Southern Ocean Satellite Data Requirements Survey Responses

<p>Full responses to a SOOS/CliC community survey on Southern Ocean satellite needs. </p> <p>The survey was originally embedded at http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/so-sat-req</p> <p>These answers are published in tandem to a summary community report (Pope et al., Antarctic Science).</p

Piezoelectric Peptide Nanotube Substrate Sensors Activated through Sound Wave Energy

The use of sustainable and safe materials is increasingly in demand for the creation of photonic-based technology. Piezoelectric peptide nanotubes make up a class of safe and sustainable materials. We show that these materials can generate piezoelectric charge through the deformation of oriented molecular dipoles when the tube length is flexed through the application of sound energy. Through the combination of peptide nanotubes with plasmon active nanomaterials, harvesting of low-frequency acoustic sound waves was achieved. This effect was applied to boost surface-enhanced Raman scattering signal detection of analytes, including glucose. This work demonstrates the potential of utilizing sound to boost sensing by using piezoelectric materials

The effect of particle size, temperature and residence time on the yields and reactivity of olive stones from torrefaction

Olive stones obtained as a by-product from olive oil extraction in combination with the favourable climate in Mediterranean countries are value-added feedstocks for the energy sector due to low moisture content ( 20 wt. %), suitable calorific value ( 18.7 MJ kg−1 as received) and high bulk density (about 750 kg m−3). The torrefaction process at Arigna Fuels with high energy efficiency of (above 90%) improves biomass properties for conversion to a high-value fuel for use in solid fuel stoves. This study reports the effect of moisture content, organic composition, inorganic matter, particle size, heat treatment temperature and residence time on product yields, O2/CO2 reactivity, calorific value, composition and thermal conductivity value of torrefied olive stones. Results showed that both lignocellulosic content and ash composition equally influenced the reactivity of torrefied material. For the first time, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) showed that the structure of torrefied material from small olive stone particles contains more cellulose than lignin when compared to large grains. Importantly from a technological standpoint, the lower heating values of torrefied olive stones (21.8 MJ kg−1) [1] from a small scale reactor were within the range of values for torrefied woodchip briquettes containing high starch binder content which was an energy increase of 15% when compared to the raw feedstock. The results showed that olive stones of particle size ≤ 2 mm produced during torrefaction at 270 °C for 30 min are the most suitable material and conditions for briquetting due to high solid yield, low reactivity and low thermal conductivity values. These conditions are recommended for the pilot plant operation using olive stones from the Mediterranean region

Characterization of woodstove briquettes from torrefied biomass and coal

Using waste biomass materials offers the potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Torrefaction is very useful for improving the fuel properties of biomass in order to better match those of coal. The aim of this work is to compare the properties of torrefied low quality biomass briquettes against coal equivalents. The composition of the briquettes was characterized by 13C CP/MAS, proximate analysis, and X-ray diffraction and the results were compared with equilibrium calculations. In addition to these techniques, we report for the first time on the use of XμCT for characterizing such materials. The XμCT analysis showed that the briquette structure contains carbon, binder and inorganic matter, with quartz retained from the original feedstock in torrefied biomass and coal briquettes. The CO2 reactivity of pulverized briquettes was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Results showed that the inorganic matter influences the reactivity less than the organic composition and porosity. Importantly from a technological standpoint, the increase in binder concentration and replacement of starch with resin binder did not influence the reactivity and calorific value of a pulverized briquette

Additional file 1 of Past climate change on Sky Islands drives novelty in a core developmental gene network and its phenotype

Supplementary figures and tables. This files includes supplementary tables and figures to the main manuscript. (PDF 4085kb

The History of the Christian Academy 1875-1952

The History of the Christian Academy 1875 - 1952 Vácslav Babička The Christian Academy was established in 1875 as an association of Catholic intelligentsia. The association's chief initiator was the Vyšehrad canon Mikuláš Karlach, who sought support from the Vyšehrad chapter and the St Wenceslas savings society. The activities of the association were divided into four branches: academic, musical, artistic and archaeological (the last two were soon incorporated into a single branch). The association's first president was former Minister of Culture and Education Dr Josef Jireček. The academic department dealt with the publication of theological treatises, the organisation of lectures and the administration of the specialist library. It published the Catholic Clergy Journal and, for its German members, the Christliche Akademie. The first chairman of the academic department was Dr Klement Borový. The music department endeavoured for the reform of liturgical instrumental and vocal music, it promoted the Gregorian chant and polyphony, it organised concerts and organ courses and brought out the magazine Cecilie, later re-named Cyrill. The first chairman of the music department was Ferdinand Lehner. The art department published assessments on the construction and restoration of churches and their interiors,..

Theoretical and practical issues of community property of spouses

My thesis deals with the complex institution of community property of spouses. After the short introduction which includes the survey of the development of community property of spouses on Czech territory, thesis characterises the theoretical and practical analysis of the important items of the community property of spouses. Generally spoken, thesis contains - besides introduction and conclusion - nine chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into several subchapters and some of them are subdivided into the parts. My thesis utilized achievements of the Czech expert literature as well as judicature of the Czech courts. Chapter One deals with the history of community property of spouses on the Czech territory. Chapter Two is concerned with the explanation of the formation of the community property of spouses. Chapter Three relates to the origin of community property of spouses. Chapter Four is addressed to the object. Chapter Five describes the contents of community property of spouses. Chapter Six examines the problems of the community property of spouses connected with business. Chapter last focuses on the problems of termination, restoration and settlement of community property of spouses. At the conclusion of my thesis I focus on my fundamental idea of the regime of property arrangement between spouses in the..

Additional file 1: of G-DOC Plus – an integrative bioinformatics platform for precision medicine

Front page of G-DOC Plus showing total number of studies, and samples in various disease types. (PNG 885 kb

A study of emissions from domestic solid-fuel stove combustion in Ireland

Solid-fuel stoves are at the heart of many homes not only in developing nations, but also in developed regions where there is significant deployment of such heating appliances. They are often operated inefficiently and in association with high emission fuels like wood. This leads to disproportionate air pollution contributions. Despite the proliferation of these appliances, an understanding of particulate matter (PM) emissions from these sources remains relatively low. Emissions from five solid fuels are quantified using a “conventional” and an Eco design stove. PM measurements are obtained using both “hot filter” sampling of the raw flue gas, and sampling of cooled, diluted flue gas using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor and AE33 aethalometer. PM emissions factors (EF) derived from diluted flue gas incorporate light condensable organic compounds; hence they are generally higher than those obtained with “hot filter” sampling, which do not. Overall, the PM EFs ranged from 0.2 to 108.2 g GJ−1 for solid fuels. The PM EF determined for a solid fuel depends strongly on the measurement method employed and on user behavior, and less strongly on secondary air supply and stove type. Kerosene-based firelighters were found to make a disproportionately high contribution to PM emissions. Organic aerosol dominated PM composition for all fuels, constituting 50−65% of PM from bituminous and low-smoke ovoids, and 85−95% from torrefied olive stone (TOS) briquettes, sod peat, and wood logs. Torrefied biomass and low-smoke ovoids were found to yield the lowest PM emissions. Substituting these fuels for smoky coal, peat, and wood could reduce PM2.5 emissions by approximately 63%

Combined analytical strategies for chemical and physical characterization of tar from torrefaction of olive stone

The advance in analytical methodology is critical for progress in 1) biorefinery and 2) torrefaction product commercialization. The chemical characterisation of torrefaction liquid and concentrated tar produced by Arigna Fuels’ pyrolysis plant allowed identification of polar, volatile, non-volatile compounds, species containing organically bound sulphur and nitrogen heteroatoms. The results suggest that only combined use of ion chromatography with Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, and 1 H-13C HS-QC can provide comprehensive information on sugar-like material and lignin-derived compounds. Due to the technical robustness and short analysis time, Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer was found to be a promising tool for tar analysis containing heavy molecular compounds. Importantly from a technological standpoint, the presence of aromatic and saturated compounds in both liquid and concentrated tar samples indicated the predominance of lignin-derived compounds over products originating from cellulose and hemicellulose polymers