Search results for "Small"
showing 10 items of 2441 documents
Fractal approach in petrology: Small-angle neutron scattering experiments with volcanic rocks.
1988
Following Mandelbrot's pioneering work in 1977, we attempt to use the concept of fractal dimension in petrology. Fractal dimension is an intensive property of matter which offers a quantitative measure of the degree of surface roughness. Neutron scattering experiments have been performed on 18 volcanic rocks from different localities. The scattered intensity as a function of the momentum transfer obeys a power law whose exponent varies, for the rock samples presented, between -3 and -4. We conclude that, at the molecular level, our volcanic rocks are not fractal volumes. With regard to the particle-matrix interface, it is not possible to provide a determination at the present stage of resea…
Anti-inflammatory Function of High-Density Lipoproteins via Autophagy of IκB Kinase
2015
Background & Aims: Plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are frequently found decreased in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, and because HDL exerts anti-inflammatory activities, we investigated whether HDL and its major protein component apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) modulate mucosal inflammatory responses in vitro and in vivo. Methods: The human intestinal epithelial cell line T84 was used as the in vitro model for measuring the effects of HDL on the expression and secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM). Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-responsive promoter activity was studied by …
A Preliminary Energy Assessment to Improve the Energy Sustainability in the Small Islands of the Mediterranean Sea
2020
Power plants supplied by renewable energy sources are expanding around the world, in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, limit the global warming and improve the energy sustainability. Despite the relevant achieved results, small islands are heavily reliant on fossil fuels. In this context, renewable energy sources are available but practically unused, due to landscape and economic constraints. This condition is quite common in the Mediterranean Sea. These islands are normally fed by a stand-alone electrical grid and a power plant, equipped with diesel engines. In order to improve the sustainability of the energy sector, the paper considers the case study of Ustica, a small Italia…
An Innovative Wave Energy Converter in the Mediterranean Sea
2018
The paper proposes a revolutionary device for the utilization of a new entry of renewable energy sources: sea wave. This technology is based on linear generators, able to converts directly a linear motion into electrical output, limiting to minimum the chain of energy conversion. A preliminary feasibility study considers a case study, applied in Lampedusa, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Economic and environmental assessments are reported.
Structure of longitudinal chromomagnetic fields in high energy collisions
2014
We compute expectation values of spatial Wilson loops in the forward light cone of high-energy collisions. We consider ensembles of gauge field configurations generated from a classical Gaussian effective action as well as solutions of high-energy renormalization group evolution with fixed and running coupling. The initial fields correspond to a color field condensate exhibiting domain-like structure over distance scales of order the saturation scale. At later times universal scaling emerges at large distances for all ensembles, with a nontrivial critical exponent. Finally, we compare the results for the Wilson loop to the two-point correlator of magnetic fields.
Kirkwood-Buff integrals from molecular simulation
2019
The Kirkwood-Buff (KB) theory provides a rigorous framework to predict thermodynamic properties of isotropic liquids from the microscopic structure. Several thermodynamic quantities relate to KB integrals, such as partial molar volumes. KB integrals are expressed as integrals of RDFs over volume but can also be obtained from density fluctuations in the grand-canonical ensemble. Various methods have been proposed to estimate KB integrals from molecular simulation. In this work, we review the available methods to compute KB integrals from molecular simulations of finite systems, and particular attention is paid to finite-size effects. We also review various applications of KB integrals comput…
Application of small angle neutron scattering to micellar fluids
1990
Abstract In this paper we present a short overview of the application of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to micellar fluids. In the first part of the paper a general expression of the scattering equation is derived, with particular emphasis on the approximations involved and on their practical consequences. In the second part of the paper we present six selected test cases (such as mono- and polydisperse fluids, critical fluids, shapes other than spherical, etc.) taken from our own work, to demonstrate the kind of analysis performed in each case to extract the information from SANS data.
Kinetics of block-copolymer aggregation in super critical CO2
2002
Small angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS and SANS) are used to obtain structural information on the aggregation behavior of block-copolymers dissolved in supercritical CO2. The SANS technique is used to provide a detailed structural model for the micellar aggregates, which form below the critical micellization density (CMD), that we defined in our previous work. The SAXS technique (with a synchrotron source) is used to provide the first experimental information concerning the kinetic features of both formation and decomposition of such aggregates as soon as pressure jumps are applied to the solutions across the CMD. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Towards purely inorganic clusters in medicine: Biocompatible divalent cations as counterions of cobaltabis(dicarbollide) and its iodinated derivatives
2021
Monovalent cations, Cs+, and alkylammonium ([NR4]+) salts have traditionally been used to precipitate the anions of boranes, carborane and metallocarborane clusters. In contrast, in the body and in living organisms in general, divalent cations have a special relevance. In this work, we isolate for the first time the cobaltabis(dicarbollide) salts of the biocompatible divalent cations of biological importance that can have application both in biology and in materials science. The preparation of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe2+ salts of anionic iodinated nido-[C2B9H12]− and cobaltabis(dicarbollide) as well as its di-, tetra- and octa-iodinated derivatives are reported. Ca2+ and Mg2+ are hard Lewis acids a…
Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes modulate survival in cisplatin/gemcitabine-treated non-small-cell lung cancer patients.
2006
Abstract Background: Impaired DNA repair capacity may favorably affect survival in cisplatin/gemcitabine-treated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We investigated the association of survival with genetic polymorphisms in X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 and group 3 (XRCC3), xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD), excision repair cross-complementing group 1, ligase IV, ribonucleotide reductase, TP53, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, epidermal growth factor, methylene-tetra-hydrofolate reductase and methionine synthase. Patients and methods: One hundred and thirty-five stage IV or IIIB (with malignant pleural effusion) NSCLC patien…