Search results for "A2"

Inhibition of Rho modulates cytokine-induced prostaglandin E2 formation in renal mesangial cells.

2003

Stimulation of rat mesangial cells for 24 h with interleukin-1β(IL-1β) plus forskolin (Fk) leads to a marked increase in prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) synthesis. This effect is further enhanced by the small G-protein Rho inhibitor toxin A. A similar increase in PGE 2 formation is obtained with Y27632, a Rho-dependent kinase inhibitor, and with lovastatin, a hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A inhibitor which depletes cells from geranylgeranyl moieties and thus blocks Rho activation. In parallel to the increased PGE 2 synthesis, a potentiation of IL-1β-induced secretory group IIA phospholipases A 2 (sPLA 2 -IIA) protein expression also occurs by Rho inhibition. However, only toxin A triggers an in…

The shape of the liquid plain: sicilian salt flats

2019

This paper analyzes the salt flats as a place for the mixing of knowledge and experiences that originate and substantiate life: from the application of physical, chemical and biological principles to produce salt, to economic laws to regulate sales and trade, to aspects socio-anthropological aspects underlying the life of the communities that worked in production. A patrimony of material and immaterial overlaps, generated by the redesign of a segment of territory with physical and positional characteristics median between sea and land, and in which man strives to obtain fundamental resources for his livelihood. Given the complex moment of crisis and gradual abandonment that these particular…

Review Article: Recommended reading list of early publications on atomic layer deposition—Outcome of the “Virtual Project on the History of ALD”

2017

Charge Transport Mechanisms in Heavy-Ion Driven Leakage Current in Silicon Carbide Schottky Power Diodes

2016

Under heavy-ion exposure at sufficiently high reverse bias voltages silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diodes are observed to exhibit gradual increases in leakage current with increasing ion fluence. Heavy-ion exposure alters the overall reverse current-voltage characteristics of these diodes, leaving the forward characteristics practically unchanged. This paper discusses the charge transport mechanisms in the heavy-ion damaged SiC Schottky diodes. A macro model, describing the reverse current-voltage characteristics in the degraded SiC Schottky diodes is proposed. peerReviewed

Localized surface plasmon resonance in silver nanoparticles: Atomistic first-principles time-dependent density-functional theory calculations

2015

We observe using ab initio methods that localized surface plasmon resonances in icosahedral silver nanoparticles enter the asymptotic region already between diameters of 1 and 2 nm, converging close to the classical quasistatic limit around 3.4 eV. We base the observation on time-dependent density-functional theory simulations of the icosahedral silver clusters Ag$_{55}$ (1.06 nm), Ag$_{147}$ (1.60 nm), Ag$_{309}$ (2.14 nm), and Ag$_{561}$ (2.68 nm). The simulation method combines the adiabatic GLLB-SC exchange-correlation functional with real time propagation in an atomic orbital basis set using the projector-augmented wave method. The method has been implemented for the electron structure…

Bi-2212 and Y123 highly curved single-crystal-like objects: whiskers, bows and ring-like structures

2012

High-temperature superconducting objects of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Y Ba2Cu3O7 highly curved in the ab-plane, such as curved/kinked whiskers, bows and ring-like structures, were obtained within a solid?liquid?solid (SLS) grass-like growth mechanism. As-grown objects are crystals with three-dimensional epitaxy similar to conventional single crystals: they can be viewed as crystal parts ?cut? from a conventional rectangular crystal. Between our curved objects and conventional crystals, whiskers or thin films there are some differences in the superconducting properties induced only by the shape factors and no new physics is observed. Some details of the growth mechanism are discussed, emphasizing cu…

Structure and dielectric breakdown strength of nano calcium carbonate/polypropylene composites

2013

Nanodielectrics, a 21st-century phenomena, is envisioned to be the answer for material challenges in progressive high-voltage technology. It is well known that the proper dispersion of nanoparticles plays a key role in improving the dielectric properties of a material, but to understand where changes in the properties of a material originate, it is also essential to reveal the multiscale structure of the material. In this study, the dielectric permittivity, breakdown strength, and structure of nano calcium carbonate (nano-CaCO3)/polypropylene composites with 1.8-8.1 wt % doping were characterized systematically. The combined results from transmission electron microscopy, Raman microscopy, a…

Towards controlling PCDD/F production in a multi-fuel fired BFB boiler using two sulfur addition strategies

2014

Abstract PCDD/F abatement strategies – sulfur pellet addition and peat co-combustion – were tested for a BFB boiler facility utilizing SRF-bark-sludge as fuel. In this paper chemical and physical analyses of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) fly ashes were used to explain the differences in the performance of these strategies. These analyses revealed a difference between the coarse and fine fly ashes collected in the ESP. Chemical analysis of the fine fly ashes revealed high concentration of easily volatilized elements while the SEM micrographs showed that fine ash are composed of clusters of spherical particles, thereby leading to a conclusion that fine ashes were originally in a gas phase …

Remote Sensing of 3-D Geometry and Surface Moisture of a Peat Production Area Using Hyperspectral Frame Cameras in Visible to Short-Wave Infrared Spe…

2016

Miniaturized hyperspectral imaging sensors are becoming available to small unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) platforms. Imaging concepts based on frame format offer an attractive alternative to conventional hyperspectral pushbroom scanners because they enable enhanced processing and interpretation potential by allowing for acquisition of the 3-D geometry of the object and multiple object views together with the hyperspectral reflectance signatures. The objective of this investigation was to study the performance of novel visible and near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral frame cameras based on a tunable Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) in measuring a 3-D digital sur…

Ray optics behavior of flux avalanche propagation in superconducting films

2015

Experimental evidence of wave properties of dendritic flux avalanches in superconducting films is reported. Using magneto-optical imaging the propagation of dendrites across boundaries between a bare NbN film and areas coated by a Cu layer was visualized, and it was found that the propagation is refracted in full quantitative agreement with Snell's law. For the studied film of 170 nm thickness and a $0.9\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ thick metal layer, the refractive index was close to $n=1.4$. The origin of the refraction is believed to be caused by the dendrites propagating as an electromagnetic shock wave, similar to damped modes considered previously for normal …