thermal conductivity

(R)-7-Bromo-2,3,4,4a-tetra­hydro-1H-xanthen-1-one

The title compound, C13H11BrO2, contains a tricyclic ring system with one chiral center which exhibits an R configuration. The crystal structure is devoid of any classical hydrogen bonding

NG2 cells response to axonal alteration in the spinal cord white matter in mice with genetic disruption of neurofilament light subunit expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (NG2) expressing cells, morphologically characterized by multi-branched processes and small cell bodies, are the 4^thcommonest cell population of non-neuronal cell type in the central nervous system (CNS). They can interact with nodes of Ranvier, receive synaptic input, generate action potential and respond to some pathological stimuli, but the function of the cells is still unclear. We assumed the NG2 cells may play an active role in neuropathogenesis and aimed to determine if NG2 cells could sense and response to the alterations in the axonal contents caused by disruption of neurofilament light subunit (NFL) expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the early neuropathological development stage, our study showed that the diameter of axons of upper motor neurons of NFL-/- mice decreased significantly while the thickness of their myelin sheath increased remarkably. Although there was an obvious morphological distortion in axons with occasionally partial demyelination, no obvious changes in expression of myelin proteins was detected. Parallel to these changes in the axons and their myelination, the processes of NG2 cells were disconnected from the nodes of Ranvier and extended further, suggesting that these cells in the spinal cord white matter could sense the alteration in axonal contents caused by disruption of NFL expression before astrocytic and microglial activation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The structural configuration determined by the NFL gene may be important for maintenance of normal morphology of myelinated axons. The NG2 cells might serve as an early sensor for the delivery of information from impaired neurons to the local environment.</p

Correlation of Oil Prices and Gross Domestic Product in Oil Producing Countries

This paper proposes the degree of interdependence between the prices of crude oil and Gross Domestic Product of leading of countries such as Saudi Arabia and as the main suppliers of crude oil to the world market. The paper examines the theoretical aspects of oil pricing and investigation between the oil prices and GDP of leading oil producing countries. The main focus was on the results of empirical studies, which showed the strong relationship between prices for crude oil and GDP. Mutual dependence between prices and GDP was observed in Russia and Saudi Arabia.The developing the alternative sources of energy the countries will make the possibility to reform their own economy and make them less vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. Keywords: Oil price, GDP, GARCH model, Oil Impact, Forecasting JEL Classification: C51, C58, F31, G12, G1

(R)-2-(2-Methoxy­phen­yl)-2,5-dihydro­thio­phene-3-carbaldehyde

In the title compound, C12H12O2S, the asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules. The chiral C atoms of both mol­ecules were established to be in the R configuration. In both mol­ecules, the 2,5-dihydro­thio­phene rings adopt S-envelope conformations wherein the S atoms are displaced by 0.315 (5) and −0.249 (5) Å from the mean planes of the remaining ring atoms. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O interactions

Risk assessment of oil price from static and dynamic modelling approaches

The price gap between West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil markets has been completely changed in the past several years. The price of WTI was always a little larger than that of Brent for a long time. However, the price of WTI has been surpassed by that of Brent since 2011. The new market circumstances and volatility of oil price require a comprehensive re-estimation of risk. Therefore, this study aims to explore an integrated approach to assess the price risk in the two crude oil markets through the value at risk (VaR) model. The VaR is estimated by the extreme value theory (EVT) and GARCH model on the basis of generalized error distribution (GED). The results show that EVT is a powerful approach to capture the risk in the oil markets. On the contrary, the traditional variance–covariance (VC) and Monte Carlo (MC) approaches tend to overestimate risk when the confidence level is 95%, but underestimate risk at the confidence level of 99%. The VaR of WTI returns is larger than that of Brent returns at identical confidence levels. Moreover, the GED-GARCH model can estimate the downside dynamic VaR accurately for WTI and Brent oil returns

Effect of Plasma Viremia on Apoptosis and Immunophenotype of Dendritic Cells Subsets in Acute SIVmac239 Infection of Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques (Ch Rhs) provide good animal models for research on human infectious diseases. Similar to humans, there are two principal subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) in the peripheral blood of Ch Rhs: myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs). In this study, two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analyses were used to identify the main DC subsets, namely CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs from Ch Rhs. Then, the apoptosis and immunophenotype changes of DCs subsets were first described during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection. Both the DCs subsets showed decreased CD4 expression and enhanced CCR5 expression; in particular, those of pDCs significantly changed at most time points. Interestingly, the plasma viral loads were negatively correlated with CD4 expression, but were positively correlated with CCR5 expression of pDCs. During this period, both CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs were activated by enhancing expressions of co-stimulatory molecules, accompanied with increase in CCR7. Either CD80 or CD86 expressed on CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs was positively correlated with the plasma viral loads. Our analysis demonstrates that the pDCs were more prone to apoptosis after infection during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection, which may be due to their high expressions of CD4 and CCR5. Both DCs subsets activated through elevating the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, which was beneficial in controlling the replication of SIV. However, a mere broad immune activation initiated by activated DCs may lead to tragic AIDS progression