The chemical effects of CO2 addition to methane on aromatic chemistry

This numerical study concerns the effect of CO2 addition to CH4 on aromatic chemistry. In the absence of any thermodynamical effects, purely kinetic factors cause increases in the amount of carbon dioxide to decrease benzene mole fraction. The reaction H+CO2⇌OH+COH+CO2⇌OH+CO proved very important. Simulations under adiabatic conditions shows that raising the concentration of CO2 leads to an increase in A1 mole fractions. This is caused by CO2 addition making the combustion less efficient, so that both the temperatures and the concentrations of the OH radical are lower than for pure methane. We also discovered that the CO2 kinetics reduces the amount of benzene under isothermal conditions whereas it increases it under adiabatic conditions. Finally, we found that CO2 addition to benzene has negligible kinetic effects on aromatic hydrocarbons, radicals and even CO. Overall, our study shows that the kinetic effects of carbon dioxide in biogas can be highly complex, non-linear and counter-intuitive

Comparison of Different Methods for Transverse Emittance Measurement and Recent Results from LEP

The knowledge of its position and angular transverse distributions is of utmost interest to assess the good behaviour of a beam within an accelerator. After a short reminder of beam "emittance" definitions, a review is made of various measurement techniques used so far both in single pass machines and colliders. Results of measurements made at CERN in the future LHC injection complex and in LEP are presented and discussed

A chemical kinetic modelling study of the combustion of CH4–CO–H2–CO2 fuel mixtures

In the present study, five detailed reaction mechanisms have been employed for simulating 530 ignition delay times involving mixtures containing methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. A novel concept, Reaction Significance Analysis (RSA), has been used for identifying those kinetic parameters which have the greatest influence on the disparities between a given set of experimental data and the model predictions. Overall, most mechanisms capture at best the combustion of biogas and display their poorest performance in relation to the combustion of bio-syngas. NUIG (a reaction mechanism developed at the National University of Ireland, Galway) proves to be the best choice for simulating the burning of bio-syngas, its imperfection notwithstanding. Generally, models tend to over-predict ignition delay times measured at the lowest temperatures. This effect is mostly related to the inhomogeneous behaviour of shock tubes under those conditions. Besides that, Reaction Significance Analyses revealed a correlation between poor modelling performance and reactions belonging to the subsystem HO2–H2O2. We identified situations where such chemical kinetic factors appear to play a role in inaccurate predictions. Overall, the present study strongly indicates that the kinetic modelling of the combustion of CH4–CO–H2–CO2 should not be seen as a problem successfully solved in the past once and for all. There is a genuine need for more kinetic experiments targeting reaction parameters which remain widely uncertain owing to their weak influence on most available measurements

White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with fine chromaticity tuning via ultrathin layer position shifting

Non-doped white organic light-emitting diodes using an ultrathin yellow-emitting layer of rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphtacene) inserted on either side of the interface between a hole-transporting NPB (4,4'-bis[N-(1-naphtyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl) layer and a blue-emitting DPVBi (4,4'-bis(2,2'-diphenylvinyl)-1,1'-biphenyl) layer are described. Both the thickness and the position of the rubrene layer allow fine chromaticity tuning from deep-blue to pure-yellow via bright-white with CIE coordinates (x= 0.33, y= 0.32), a external quantum efficiency of 1.9%, and a color rendering index of 70. Such a structure also provides an accurate sensing tool to measure the exciton diffusion length in both DPVBi and NPB (8.7 and 4.9 nm respectively)

Interleukin 10 and transforming growth factor‐beta 1 plasma levels in atopic dogs before and during immunotherapy

Background: Human studies suggest that the cytokines, interleukin 10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-ß1) may play an important role in allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT). However, there is little known about the function of these cytokines in atopic dogs. This study compared the plasma levels of IL-10 and TGF-ß1 in atopic and control dogs and investigated their changes during different ASIT approaches. Methods: A total of 54 atopic and 32 control dogs were included. Immunotherapy was performed in 30 atopic dogs. The dogs undergoing immunotherapy were allocated to four groups of different ASIT approaches (namely subcutaneous, intralymphatic, sublingual ASIT and subcutaneous ASIT with recombinant allergens). Blood samples were collected at four timepoints throughout the one year of ASIT. Canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index, pruritus visual analogue scale and medication score were recorded at each timepoint. Commercially available ELISA kits were used to quantify IL-10 and TGF-ß1 in plasma. Results: There was no significant difference in IL-10 and TGF-ß1 between atopic and control dogs. The IL-10 levels were significantly increased in the intralymphatic group at the end of the study. No significant differences were found in the other groups for both IL-10 and TGF-ß1. Conclusion: The findings of this work suggest that IL-10 and TGF-ß1 cannot be used to monitor the course of the disease during ASIT

A novel therapeutic diet can significantly reduce the medication score and pruritus of dogs with atopic dermatitis during a nine‐month controlled study

Background: Canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) is a common chronic relapsing pruritic skin disease for which management commonly relies on life-long use of immunomodulatory drugs. A number of the medications used are associated with adverse effects and the potential for complications during long-term use. Hypothesis: The goal of the study was to determine if a complete and balanced diet formulated for therapeutic benefit could contribute towards management of cAD. We hypothesised that the diet would reduce pruritus while also reducing the requirement for medication during the study period. Animals, materials and methods: Forty privately owned dogs, having undergone a comprehensive diagnosis for cAD, were randomly allocated to two groups, each group being fed one of two diets (test or control) for up to nine months. We assessed pruritus, Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index-(4th iteration) and medication score, the latter reflecting the medication required to maintain a satisfactory quality of life for the animal. Results: Both diets were well-accepted and -tolerated. There was a significant improvement in the pruritus score after three months of feeding the therapeutic diet (P = 0.0001). No such improvement was observed at any time point in the group of dogs given the control diet. There was a reduced drug requirement for dogs receiving the therapeutic diet after three months (P = 0.058), and that decrease was significant at six months (P = 0.021) and nine months (P = 0.018). No improvement was seen at any time point in the control group. Conclusion: The results suggest that a novel therapeutic diet can assist in the management of cAD by helping to control pruritus and reducing reliance on medication

Historical sociology and sociological history : theory and practice

Digitised version produced by the EUI Library and made available online in 2020

Haplotype-sharing analysis using Mantel statistics for combined genetic effects

We applied a new approach based on Mantel statistics to analyze the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 simulated data with prior knowledge of the answers. The method was developed in order to improve the power of a haplotype sharing analysis for gene mapping in complex disease. The new statistic correlates genetic similarity and phenotypic similarity across pairs of haplotypes from case-control studies. The genetic similarity is measured as the shared length between haplotype pairs around a genetic marker. The phenotypic similarity is measured as the mean corrected cross-product based on the respective phenotypes. Cases with phenotype P1 and unrelated controls were drawn from the population of Danacaa. Power to detect main effects was compared to the X(2)-test for association based on 3-marker haplotypes and a global permutation test for haplotype association to test for main effects. Power to detect gene × gene interaction was compared to unconditional logistic regression. The results suggest that the Mantel statistics might be more powerful than alternative tests

Magnet displacement: a rare complication following cochlear implantation

The purpose of this paper is to describe cases which reported complication after cochlear implantation in children: displacement of magnet from the receiver pocket, possibly aided by the use of magnetic toys. We observed magnet displacement in two female children from the same family and in one male child. Age at implantation was 23, 51, and 24months, respectively. Magnet displacement occurred at 37, 16, and 32months, respectively after the initial surgery. The magnets were replaced under general anaesthesia and we did not observe recurrent magnet dislodgement. Measurements indicated that forces required to remove the magnet from its pocket were not greater than those exerted by magnetic toys or the magnet used in the external sender coil. Although magnet displacement is not common after cochlear implantation, it is a major complication in children where subsequent general anaesthesia and surgery are necessary to replace the magnet. Therefore, we propose that pockets for removable magnets of cochlear implants used in children should be redesigned to increase forces to remove the magnet or that removable magnets not be used at al