•Gasoline–ethanol–methanol mixtures can be used as ‘drop-in’ fuels for E85.•These fuels can help to remove the biomass limit of ethanol.•Iso-stoichiometric GEM fuels are compared on an engine test ...bench.•Similar BTE, volumetric efficiency and knock behavior are reported.
Removing the biomass limit is one of the great challenges to further enlarge the share of renewable ethanol as alternative for fossil fuels. One of the possible solutions for this constraint are the ternary GEM (Gasoline–Ethanol–Methanol) blends. The air-to-fuel ratio of these blends is hereby chosen at the value of an E85-blend (9.75kg air/kg fuel) while the ethanol is replaced by methanol/gasoline and therefore these blends are called ‘iso-stoichiometric’. If the methanol is produced out of renewable sources, these blends can help extend the part of clean fuels on the market. The ternary blends show few differences in physical properties for the total range of possible blends and are considered as drop-in alternatives to the original E85-blend for a flex fuel engine. In this paper the performance and engine-out emissions of four of these GEM-blends were examined on a 4 cylinder 1.8l PFI production engine. A single cylinder engine with high compression ratio was used for a preliminary study of the knock behavior of these blends. The measurement results are compared with those on neat gasoline, methanol and ethanol to demonstrate the potential of these ternary blends as a fossil fuel alternative. All the GEM fuels which were tested gave very similar results to E85 and can therefore indeed be used as ‘drop-in’ fuels for flex-fuel vehicles.
Abstract Understanding telescope pointing (i.e. line of sight) is important for observing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and astronomical objects. The Moon is a candidate astronomical source ...for pointing calibration. Although the visible size of the Moon (30′) is larger than that of the planets, we can frequently observe the Moon once a month with a high signal-to-noise ratio. We developed a method for performing pointing calibration using observational data from the Moon. We considered the tilts of the telescope axes as well as the encoder and collimation offsets for pointing calibration. In addition, we evaluated the effects of the nonuniformity of the brightness temperature of the Moon, which is a dominant systematic error. As a result, we successfully achieved a pointing accuracy of 3.3′. This is one order of magnitude smaller than an angular resolution of 36′. This level of accuracy competes with past achievements in other ground-based CMB experiments using observational data from the planets.
The aim of the present study was to propose a strategy for the implementation of a Process Analytical Technology system in freeze-drying processes. Mannitol solutions, some of them supplied with ...NaCl, were used as models to freeze-dry. Noninvasive and in-line Raman measurements were continuously performed during lyophilization of the solutions to monitor real time the mannitol solid state, the end points of the different process steps (freezing, primary drying, secondary drying), and physical phenomena occurring during the process. At-line near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) measurements were done to confirm the Raman conclusions and to find out additional information. The collected spectra during the processes were analyzed using principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution. A two-level full factorial design was used to study the significant influence of process (freezing rate) and formulation variables (concentration of mannitol, concentration of NaCl, volume of freeze-dried sample) upon freeze-drying. Raman spectroscopy was able to monitor (i) the mannitol solid state (amorphous, α, β, δ, and hemihydrate), (ii) several process step end points (end of mannitol crystallization during freezing, primary drying), and (iii) physical phenomena occurring during freeze-drying (onset of ice nucleation, onset of mannitol crystallization during the freezing step, onset of ice sublimation). NIR proved to be a more sensitive tool to monitor sublimation than Raman spectroscopy, while XRPD helped to unravel the mannitol hemihydrate in the samples. The experimental design results showed that several process and formulation variables significantly influence different aspects of lyophilization and that both are interrelated. Raman spectroscopy (in-line) and NIR spectroscopy and XRPD (at-line) not only allowed the real-time monitoring of mannitol freeze-drying processes but also helped (in combination with experimental design) us to understand the process.
We have measured parity-violating asymmetries in elastic electron-proton and quasielastic electron-deuteron scattering at Q2=0.22 and 0.63 GeV2. They are sensitive to strange quark contributions to ...currents in the nucleon and the nucleon axial-vector current. The results indicate strange quark contributions of approximately < 10% of the charge and magnetic nucleon form factors at these four-momentum transfers. We also present the first measurement of anapole moment effects in the axial-vector current at these four-momentum transfers.
We have measured the beam-normal single-spin asymmetries in elastic scattering of transversely polarized electrons from the proton, and performed the first measurement in quasielastic scattering on ...the deuteron, at backward angles (lab scattering angle of 108°) for Q² = 0.22 GeV²/c² and 0.63 GeV²/c² at beam energies of 362 and 687 MeV, respectively. The asymmetry arises due to the imaginary part of the interference of the two-photon exchange amplitude with that of single-photon exchange. Results for the proton are consistent with a model calculation which includes inelastic intermediate hadronic (πN) states. An estimate of the beam-normal single-spin asymmetry for the scattering from the neutron is made using a quasistatic deuterium approximation, and is also in agreement with theory.
An effective diagnostic strategy for urinalysis should be based on standard procedures for collection, transport, sample preparation and analysis. In view of a better reproducibility of the analyses, ...the pre-analytical requirements become stricter. Various sample methods can cause significant pre-analytical errors. It is a challenge for the laboratory to control the steps in the pre-analytical phase that contribute to pre-analytical variability. To reduce the variability, it is necessary to look at the pre-analytical process as a complete entity, from test ordering to the moment of specimen processing. Clinical laboratories are responsible for the clinical and financial outcome of this phase. In a culture of increasing productivity, lower costs and improving quality, the challenge is to use several tools designed to standardize and optimize urinalysis. Despite advances in the performance of analytic systems, the pre-analytical phase of modern urinalyses has not been studied very thoroughly. This review of the literature lights on different problems in current pre-analytical requirements for particle and test strip analysis of urine samples.
Three cases of feline cerebellar hypoplasia are presented. At the time of examination, the ages of the cats ranged from 2 months to 1 year. Necropsy revealed cerebellar and pons hypoplasia. ...Polymerase chain reaction for parvoviral deoxyribonucleic acid was positive in cerebellar tissue. Cell-specific immunolabeling was used to characterize the lesions, which were characterized into 2 types. In type 1 lesions, the cortex was nearly agranular, with an extremely thin molecular layer; the Purkinje cells were randomly placed and oriented, and their stunted main dendrite produced a thorn-covered atrophic dendritic tree; the basket cell axons ran randomly and had dysmorphic endings; and myelinated fibers were severely reduced in folia axes. In type 2 lesions, the cortex was hypogranular; the Purkinje cells were linearly organized, but their main dendrite extended too far in the molecular layer before giving up smooth, bent secondary dendrites; many basket cells were located along the cerebellar surface, and their axons ran at right angle to the surface; myelinated fibers were moderately reduced. Defects in climbing fiber synapse translocation and elimination were evident in both types of lesion. This immunohistologic study allowed a comparison between lesions in these spontaneous cerebellar hypoplasia cases with those documented when using silver impregnation studies after perinatal experimental cerebellar damage. Such a comparison is consistent with viral infection that occurs before birth in all 3 cases. Progress in parvovirus biology knowledge suggests that viral NS1 protein cytotoxicity might explain degenerative changes in the Purkinje cells that were present, in addition to the development defect.
The parity-violating (PV) asymmetry of inclusive π- production in electron scattering from a liquid deuterium target was measured at backward angles. The measurement was conducted as a part of the G0 ...experiment, at a beam energy of 360 MeV. The physics process dominating pion production for these kinematics is quasifree photoproduction off the neutron via the Δ0 resonance. In the context of heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory, this asymmetry is related to a low-energy constant d(Δ)- that characterizes the parity-violating γNΔ coupling. Zhu et al. calculated d(Δ)- in a model benchmarked by the large asymmetries seen in hyperon weak radiative decays, and predicted potentially large asymmetries for this process, ranging from A(γ)-=-5.2 to +5.2 ppm. The measurement performed in this work leads to A(γ)-=-0.36±1.06±0.37±0.03 ppm (where sources of statistical, systematic and theoretical uncertainties are included), which would disfavor enchancements considered by Zhu et al. proportional to V(ud)/V(us). The measurement is part of a program of inelastic scattering measurements that were conducted by the G0 experiment, seeking to determine the N-Δ axial transition form factors using PV electron scattering.
A new monoclonal antibody (mAb), CCV2-2, was compared with the widely used FIPV3-70 mAb, both directed against canine coronavirus (CCoV), as a diagnostic and research tool. Western blot showed that ...both anti-CCoV mAbs only reacted with a protein of 50 kD, a weight consistent with the feline coronavirus (FCoV) viral nucleocapsid. A competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that the 2 recognized epitopes are distinct. Preincubation of CCV2-2 mAb with FCoV antigen suppressed the immunostaining. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from brains of 15 cats with the dry form of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) were examined by immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry was performed with both anti-CCoV mAbs, either on consecutive or on the same sections. A myeloid-histiocytic marker, MAC 387, was also used to identify FIP virus-infected cells. In all regions where MAC 387-positive cells were present, positive staining with the CCV2-2 mAb was systematically detected, except at some levels in 1 cat. In contrast, none or only a few cells were positive for the FIPV3-70 mAb. Double immunostaining showed macrophages that were immunopositive for either CCV2-2 alone or alternatively for CCV2-2 and FIPV3-70 mAbs. This reveals the coexistence of 2 cohorts of phagocytes whose FIP viral contents differed by the presence or absence of the FIPV3-70-recognized epitope. These findings provide evidence for antigenic heterogeneity in coronavirus nucleocapsid protein in FIP lesions, a result that is in line with molecular observations. In addition, we provide for the first time morphologic depiction of viral variants distribution in these lesions.
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