750 research outputs found
Three-dimensional Inkjet Printed Solid Oxide Electrochemical Reactors. I. Yttria-stabilized zirconia Electrolyte
Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and electrolyser (SOE) performances can be enhanced significantly by increasing the densities of (electrode | electrolyte | pore) triple phase boundaries and improving geometric reproducibility and control over composite electrode | electrolyte microstructures, thereby also aiding predictive performance modelling. We developed stable aqueous colloidal dispersions of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), a common SOFC electrolyte material, and used them to fabricate 2D planar and highly-customisable 3D microstructures by inkjet printing. The effects of solids fraction, particle size, and binder concentration on structures were investigated, and crack-free, non-porous electrolyte planes were obtained by tailoring particle size and minimising binder concentration. Micro-pillar arrays and square lattices were printed with the optimised ink composition, and a minimum feature size of 35 μm was achieved in sintered structures, the smallest published to-date. YSZ particles were printed and sintered to a 23 μm thick planar electrolyte in a Ni-YSZ|YSZ|YSZ-LSM|LSM electrolyser for CO2 splitting; a feed of 9:1 CO2:CO mixture at 1.5 V and 809 °C produced a current density of −0.78 A cm−2 even without more complex 3D electrode | electrolyte geometries
GAIA accuracy on radial velocities assessed from a synthetic spectra database
Spectrograph aboard the GAIA satellite operates in the near-IR, in the 8490--
8740 \AA window accessible also from the ground. The most important parameter
yet to be determined is the spectral resolution. Realistic estimates of the
zodiacal light background are obtained and a total of
correlation runs are used to study the accuracy of radial velocity measured by
the spectrograph as a function of resolution, magnitude of the target, its
spectral type and luminosity class. Accuracy better than 2 km/s is achievable
for bright stars if a high enough dispersion is chosen. Radial velocity error
of 5 km/s is at for Cepheids and at 17.7 for horizontal branch stars.
Even for very faint objects, with spectra dominated by background and readout
noise, the optimal dispersion is still in the 0.25 / 0.75 \AA/pix range. This
is also true for complicated cases such as spectroscopic binaries or if
information other than radial velocity, i.e. abundances of individual elements
or stellar rotation velocity, is sought after. The results can be scaled to
assess performance of future ground based instruments.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 8 pages, 4
figure
Rethinking African development: Beyond impasse, towards alternatives
ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde
Comparison of the COBE FIRAS and DIRBE Calibrations
We compare the independent FIRAS and DIRBE observations from the COBE in the
wavelength range 100-300 microns. This cross calibration provides checks of
both data sets. The results show that the data sets are consistent within the
estimated gain and offset uncertainties of the two instruments. They show the
possibility of improving the gain and offset determination of DIRBE at 140 and
240 microns.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal 11 pages, plus
3 figures in separate postscript files. Figure 3 has three part
Submillimeter wavelength survey of the galactic plane from l = -5 deg to l = +62 deg: Structure and energetics of the inner disk
Results from a large scale survey of the first quadrant of the Milky Way galactic plane at wavelengths of 150, 250, and 300 microns with a 10x10 arcmin beam are presented. The emission detected in the survey arises from compact sources, most of which are identified with known peaks of 5 GHz and/or CO emission, and from an underlying diffuse background with a typical angular width of approximately 0.9 deg (FWHM) which accounts for most of the emission. A total of 80 prominent discrete sources were identified and characterized, of which about half were not previously reported at far infrared wavelengths. The total infrared luminosity within the solar circle is approximately 1 to 2x10 to the 10th power L sub 0, and is probably emitted by dust that resides in molecular clouds
Density matrix theory of transport and gain in quantum cascade lasers in a magnetic field
A density matrix theory of electron transport and optical gain in quantum cascade lasers in an external
magnetic field is formulated. Starting from a general quantum kinetic treatment, we describe the intraperiod
and interperiod electron dynamics at the non-Markovian, Markovian, and Boltzmann approximation levels.
Interactions of electrons with longitudinal optical phonons and classical light fields are included in the present description. The non-Markovian calculation for a prototype structure reveals a significantly different gain
spectra in terms of linewidth and additional polaronic features in comparison to the Markovian and Boltzmann
ones. Despite strongly controversial interpretations of the origin of the transport processes in the non-
Markovian or Markovian and the Boltzmann approaches, they yield comparable values of the current densities
Structural and magnetic properties of an InGaAs/FeSi superlattice in cylindrical geometry
The structure and the magnetic properties of an InGaAs/Fe3Si superlattice in
a cylindrical geometry are investigated by electron microscopy techniques,
x-ray diffraction and magnetometry. To form a radial superlattice, a
pseudomorphic InGaAs/Fe3As bilayer has been released from its substrate
self-forming into a rolled-up microtube. Oxide-free interfaces as well as areas
of crystalline bonding are observed and an overall lattice mismatch between
succeeding layers is determined. The cylindrical symmetry of the final radial
superlattice shows a significant effect on the magnetization behavior of the
rolled-up layers
Coupled monoubiquitylation of the co-E3 ligase DCNL1 by Ariadne RBR E3 ubiquitin ligases promotes cullin-RING ligase complex remodeling
Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) are large and diverse multisubunit protein complexes that contribute to about one-fifth of ubiquitin-dependent protein turnover in cells. CRLs are activated by the attachment of the ubiquitin-like protein neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally down-regulated 8 (NEDD8) to the cullin subunits. This cullin neddylation is essential for a plethora of CRL-regulated cellular processes and is vital for life. In mammals, neddylation is promoted by the five co-E3 ligases, defective in cullin neddylation 1 domain-containing 1-5 (DCNL1-5); however, their functional regulation within the CRL complex remains elusive. We found here that the ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain-containing DCNL1 is monoubiquitylated when bound to CRLs and that this monoubiquitylation depends on the CRL-associated Ariadne RBR ligases TRIAD1 (ARIH2) and HHARI (ARIH1) and strictly requires the DCNL1's UBA domain. Reconstitution of DCNL1 monoubiquitylation in vitro revealed that autoubiquitylated TRIAD1 mediates binding to the UBA domain and subsequently promotes a single ubiquitin attachment to DCNL1 in a mechanism previously dubbed coupled monoubiquitylation. Moreover, we provide evidence that DCNL1 monoubiquitylation is required for efficient CRL activity, most likely by remodeling CRLs and their substrate receptors. Collectively, this work identifies DCNL1 as a critical target of Ariadne RBR ligases and coupled monoubiquitylation of DCNL1 as an integrated mechanism that affects CRL activity and client-substrate ubiquitylation at multiple levels
The COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment Search for the Cosmic Infrared Background: I. Limits and Detections
The DIRBE on the COBE spacecraft was designed primarily to conduct systematic
search for an isotropic CIB in ten photometric bands from 1.25 to 240 microns.
The results of that search are presented here. Conservative limits on the CIB
are obtained from the minimum observed brightness in all-sky maps at each
wavelength, with the faintest limits in the DIRBE spectral range being at 3.5
microns (\nu I_\nu < 64 nW/m^2/sr, 95% CL) and at 240 microns (\nu I_\nu < 28
nW/m^2/sr, 95% CL). The bright foregrounds from interplanetary dust scattering
and emission, stars, and interstellar dust emission are the principal
impediments to the DIRBE measurements of the CIB. These foregrounds have been
modeled and removed from the sky maps. Assessment of the random and systematic
uncertainties in the residuals and tests for isotropy show that only the 140
and 240 microns data provide candidate detections of the CIB. The residuals and
their uncertainties provide CIB upper limits more restrictive than the dark sky
limits at wavelengths from 1.25 to 100 microns. No plausible solar system or
Galactic source of the observed 140 and 240 microns residuals can be
identified, leading to the conclusion that the CIB has been detected at levels
of \nu I_\nu = 25+-7 and 14+-3 nW/m^2/sr at 140 and 240 microns respectively.
The integrated energy from 140 to 240 microns, 10.3 nW/m^2/sr, is about twice
the integrated optical light from the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field,
suggesting that star formation might have been heavily enshrouded by dust at
high redshift. The detections and upper limits reported here provide new
constraints on models of the history of energy-releasing processes and dust
production since the decoupling of the cosmic microwave background from matter.Comment: 26 pages and 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophyical
Journa
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