So far, the optical pulses used in phase-sensitive OTDR (ΦOTDR) were typically engineered so as to have a constant phase along the pulse. In this work, it is demonstrated that by acting on the phase ...profile of the optical pulses, it is possible to introduce important conceptual and practical changes to the traditional ΦOTDR operation, thus opening a door for new possibilities which are yet to be explored. Using a ΦOTDR with linearly chirped pulses and direct detection, the distributed measurement of temperature/strain changes from trace to trace, with 1mK/4nε resolution, is theoreticaly and experimentaly demonstrated. The measurand resolution and sensitivity can be tuned by acting on the pulse chirp profile. The technique does not require a frequency sweep, thus greatly decreasing the measurement time and complexity of the system, while maintaining the potential for metric spatial resolutions over tens of kilometers as in conventional ΦOTDR. The technique allows for measurements at kHz rates, while maintaining reliability over several hours.
Today, one of the main targets of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane manufacturers is to increase boron rejection. For drinking water, the regulations in Spain are quite strict in terms of ...maximum boron content. The aim of this work is to propose a prediction model for average boron permeability coefficient as boric acid by evaluating the fluctuations of boron permeate concentration due to the different operating conditions of the plant under study. The SWRO desalination plant used for this study is located in Spain and has 9 trains with a production capacity of around 7200 m3 d−1 per train. Data from about 1500 operating days were considered. Operating data including pressure, conductivity, flow, temperature, pH and boron permeate concentration were collected during the study period. All racks did not have the same number of pressure vessels or operating conditions. Boron permeate concentration was between 0.5 and 2 mg L−1 for the membrane element TM820S-400 and between 0.25 and 0.75 mg L−1 for the membrane element TM820L-440. The model is based on the superposition of three exponential functions considering the influence of feed pressure, feed-brine temperature and operating time. The obtained results with the proposed model showed more adaptable to the experimental data than previous model.
•Membrane performance decline and boron rejection in long-term•Operating data of a SWRO desalination plant over 40,000 h•New model for the prediction of the boron permeability coefficient
In the present work the distribution of oxygen compounds in the total organic acid content of ten crude oils was assessed by means of negative ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion ...cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry ((−) ESI FT-ICR-MS). As a first attempt, the relative abundance of the O2 class was related to the total acid number (TAN) for samples following the state of the art, and no positive correlation was achieved. Therefore, we performed the selective isolation of acidic compounds via solid phase extraction using amino-propyl silica (APS), finding an acceptable correlation (R 2 = 0.98) between acidic fraction percentage and TAN. Both the reliability and performance of the APS method were confirmed using a chosen sample as control. FT-IR spectroscopy was employed to validate the acidic nature of the isolated fraction. In the IR spectrum of the acidic fractions, characteristic signals of carboxylic acids, such as the sharp band around 1700 cm–1 and the wide band around 2300–3500 cm–1, were identified. Additionally in such fractions, oxygenated classes such as O2, NO2, O3, SO2, and O3S were detected through (−) ESI FT-ICR-MS. Nevertheless, it can be said that none of these classes exclusively belong to the acidic fraction since for instance, O2 and NO2 compounds were found in both nonacid and acid fractions. In this sense, some O2 compounds may be considered to be bifunctionalized alcohols, phenols, ketones, or ethers. Finally, by comparing the contour plots DBE vs carbon number of chosen samples, it was possible to infer that the contribution of the O2 class over the TAN is structure dependent for samples with TAN lower than 0.5 mg KOH/g. Thus, the DBE distribution within the acidic and nonacidic fractions must be carefully considered in order to estimate their relevance over the total acid content.
One of the most prominent hole‐transporting material (HTM) for hybrid perovskite solar cells has been 2,2″,7,7″‐tetrakisN,N‐di(4‐methoxyphenyl)amino‐9,9′‐spirobifluorene (spiro‐OMeTAD), which is ...commonly doped with metal bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (M(TFSI)n) salts that contribute to generating the active radical cation HTM species. The underlying role of the metal cation, however, remains elusive. Here, the effect of metal cations (M = Li, Zn, Ca, Cu, and Sc) on doping spiro‐OMeTAD is analyzed by a combination of techniques, including electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry, which is complemented by photovoltaic device and hole mobility analysis. As a result, the authors reveal the superiority of Zn(TFSI)2 salts in device performances as compared to the others, including redox‐active Cu(TFSI)2. This analysis thereby unravels new design principles for dopant engineering in HTMs for hybrid perovskite photovoltaics.
Dopant engineering for spiro‐OMeTAD hole‐transporting materials towards efficient perovskite solar cells. The presence of M(TFSI)n salts as p‐type dopants are required to improve the hole transfer of spiro‐OMeTAD, critical for photovoltaic performance. This study assesses the role of metal cations in the process, revealing the superiority of Zn‐based dopants as compared to redox‐active Cu‐based ones and others as producing a very high fill factor of close to 80% a VOC of 1.15 V and a power conversion efficiency of 21.9%.
ObjectiveWestern lifestyle and diet are major environmental factors playing a role in the development of IBD. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are widely used as food additives or in ...pharmaceutical formulations and are consumed by millions of people on a daily basis. We investigated the effects of TiO2 in the development of colitis and the role of the nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain receptor, pyrin domain containing (NLRP)3 inflammasome.DesignWild-type and NLRP3-deficient mice with dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis were orally administered with TiO2 nanoparticles. The proinflammatory effects of TiO2 particles in cultured human intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and macrophages were also studied, as well as the ability of TiO2 crystals to traverse IEC monolayers and accumulate in the blood of patients with IBD using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.ResultsOral administration of TiO2 nanoparticles worsened acute colitis through a mechanism involving the NLRP3 inflammasome. Importantly, crystals were found to accumulate in spleen of TiO2-administered mice. In vitro, TiO2 particles were taken up by IECs and macrophages and triggered NLRP3-ASC-caspase-1 assembly, caspase-1 cleavage and the release of NLRP3-associated interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. TiO2 also induced reactive oxygen species generation and increased epithelial permeability in IEC monolayers. Increased levels of titanium were found in blood of patients with UC having active disease.ConclusionThese findings indicate that individuals with a defective intestinal barrier function and pre-existing inflammatory condition, such as IBD, might be negatively impacted by the use of TiO2 nanoparticles.
In the present work, we consider a hybrid plexciton composed of a semiconductor quantum dot interacting with a topological insulator nanoparticle subject to an external magnetic field. Due to the ...topological magnetoelectricity of the nanoparticle, long-living plasmonic surface modes are induced, which are quantized and coupled with the quantum dot through its polarization operator. We consider the hybrid as an open quantum system, such that environment effects are accounted by the master equation in the Born-Markov approximation. Then, we apply the Peres' positive partial transpose criterion to quantify the entanglement of the hybrid. We show that this entanglement is a direct signature of the Formula: see text invariant of topological insulators.
Mountain roads in developing countries are known to increase landslide occurrence due to often inadequate drainage systems and mechanical destabilization of hillslopes by undercutting and ...overloading. This study empirically investigates landslide initiation frequency along two paved interurban highways in the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador across different climatic regimes. Generalized additive models (GAM) and generalized linear models (GLM) were used to analyze the relationship between mapped landslide initiation points and distance to highway while accounting for topographic, climatic, and geological predictors as possible confounders. A spatial block bootstrap was used to obtain nonparametric confidence intervals for the odds ratio of landslide occurrence near the highways (25 m distance) compared to a 200 m distance. The estimated odds ratio was 18-21, with lower 95% confidence bounds >13 in all analyses. Spatial bootstrap estimation using the GAM supports the higher odds ratio estimate of 21.2 (95% confidence interval: 15.5-25.3). The highway-related effects were observed to fade at about 150 m distance. Road effects appear to be enhanced in geological units characterized by Holocene gravels and Laramide andesite/basalt. Overall, landslide susceptibility was found to be more than 1 order of magnitude higher in close proximity to paved interurban highways in the Andes of southern Ecuador.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, asthma and pulmonary tuberculosis are common pulmonary diseases that are caused or worsened by tobacco smoking. Growing observational ...evidence suggests that symptoms and prognosis of these conditions improve upon smoking cessation. Despite increasing numbers of (small) randomised controlled trials suggesting intensive smoking cessation treatments work in people with pulmonary diseases many patients are not given specific advice on the benefits or referred for intensive cessation treatments and, therefore, continue smoking.This is a qualitative review regarding smoking cessation in patients with COPD and other pulmonary disorders, written by a group of European Respiratory Society experts. We describe the epidemiological links between smoking and pulmonary disorders, the evidence for benefits of stopping smoking, how best to assess tobacco dependence and what interventions currently work best to help pulmonary patients quit. Finally, we describe characteristics and management of any "hardcore" smoker who finds it difficult to quit with standard approaches.
SUMMARY
The colonization of land by a single streptophyte algae lineage some 450 million years ago has been linked to multiple key innovations such as three‐dimensional growth, alternation of ...generations, the presence of stomata, as well as innovations inherent to the birth of major plant lineages, such as the origins of vascular tissues, roots, seeds and flowers. Multicellularity, which evolved multiple times in the Chloroplastida coupled with precise spatiotemporal control of proliferation and differentiation were instrumental for the evolution of these traits. RETINOBLASTOMA‐RELATED (RBR), the plant homolog of the metazoan Retinoblastoma protein (pRB), is a highly conserved and multifunctional core cell cycle regulator that has been implicated in the evolution of multicellularity in the green lineage as well as in plant multicellularity‐related processes such as proliferation, differentiation, stem cell regulation and asymmetric cell division. RBR fulfills these roles through context‐specific protein–protein interactions with proteins containing the Leu‐x‐Cys‐x‐Glu (LxCxE) short‐linear motif (SLiM); however, how RBR‐LxCxE interactions have changed throughout major innovations in the Viridiplantae kingdom is a question that remains unexplored. Here, we employ an in silico evo‐devo approach to predict and analyze potential RBR‐LxCxE interactions in different representative species of key Chloroplastida lineages, providing a valuable resource for deciphering RBR‐LxCxE multiple functions. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that RBR‐LxCxE interactions are an important component of RBR functions and that interactions with chromatin modifiers/remodelers, DNA replication and repair machinery are highly conserved throughout the Viridiplantae, while LxCxE interactions with transcriptional regulators likely diversified throughout the water‐to‐land transition.
Significance Statement
In this study we in silico predicted and analyzed the most complete LxCxE‐mediated RBR putative interactome in key Chloroplastida lineages using genomes of representative algae and land plant species. We obtained novel and exciting results that suggest that potential RBR‐LxCxE interactions with chromatin modifiers and DNA repair/damage response/replication machinery are highly conserved throughout the Chloroplastida, whereas some putative LxCxE interactions with transcriptional regulators seem to be clade/species‐specific and related to the plant water‐to‐land transition.
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