First observation of multiple volume reflection by different planes in one bent silicon crystal for high-energy protons

Multiple volume reflection by different planes in a bent silicon crystal with its 〈111〉 axis orientation close to the beam direction was observed for the first time for 400 GeV/c protons at the CERN SPS. The proton beam was deflected to the side opposite to the crystal bend by an angle of about 67 μrad, which is five times larger than in a single volume reflection by the (110) bent planes. The registered efficiency of one side deflection was about 84%. It was shown that multiple volume reflection transforms to a single volume reflection when the orientation angle of the 〈111〉 axis relative to the beam direction is increased.     

Filter design of composite trade-off filter with support regions to obtain invariant pattern recognition with defocused images

The discrimination capacity (DC) measures the ability of the filter in a pattern recognition problem to discriminate the target against other objects in the input scene. If the input scene is degraded by a defect of focus, then the DC is degraded and the pattern recognition process is worse. In this paper, we present a methodology based in the selection of ring frequency bands and in the design of the trade-off filters taking into account these frequencies to obtain several information channels. The information of all the channels is fused by means of the addition of all the channels and the geometric mean of them. Also individual channel analysis is shown. The influence on the DC and SNR of the added white noise in the input image is presented.     

Phenol adsorption onto powdered and granular activated carbon, prepared from Eucalyptus wood

Eucalyptus grandis sawdust, a major waste from the growing Uruguayan wood industry, was used in previous work to prepare powdered activated carbon (PAC). In the present work, granular activated carbon (GAC) was prepared by mixing PAC, carboxymethyl cellulose as a binder, and kaolin as reinforcer. Ultimate analysis and surface characterization of GAC and PAC were performed. Phenol adsorption was used as a way to compare the characteristics of different PAC and GAC preparations. Kinetics and isotherms of the different GAC and PAC were performed in a shaking bath at 100 rpm and 298 K. Phenol concentrations were determined by UV spectroscopy. Some kinetics parameters were calculated; from kinetics results, external resistance to mass transfer from the bulk liquid can be neglected as the controlling step. Isotherms were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich models, and corresponding parameters were determined. Maximum phenol uptakes for all carbons were determined and correlated with carbon characteristics. Thermogravimertic analysis (TGA) determinations were performed in order to study adsorption characteristics and conditions for GAC regeneration after its use. The results showed that phenol is preferentially physisorbed on the carbon of the granules, though some chemisorption was detected. No adsorption was detected in the kaolin-carboxymethyl cellulose mixture.     

Laser addressed thermo-optic effect in a novel dyed liquid-crystalline polysiloxane

Initial experimental evaluation of a novel liquid-crystalline polysiloxane for thermo-optical recording is presented. A versatile system using a single laser source has been used to gather information on the dynamics of laser addressing. To ensure the most stable, highest-contrast pixel the polymer must be heated through its biphasic region and some way into the isotropic phase. It was found that at 60°C using laser pulses of 300μs or less, write-in and selective erasure times were on the submillisecond timescale, and that bulk erasure required 1-2 min. The use of the polymer in an analogue optical store has been demonstrated and an unoptimized sensitivity of 12nJ/μm² for 632°8 nm light was found at 24°C.     

Emission background in the Raman spectra of barbituric acid and azobenzene

The suggestion that two photon absorption and reemission may contribute to the emission background observed in the Raman spectra of barbituric acid and azobenzene has been tested by a study of the anti-Stokes fluorescence and of the dependence of the emission on the incident laser intensity of these molecules. Both tests indicate that the two photon process is an insignificant factor in the background emission.     

Output behavior based on writing occupancy in a photorefractive converter

In this paper, a one-dimensional image distribution is stored as modulation of birefringence in a BSO photorefractive crystal in an incoherent to coherent converter arrangement. The features of the read-out image under different write-in image magnifications of an input object are analyzed. In particular, characteristic parameters are introduced to assess the feasibility of an adequate recognition of the converted image. Experimental results under extinction configuration obtained by using intensity-normalized images are described.     

Chemical fingerprinting of petroleum biomarkers in biota samples using retention-time locking chromatography and multivariate analysis

This work was conducted to study a new separation and evaluation approach for the chemical fingerprinting of petroleum biomarkers in biota samples. The final aim of this work was to study the correlation between the observed effects in the shore habitats (mussels and limpets) and one pollution source: the oil spill of the Prestige tanker. The method combined a clean-up step of the biota extracts (mussels and limpets), the retention-time locking of the gas chromatographic set up, and the multivariate data analysis of the chromatograms. For clean-up, solid-phase extraction and gel permeation chromatography were compared, and 5g Florisil cartridges assured the lack of interfering compounds in the last extracts. In order to assure reproducible retention times and to avoid the realignment of the chromatograms, the retention-time locking feature of our gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) set up was used. Finally, in the case of multivariate analysis, the GC-MS chromatograms were treated, essentially by derivatization and by normalization, and all the chromatograms at m/z 191 (terpenes), m/z 217-218 (steranes and diasteranes) and m/z 231 (triaromatic steranes) were treated by means of principal component analysis. Furthermore, slightly different four oil samples from the Prestige oil spill were analyzed following the Nordtest method, and the GC-MS chromatograms were considered as the reference chemical fingerprints of the sources. In this sense, the correlation between the studied samples, including sediments and biota samples, and the source candidate was completed by means of a supervised pattern recognition method. As a result, the method proposed in this work was useful to identify the Prestige oil spill as the source of many of the analyzed samples.     

Long-range simplex-coded BOTDA sensor over 120 km distance employing optical preamplification

In this Letter, we combine the use of optical preamplification at the receiver and optical pulse coding techniques with an optimized modulation format to effectively extend the sensing range of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors. Combining a return-to-zero modulation format with 25% duty cycle and linear gain preamplification allows for temperature and strain measurements over 120 km of standard single-mode fiber with 3 m spatial resolution and an rms strain-temperature accuracy of 3.1 °C/60 με respectively.     

Elemental composition and microstructure analysis of a rabbit urolith

Following physical examination and radiography analysis, cystotomy was performed to remove a rabbit’s single bladder stone. This rabbit urolith was analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The EDXRF technique was successful for the determination of major elements (Ca, Mg, P, K and S) and presented sufficient sensitivity to also trace elements (Sr, Fe, Cu, V, Cr, Mn, Zn and Pb) determination. The results showed significant quantitative and structural variations among the urolith regions. The EDXRF technique using the fundamental parameters method and SEM attend as complementary techniques that can be useful in the management of urinary stone analysis.     

Identification and quantification of cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa L. plants by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

High performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has been successfully applied to cannabis plant extracts in order to identify cannabinoid compounds after their quantitative isolation by means of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). MS conditions were optimized by means of a central composite design (CCD) approach, and the analysis method was fully validated. Six major cannabinoids [tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN)] were quantified (RSD < 10%), and seven more cannabinoids were identified and verified by means of a liquid chromatograph coupled to a quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-ToF) detector. Finally, based on the distribution of the analyzed cannabinoids in 30 Cannabis sativa L. plant varieties and the principal component analysis (PCA) of the resulting data, a clear difference was observed between outdoor and indoor grown plants, which was attributed to a higher concentration of THC, CBN, and CBD in outdoor grown plants. Graphical Abstract

Representative figure of the identification and quantification process of cannabinoids