Cars Diagnostic on a PhotochemicalReactor for IR Laser Induced Production of Si and Si3N4 Powders

In a flow reactor a low power (up to 50 W) CW CO2 laser tuned at 944,19 cm−1 has been focussed in order to produce Si and Si3N4 ultrafine powders from SiH4 and SiH4/NH3 mixtures.Among possible on-line optical diagnostics, two different CARS techniques have been used to monitor the excitation process and to measure average reaction temperatures in collinear geometry. In broad-band CARS at low resolution (≈6.0 cm−1) the reactant temperature is measured from the attenuation of the corresponding integrated peak intensity below and at the dissociation threshold. In narrow-band experiments the temperature reached by the dissociating reactants below and above the threshold is inferred from the spectral shape (measured with 0.2 cm−1 resolution) of the envelope of rovibrational CARS transitions involved.Results obtained at the threshold for SiH4 dissociation are in agreement with previous data on gas-phase pyrolysis in a thermal process. For the SiH4/NH3 reaction the difficulty in obtaining stoichiometric Si3N4 has been related to the cooling effect of large NH3 addition to the SiH4 warmed up in the laser absorption

Triticum aestivum ir T. durum genetiniai parametrai kokybės technologinėms savybėms Serbijoje

Proteins are important in determining the nutritional value of wheat, and among them gluten determines the baking quality of bread wheat and pasta-making technological properties of wheat. By assessing genetic parameters of wheat quality traits, it is possible to elucidate potential for improvement. The plant material consisted of 30 genotypes of bread and durum wheat of worldwide origin. The trials were sown at three locations in Serbia during two vegetation seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Protein content, wet gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation volume and deformation energy were determined by near infrared spectrometry. The objectives of this investigation were to assess: i) variability, components of variance, heritability in a broad sense (hb2)expected genetic advance for protein content, wet gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation volume and deformation energy; ii) associations between agronomic characteristics and protein content, wet gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation volume and deformation energy in order to determine indirect selection feasibility. In durum wheat, the highest coefficients of genetic and phenotypic variation (CVg and CVph) were recorded for deformation energy in bread wheat (18% and 18.4%, respectively), whereas the lowest values of 4.1% and 4.6% were shown for protein content. The relation genetic component of variance (σg2)/component of variance due to genotype × environment interaction (σge2) < 1 was observed for protein content (3.2), wet gluten content (2.9) and deformation energy (3.9), and equal to one for Zeleny sedimentation volume, in bread wheat. In durum wheat, σge2/σg2< 1 was detected for protein content (1.4), wet gluten content (1.5), Zeleny sedimentation volume (2.1) and deformation energy (1.4). Considering very high and high hb2 observed for deformation energy and Zeleny sedimentation volume (95.8% and 86.2%, respectively) in bread wheat, coupled with high genetic advance (36.3% and 28.1%, respectively), success from classical breeding can be anticipated. Grain thickness was strongly associated with Zeleny sedimentation volume, and to a lesser extent with protein content, wet gluten content and deformation energy in bread and durum wheat, and along with grain vitreousness in durum wheat, can serve for indirect selection

Mikroorganizmi digestivnog trakta pčele apis melifera kao biodegraderi neonikotinoudnih pesticida

Poster presented at: XI kongres mikrobiologa Srbije, Beograd 11 - 13. maj 2017Abstract: [https://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5434

Mikroorganizmi digestivnog trakta pčele apis melifera kao biodegraderi neonikotinoudnih pesticida

Poster presented at: XI kongres mikrobiologa Srbije, Beograd 11 - 13. maj 2017Abstract: [https://cer.ihtm.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5043

Rebirth of X-ray Emission from the Born-Again Planetary Nebula A 30

The planetary nebula (PN) A30 is believed to have undergone a very late thermal pulse resulting in the ejection of knots of hydrogen-poor material. Using HST images we have detected the angular expansion of these knots and derived an age of 850+280-150 yr. To investigate the spectral and spatial properties of the soft X-ray emission detected by ROSAT, we have obtained Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of A30. The X-ray emission from A30 can be separated into two components: a point-source at the central star and diffuse emission associated with the hydrogen-poor knots and the cloverleaf structure inside the nebular shell. To help us assess the role of the current stellar wind in powering this X-ray emission, we have determined the stellar parameters of the central star of A 30 using a non-LTE model fit to its optical and UV spectrum. The spatial distribution and spectral properties of the diffuse X-ray emission is suggestive that it is generated by the post-born-again and present fast stellar winds interacting with the hydrogen-poor ejecta of the born-again event. This emission can be attributed to shock-heated plasma, as the hydrogen-poor knots are ablated by the stellar winds, under which circumstances the efficient mass-loading of the present fast stellar wind raises its density and damps its velocity to produce the observed diffuse soft X-rays. Charge transfer reactions between the ions of the stellar winds and material of the born-again ejecta has also been considered as a possible mechanism for the production of diffuse X-ray emission, and upper limits on the expected X-ray production by this mechanism have been derived. The origin of the X-ray emission from the central star of A 30 is puzzling: shocks in the present fast stellar wind and photospheric emission can be ruled out, while the development of a new, compact hot bubble confining the fast stellar wind seems implausible.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication by Ap

Dynamic modeling of mean-reverting spreads for statistical arbitrage

Statistical arbitrage strategies, such as pairs trading and its generalizations, rely on the construction of mean-reverting spreads enjoying a certain degree of predictability. Gaussian linear state-space processes have recently been proposed as a model for such spreads under the assumption that the observed process is a noisy realization of some hidden states. Real-time estimation of the unobserved spread process can reveal temporary market inefficiencies which can then be exploited to generate excess returns. Building on previous work, we embrace the state-space framework for modeling spread processes and extend this methodology along three different directions. First, we introduce time-dependency in the model parameters, which allows for quick adaptation to changes in the data generating process. Second, we provide an on-line estimation algorithm that can be constantly run in real-time. Being computationally fast, the algorithm is particularly suitable for building aggressive trading strategies based on high-frequency data and may be used as a monitoring device for mean-reversion. Finally, our framework naturally provides informative uncertainty measures of all the estimated parameters. Experimental results based on Monte Carlo simulations and historical equity data are discussed, including a co-integration relationship involving two exchange-traded funds.Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures. Submitte

Development of a 3D workspace Shoulder Assessment Tool Incorporating Electromyography and an Inertial Measurement Unit - A preliminary study

Traditional shoulder Range of Movement (ROM) measurement tools suffer from inaccuracy or from long experimental set-up times. Recently, it has been demonstrated that relatively low-cost wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors can overcome many of the limitations of traditional motion tracking systems. The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate a single IMU combined with an Electromyography (EMG) sensor to monitor the 3D reachable workspace with simultaneous measurement of deltoid muscle activity across the shoulder ROM. Six volunteer subjects with healthy shoulders and one participant with a ‘frozen’ shoulder were recruited to the study. Arm movement in 3D space was plotted in spherical coordinates while the relative EMG intensity of any arm position is presented graphically. The results showed that there was an average ROM surface area of 27291±538 deg2 among all six healthy individuals and a ROM surface area of 13571±308 deg2 for the subject with frozen shoulder. All three sections of the deltoid show greater EMG activity at higher elevation angles. Using such tools enables individuals, surgeons and physiotherapists to measure the maximum envelope of motion in conjunction with muscle activity in order to provide an objective assessment of shoulder performance in the voluntary 3D workspace

An Updated Meta-Analysis of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene: Three Well-Characterized Polymorphisms with Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Numerous individually underpowered association studies have been conducted on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) genetic variants across different ethnic populations, however, the results are often irreproducible. We therefore aimed to meta-analyze three eNOS widely-evaluated polymorphisms, G894T (rs1799983) in exon 7, 4b/a in intron 4, and T-786C (rs2070744) in promoter region, in association with hypertension from both English and Chinese publications, while addressing between-study heterogeneity and publication bias. METHODS: Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 11.0), and random-effects model was applied irrespective of between-study heterogeneity, which was evaluated by subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Publication bias was weighed using the Egger's test and funnel plot. RESULTS: There were total 19284/26003 cases/controls for G894T, and 6890/6858 for 4b/a, and 5346/6392 for T-786C polymorphism. Overall comparison of allele 894T with 894G in all study populations yielded a 16% increased risk for hypertension (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.07-1.27; P = 0.001), and particularly a 32% increased risk (95% CI: 1.16-1.52; P<0.0005) in Asians and a 40% increased risk (95% CI: 1.19-1.65; P<0.0005) in Chinese. Further subgroup analyses suggested that published languages accounted for the heterogeneity for G894T polymorphism. The overall OR of allele 4a versus 4b was 1.29 (95% CI: 1.13-1.46; P<0.0005) in all study populations, and this estimate was potentiated in Asians (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16-1.72; P<0.0005). For T-786C, ethnicity-stratified analyses suggested a significantly increased risk for -786C allele (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.06-1.47; P = 0.007) and -786CC genotype (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.20-2.38; P = 0.003) in Whites. As an aside, the aforementioned risk estimates reached significance after Bonferroni correction. Finally, meta-regression analysis on other study-level covariates failed to provide any significance for all polymorphisms. CONCLUSION: We, via a comprehensive meta-analysis, ascertained the role of eNOS G894T and 4b/a polymorphisms on hypertension in Asians, and T-786C polymorphism in Whites

Salivary Biomarkers for Detection of Systemic Diseases

Peer reviewe