New catalysts for the water gas shift reaction at middle-temperature

H2 demand is continuously increasing since its many relevant applications, for example, in the ammonia production, refinery processes or fuel cells. The Water Gas Shift (WGS) reaction (CO + H2O = CO2 + H2 DeltaH = -41.1 kJ.mol-1) is a step in the H2 production, reducing significantly the CO content and increasing the H2 one in the gas mixtures obtained from steam reforming. Industrially, the reaction is carried out in two stages with different temperature: the first stage operates at high temperature (350-450 °C) using Fe-based catalysts, while the second one is performed at lower temperature (190-250 °C) over Cu-based catalysts. However, recently, an increasing interest emerges to develop new catalytic formulations, operating in a single-stage at middle temperature (MTS), while maintaining optimum characteristics of activity and stability. These formulations may be obtained by improving activity and selectivity of Fe-based catalysts or increasing thermal stability of Cu-based catalysts. In the present work, Cu-based catalysts (Cu/ZnO/Al2O3) prepared starting from hydrotalcite-type precursors show good homogeneity and very interesting physical properties, which worsen by increasing the Cu content. Among the catalysts with different Cu contents, the catalyst with 20 wt.% of Cu represents the best compromise to obtain high catalytic activity and stability. On these bases, the catalytic performances seem to depend on both metallic Cu surface area and synergetic interactions between Cu and ZnO. The increase of the Al content enhances the homogeneity of the precursors, leading to a higher Cu dispersion and consequent better catalytic performances. The catalyst with 20 wt.% of Cu and a molar ratio M(II)/M(III) of 2 shows a high activity also at 250 °C and a good stability at middle temperature. Thus, it may be considered an optimum catalyst for the WGS reaction at middle temperature (about 300 °C). Finally, by replacing 50 % (as at. ratio) of Zn by Mg (which is not active in the WGS reaction), better physical properties were observed, although associate with poor catalytic performances. This result confirms the important role of ZnO on the catalytic performances, favoring synergetic interactions with metallic Cu.

Semantic coordination through programmable Tuple spaces

Two of the main features of today complex software systems like pervasive computing systems and Internet-based applications are distribution and openness. Distribution revolves around three orthogonal dimensions: (i) distribution of control|systems are characterised by several independent computational entities and devices, each representing an autonomous and proactive locus of control; (ii) spatial distribution|entities and devices are physically distributed and connected in a global (such as the Internet) or local network; and (iii) temporal distribution|interacting system components come and go over time, and are not required to be available for interaction at the same time. Openness deals with the heterogeneity and dynamism of system components: complex computational systems are open to the integration of diverse components, heterogeneous in terms of architecture and technology, and are dynamic since they allow components to be updated, added, or removed while the system is running. The engineering of open and distributed computational systems mandates for the adoption of a software infrastructure whose underlying model and technology could provide the required level of uncoupling among system components. This is the main motivation behind current research trends in the area of coordination middleware to exploit tuple-based coordination models in the engineering of complex software systems, since they intrinsically provide coordinated components with communication uncoupling and further details in the references therein. An additional daunting challenge for tuple-based models comes from knowledge-intensive application scenarios, namely, scenarios where most of the activities are based on knowledge in some form|and where knowledge becomes the prominent means by which systems get coordinated. Handling knowledge in tuple-based systems induces problems in terms of syntax - e.g., two tuples containing the same data may not match due to differences in the tuple structure - and (mostly) of semantics|e.g., two tuples representing the same information may not match based on a dierent syntax adopted. Till now, the problem has been faced by exploiting tuple-based coordination within a middleware for knowledge intensive environments: e.g., experiments with tuple-based coordination within a Semantic Web middleware (surveys analogous approaches). However, they appear to be designed to tackle the design of coordination for specic application contexts like Semantic Web and Semantic Web Services, and they result in a rather involved extension of the tuple space model. The main goal of this thesis was to conceive a more general approach to semantic coordination. In particular, it was developed the model and technology of semantic tuple centres. It is adopted the tuple centre model as main coordination abstraction to manage system interactions. A tuple centre can be seen as a programmable tuple space, i.e. an extension of a Linda tuple space, where the behaviour of the tuple space can be programmed so as to react to interaction events. By encapsulating coordination laws within coordination media, tuple centres promote coordination uncoupling among coordinated components. Then, the tuple centre model was semantically enriched: a main design choice in this work was to try not to completely redesign the existing syntactic tuple space model, but rather provide a smooth extension that { although supporting semantic reasoning { keep the simplicity of tuple and tuple matching as easier as possible. By encapsulating the semantic representation of the domain of discourse within coordination media, semantic tuple centres promote semantic uncoupling among coordinated components. The main contributions of the thesis are: (i) the design of the semantic tuple centre model; (ii) the implementation and evaluation of the model based on an existent coordination infrastructure; (iii) a view of the application scenarios in which semantic tuple centres seem to be suitable as coordination media.

Charakterisierung atherosklerotischer Plaques am Beispiel der A. carotis mittels Histologie, CT und semiautomatischer Farbcodierung

Auf der Suche nach dem „vulnerablen Plaque“, der ein besonders hohes Risiko für Schlaganfall und Herzinfarkt besitzt, findet momentan ein Paradigmenwechsel statt. Anstelle des klassischen Stenosegrades gewinnt die Darstellung der Plaquemorphologie zunehmend an Bedeutung. Fragestellung: Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Fähigkeiten eines modernen 16-Kanal-CT hinsichtlich der Auflösung des Plaqueinneren bei Atherosklerose der Karotiden zu untersuchen und den Halo-Effekt in vivo zu erforschen. Methoden: Für die Studie wurden von 28 Patienten mit bekannter, symptomatischer Karotisstenose vor der gefäßchirurgischen Intervention CT-Bilder angefertigt, die nachfolgend mit der Histologie der Gefäßpräparate korreliert wurden. Auf diese Weise konnten die mikroskopisch identifizierten Lipidkerne im CT-Bild eingezeichnet und hinsichtlich ihrer Fläche und Dichtewerte evaluiert werden. In einem weiteren Schritt führten 2 Radiologen in Unkenntnis der histologischen Ergebnisse unabhängig voneinander eine Befundung durch und markierten mutmaßliche Lipidkerne. Zudem wurden sowohl in der verblindeten als auch in der histologiekontrollierten Auswertung die Plaquetypen anhand der AHA-Klassifikation bestimmt. Ein dritter Befundungsdurchgang geschah unter Zuhilfenahme einer von uns entwickelten Software, die CT-Bilder farbkodiert um die Detektion der Lipidkerne zu verbessern. Anhand der Farbkodierung wurde zudem ein Indexwert errechnet, der eine objektive Zuordnung zur AHA-Klassifikation ermöglichen sollte. Von 6 Patienten wurde zusätzlich noch eine native CT-Aufnahme angefertigt, die durch MPR exakt an die Kontrastmittelserie angeglichen wurde. Auf diese Weise konnte der Halo-Effekt, der die Plaqueanteile im lumennahen Bereich überstrahlt, quantifiziert und charakterisiert werden. Ergebnisse: Während die Einstufung in die AHA-Klassifikation sowohl durch den Befunder als auch durch den Softwarealgorithmus eine hohe Korrelation mit der Histologie aufweist (Typ IV/Va: 89 %, Typ Vb: 70 %, Typ Vc: 89 %, Typ VI: 55 %), ist die Detektion der Lipidkerne in beiden Fällen nicht ausreichend gut und die Befunderabhängigkeit zu groß (Cohens Kappa: 18 %). Eine Objektivierung der AHA-Klassifikation der Plaques durch Indexberechnung nach Farbkodierung scheint möglich, wenn auch dem Befunder nicht überlegen. Die fibröse Kappe kann nicht abgegrenzt werden, da Überstrahlungseffekte des Kontrastmittels dessen HU-Werte verfälschen. Dieser Halo-Effekt zeigte sich im Median 1,1 mm breit mit einer Standardabweichung von 0,38 mm. Eine Abhängigkeit von der Kontrastmitteldichte im Gefäßlumen konnte dabei nicht nachgewiesen werden. Der Halo-Effekt fiel im Median um -106 HU/mm ab, bei einer Standardabweichung von 33 HU/mm. Schlussfolgerung: Die CT-Technologie zeigt sich, was die Darstellung von einzelnen Plaquekomponenten angeht, den bekannten Fähigkeiten der MRT noch unterlegen, insbesondere in Bezug auf die fibröse Kappe. Ihre Fähigkeiten liegen bisher eher in der Einstufung von Plaques in eine grobe Klassifikation, angelehnt an die der AHA. Die klinische Relevanz dessen jedoch gilt es in Zukunft in größeren Studien weiter zu untersuchen. Auch lässt die Weiterentwicklung der Computertomographie auf eine zukünftig höhere Auflösung der Plaquemorphologie hoffen.

Entstehung und Diversifizierung der mittel- und westeuropäischen Salicornia-Arten

HintergrundrnDie hygrohalophytische Gattung Salicornia ist in Mittel- und Westeuropa durch vier nah verwandte, sympatrisch vorkommende Arten vertreten. Es handelt sich um die zwei tetraploiden Arten S. procumbens und S. stricta und die diploiden Arten S. europaea und S. ramosissima. Morphologisch lassen sich die Arten zwar nur schwer voneinander unterscheiden, die morphologische Variation ist aber wiederum so hoch, dass mehrere distinkte Arten/Morphotypen unterschieden werden können. Bezüglich ihrer Verteilung im hochdynamischen Lebensraum Salzwiese findet man die verschiedenen Arten/Morphotypen in überlappenden Bereichen des Habitats. Ihr relativ vorhersagbares Auftreten entlang eines ökologischen Gradienten innerhalb ihres Lebensraumes scheint jedoch für eine ökologische Differenzierung der verschiedenen Arten/Morphotypen zu sprechen. Aufgrund des sympatrischen Vorkommens der scheinbar ökologisch und morphologisch differenzierten Morphotypen stellt sich die Frage, durch welche Prozesse diese entstanden sein könnten (genetische und ökologische Differenzierung) aber auch welche Prozesse die dauerhafte Koexistenz der Arten (reproduktive Isolationsmechanismen) aufrechterhalten.rnZielsetzungrnZiel dieser Arbeit war es, die Entstehung und Diversifizierung der mittel- und westeuropäischen Salicornia-Arten anhand von molekulargenetischen, ökologischen und reproduktionsbiologischen Methoden zu untersuchen.rnMethodenrnAnhand einer AFLP-Fragmentanalyse mit 89 Herkünften aus Großbritannien, Frankreich und Deutschland wurden molekulare Phylogenien erstellt sowie eine Hauptkomponenten- und Clusteranalyse durchgeführt. Um die ökologische Differenzierung und phänotypische Plastizität der vier Arten/Morphotypen zu untersuchen wurde ein reziprokes Transplantationsexperiment durchgeführt. Um die reproduktiven Isolationsmechanismen der Arten/Morphotypen zu untersuchen, wurden verschiedene Beobachtungen und Experimente durchgeführt.rnErgebnissernDie molekularen Analysen konnten zwar die beiden Artengruppen (Ploidiestufen) trennen, lieferten aber innerhalb dieser weder ein taxonomisches noch ein geographisches Signal. Akzessionen mit identischer Morphologie aus der gleichen Population verteilten sich in den Analysen in verschiedene genetische Cluster. Identische Morphotypen aus verschiedenen geographischen Regionen gruppieren teilweise zusammen. Das Transplantationsexperiment zeigte für die beiden tetraploiden Arten S. procumbens und S. stricta eine deutliche ökologische Differenzierung, bei S. procumbens in Form von verminderter Fitness und einer beschleunigten Phänologie, bei S. stricta nur in Form einer veränderten Phänologie. Bezüglich der Plastizität zeigten beide tetraploiden Arten eine konstante Morphologie. Die beiden diploiden Taxa S. europaea und S. ramosissima zeigten weder eine klare ökologische Differenzierung noch eine konstante Morphologie. Bezüglich der Reproduktionsbiologie konnte bestätigt werden, dass Selbstung bei allen Taxa der hauptsächliche Reproduktionsmodus ist. Bei den tetraploiden Taxa zeigte sich zwar ein geringes Maß an Fremdbefruchtung, bei den diploiden Taxa führen dagegen morphologische Besonderheiten zu hochgradiger Selbstung.rnRésumérnDie in Mittel- und Westeuropa vorkommenden Salicornia-Arten stellen keine evolutionären Einheiten dar. Die beiden tetraploiden Taxa sollten auf Grund ihrer parallelen Entstehung und ökologischen Differenzierung als Ökotypen angesprochen werden. Beide Ökotypen weisen ein hohes Ausbreitungspotential aus und persistieren als Inzuchtlinien mit geringem Anteil an Fremdbestäubung. Die diploiden Taxa sind weder ökologisch differenziert noch morphologisch stabil und sollten deshalb als nur ein morphologisch sehr variables, aus zahlreichen weitverbreiteten Inzuchtlinien bestehendes Taxon angesehen werden.

New sensing platforms based on nanoscopic devices for probing protein-membrane interactions

A novel nanosized and addressable sensing platform based on membrane coated plasmonic particles for detection of protein adsorption using dark field scattering spectroscopy of single particles has been established. To this end, a detailed analysis of the deposition of gold nanorods on differently functionalized substrates is performed in relation to various factors (such as the pH, ionic strength, concentration of colloidal suspension, incubation time) in order to find the optimal conditions for obtaining a homogenous distribution of particles at the desired surface number density. The possibility of successfully draping lipid bilayers over the gold particles immobilized on glass substrates depends on the careful adjustment of parameters such as membrane curvature and adhesion properties and is demonstrated with complementary techniques such as phase imaging AFM, fluorescence microscopy (including FRAP) and single particle spectroscopy. The functionality and sensitivity of the proposed sensing platform is unequivocally certified by the resonance shifts of the plasmonic particles that were individually interrogated with single particle spectroscopy upon the adsorption of streptavidin to biotinylated lipid membranes. This new detection approach that employs particles as nanoscopic reporters for biomolecular interactions insures a highly localized sensitivity that offers the possibility to screen lateral inhomogeneities of native membranes. As an alternative to the 2D array of gold nanorods, short range ordered arrays of nanoholes in optically transparent gold films or regular arrays of truncated tetrahedron shaped particles are built by means of colloidal nanolithography on transparent substrates. Technical issues mainly related to the optimization of the mask deposition conditions are successfully addressed such that extended areas of homogenously nanostructured gold surfaces are achieved. Adsorption of the proteins annexin A1 and prothrombin on multicomponent lipid membranes as well as the hydrolytic activity of the phospholipase PLA2 were investigated with classical techniques such as AFM, ellipsometry and fluorescence microscopy. At first, the issues of lateral phase separation in membranes of various lipid compositions and the dependency of the domains configuration (sizes and shapes) on the membrane content are addressed. It is shown that the tendency for phase segregation of gel and fluid phase lipid mixtures is accentuated in the presence of divalent calcium ions for membranes containing anionic lipids as compared to neutral bilayers. Annexin A1 adsorbs preferentially and irreversibly on preformed phosphatidylserine (PS) enriched lipid domains but, dependent on the PS content of the bilayer, the protein itself may induce clustering of the anionic lipids into areas with high binding affinity. Corroborated evidence from AFM and fluorescence experiments confirm the hypothesis of a specifically increased hydrolytic activity of PLA2 on the highly curved regions of membranes due to a facilitated access of lipase to the cleavage sites of the lipids. The influence of the nanoscale gold surface topography on the adhesion of lipid vesicles is unambiguously demonstrated and this reveals, at least in part, an answer for the controversial question existent in the literature about the behavior of lipid vesicles interacting with bare gold substrates. The possibility of formation monolayers of lipid vesicles on chemically untreated gold substrates decorated with gold nanorods opens new perspectives for biosensing applications that involve the radiative decay engineering of the plasmonic particles.

Triphenylene-based polymers for organic electronics

An efficient synthesis has been developed toward a novel series of conjugated blue emitting polymers containing triphenylene as repeating unit for polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). Soluble triphenylene-based co- and homo-polymers have been synthesized by the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura and the nickel-catalysed Yamamoto polycondensation reactions, respectively. The photophysical properties as well as the application of the polymers in PLED devices are presented here.rnIn addition a simple GNR fabrication method that allows for the production of atomically precise GNRs of different topologies and widths is introduced. This bottom-up approach consists in the surface-assisted coupling of suitably designed molecular triphenylene precursors into linear polyphenylenes and their subsequent cyclodehydrogenation and results in GNRs whose topology, width and edge periphery are defined by the precursor monomers. Various types of atomically precise GNRs thus eventually become available for experimental investigation and exploitation of their many predicted and technologically highly interesting properties. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this bottom-up approach of GNR fabrication will allow the engineering of chemical and electronic properties and the yet elusive realization of theoretically predicted structures such as intraribbon quantum dots, superlattice structures, or magnetic devices based on specific GNR edge states.rn

Arbitrary Waveform Multilevel Generator for High Voltage High Frequency Plasma Actuators

This dissertation presents the theory and the conducted activity that lead to the construction of a high voltage high frequency arbitrary waveform voltage generator. The generator has been specifically designed to supply power to a wide range of plasma actuators. The system has been completely designed, manufactured and tested at the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering of the University of Bologna. The generator structure is based on the single phase cascaded H-bridge multilevel topology and is comprised of 24 elementary units that are series connected in order to form the typical staircase output voltage waveform of a multilevel converter. The total number of voltage levels that can be produced by the generator is 49. Each level is 600 V making the output peak-to-peak voltage equal to 28.8 kV. The large number of levels provides high resolution with respect to the output voltage having thus the possibility to generate arbitrary waveforms. Maximum frequency of operation is 20 kHz. A study of the relevant literature shows that this is the first time that a cascaded multilevel converter of such dimensions has been constructed. Isolation and control challenges had to be solved for the realization of the system. The biggest problem of the current technology in power supplies for plasma actuators is load matching. Resonant converters are the most used power supplies and are seriously affected by this problem. The manufactured generator completely solves this issue providing consistent voltage output independently of the connected load. This fact is very important when executing tests and during the comparison of the results because all measures should be comparable and not dependent from matching issues. The use of the multilevel converter for power supplying a plasma actuator is a real technological breakthrough that has provided and will continue to provide very significant experimental results.

Hypersonic phonon propagation in mesoscopic systems by Brillouin spectroscopy

Phononic crystals, capable to block or direct the propagation of elastic/acoustic waves, have attracted increasing interdisciplinary interest across condensed matter physics and materials science. As of today, no generalized full description of elastic wave propagation in phononic structures is available, mainly due to the large number of variables determining the band diagram. Therefore, this thesis aims for a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts governing wave propagation in mesoscopic structures by investigation of appropriate model systems. The phononic dispersion relation at hypersonic frequencies is directly investigated by the non-destructive technique of high-resolution spontaneous Brillouin light scattering (BLS) combined with computational methods. Due to the vector nature of the elastic wave propagation, we first studied the hypersonic band structure of hybrid superlattices. These 1D phononic crystals composed of alternating layers of hard and soft materials feature large Bragg gaps. BLS spectra are sensitive probes of the moduli, photo-elastic constants and structural parameters of the constituent components. Engineering of the band structure can be realized by introduction of defects. Here, cavity layers are employed to launch additional modes that modify the dispersion of the undisturbed superlattice, with extraordinary implications to the band gap region. Density of states calculations in conjunction with the associated deformation allow for unambiguous identication of surface and cavity modes, as well as their interaction with adjacent defects. Next, the role of local resonances in phononic systems is explored in 3D structures based on colloidal particles. In turbid media BLS records the particle vibration spectrum comprising resonant modes due to the spatial confinement of elastic energy. Here, the frequency and lineshapes of the particle eigenmodes are discussed as function of increased interaction and departure from spherical symmetry. The latter is realized by uniaxial stretching of polystyrene spheres, that can be aligned in an alternating electric field. The resulting spheroidal crystals clearly exhibit anisotropic phononic properties. Establishing reliable predictions of acoustic wave propagation, necessary to advance, e.g., optomechanics and phononic devices is the ultimate aim of this thesis.

Bionanocomposites based on Plla, Pcl and montmorillonite: synthesis, characterization and crystallization

Poly(lactide) is one of the best candidate to replace conventional petroleum-based polymers, since it is biobased, biocompatible and biodegradable. However, commercial PLA materials typically have low crystallization rate resulting in long processing time and low production efficiency. In this work the effects of two nanofillers MMT30B and MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) on the crystallization rate of neat PLA and PLA/PCL blend were investigated. MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) was synthetized by in situ grafting reaction. The synthesis was carried in xylene at 140°C, upon the results of a screening. The grafted copolymers were evaluated by 1H-NMR ,ATR–IR and TGA. Solvent casted films were obtained by mixing MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) at 5% (w/w) with neat PLA and PLA/PCL blend, comparing the properties with the corresponding blends with and without a 5% of (w/w) unmodified clay. SEM images on PLA based blends shows that MMT30B is aggregated into larger particles compared to MMT30B-g-P(LLA-co-CL). This behavior is correlated to the better exfoliation of MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) clay layers. SEM images on PLA/PCL based blends exhibit the typical sea-island morphology, characteristic of immiscible blends. PLA is the matrix while PCL is finely dispersed in droplets. MMT30B does not reduce PCL droplets size, while MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) reduces the size of PCL droplets. This means that MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) can migrate to the PLA-PCL interface, acting as a compatibilizer. Non-isothermal DSC cooling scans show a fractionated crystallization of the PCL phase in PLA/PCL/MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL), confirming the compatibilizer effect of MMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL). At the same timeMMT30B-g-P(LA-co-CL) can better nucleate the PLA phase, both in neat PLA and PLA/PCL blend, promoting the crystallization during the heating scans. In isothermal condition, both the nanofillers increase the crystallization rate of PLA phase in neat PLA, while in PLA/PCL blends the effect is covered by the nucleating effect of PCL.

Lexical Development in Adult Beginning Second Language Learners

This research tests the hypothesis that knowledge of derivational morphology facilitates vocabulary acquisition in beginning adult second language learners. Participants were mono-lingual English-speaking college students aged 18 years and older enrolled inintroductory Spanish courses. Knowledge of Spanish derivational morphology was tested through the use of a forced-choice translation task. Spanish lexical knowledge was measured by a translation task using direct translation (English word) primes and conceptual (picture) primes. A 2x2x2 mixed factor ANOVA examined the relationships between morphological knowledge (strong, moderate), error type (form-based, conceptual), and prime type (direct translation, picture). The results are consistent with the existence of a relationship between knowledge of derivational morphology andacquisition of second language vocabulary. Participants made more conceptually-based errors than form-based errors F (1,22)=7.744, p=.011. This result is consistent with Clahsen & Felser’s (2006) and Ullman’s (2004) models of second language processing. Additionally, participants with Strong morphological knowledge made fewer errors onthe lexical knowledge task than participants with Moderate morphological knowledge t(23)=-2.656, p=.014. I suggest future directions to clarify the relationship between morphological knowledge and lexical development in adult second language learners.

Ethanol Production from Hardboard Manufacturing Process Wastewater: Methods for Improving Product Yields from Hemicellulose Hydrolysates

Waste effluents from the forest products industry are sources of lignocellulosic biomass that can be converted to ethanol by yeast after pretreatment. However, the challenge of improving ethanol yields from a mixed pentose and hexose fermentation of a potentially inhibitory hydrolysate still remains. Hardboard manufacturing process wastewater (HPW) was evaluated at a potential feedstream for lignocellulosic ethanol production by native xylose-fermenting yeast. After screening of xylose-fermenting yeasts, Scheffersomyces stipitis CBS 6054 was selected as the ideal organism for conversion of the HPW hydrolysate material. The individual and synergistic effects of inhibitory compounds present in the hydrolysate were evaluated using response surface methodology. It was concluded that organic acids have an additive negative effect on fermentations. Fermentation conditions were also optimized in terms of aeration and pH. Methods for improving productivity and achieving higher ethanol yields were investigated. Adaptation to the conditions present in the hydrolysate through repeated cell sub-culturing was used. The objectives of this present study were to adapt S. stipitis CBS6054 to a dilute-acid pretreated lignocellulosic containing waste stream; compare the physiological, metabolic, and proteomic profiles of the adapted strain to its parent; quantify changes in protein expression/regulation, metabolite abundance, and enzyme activity; and determine the biochemical and molecular mechanism of adaptation. The adapted culture showed improvement in both substrate utilization and ethanol yields compared to the unadapted parent strain. The adapted strain also represented a growth phenotype compared to its unadapted parent based on its physiological and proteomic profiles. Several potential targets that could be responsible for strain improvement were identified. These targets could have implications for metabolic engineering of strains for improved ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks. Although this work focuses specifically on the conversion of HPW to ethanol, the methods developed can be used for any feedstock/product systems that employ a microbial conversion step. The benefit of this research is that the organisms will the optimized for a company's specific system.

Upconverter materials and upconversion solar-cell devices: simulation and characterization with broad solar spectrum illumination

Upconverter materials and upconverter solar devices were recently investigated with broad-band excitation revealing the great potential of upconversion to enhance the efficiency of solar cell at comparatively low solar concentration factors. In this work first attempts are made to simulate the behavior of the upconverter β-NaYF4 doped with Er3+ under broad-band excitation. An existing model was adapted to account for the lower absorption of broader excitation spectra. While the same trends as observed for the experiments were found in the simulation, the absolute values are fairly different. This makes an upconversion model that specifically considers the line shape function of the ground state absorption indispensable to achieve accurate simulations of upconverter materials and upconverter solar cell devices with broadband excitations, such as the solar radiation.

Hazard index maps for woody material recruitment and transport in alpine catchments

A robust and reliable risk assessment procedure for hydrologic hazards deserves particular attention to the role of transported woody material during flash floods or debris flows. At present, woody material transport phenomena are not systematically considered within the procedures for the elaboration of hazard maps. The consequence is a risk of losing prediction accuracy and of underestimating hazard impacts. Transported woody material frequently interferes with the sediment regulation capacity of open check dams and moreover, when obstruction phenomena at critical crosssections of the stream occur, inundations can be triggered. The paper presents a procedure for the determination of the relative propensity of mountain streams to the entrainment and delivery of recruited woody material on the basis of empirical indicators. The procedure provided the basis for the elaboration of a hazard index map for all torrent catchments of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen. The plausibility of the results has been thoroughly checked by a backward oriented analysis on natural hazard events, documented since 1998 at the Department of Hydraulic Engineering of the aforementioned Alpine Province. The procedure provides hints for the consideration of the effects, induced by woody material transport, during the elaboration of hazard zone maps.

Comunicología e ingeniería comunicológica del cuerpo y del deporte. Configurando una nueva intersubjetividad de la vida social

El texto está configurado en cuatro partes. Primera. Subjetividad y cuerpo. Proyecto social y vida del cuerpo. Historia conceptual cultural del cuerpo y del deporte. Se presentan elementos históricos culturales sobre los proyectos subjetivos sociales del cuerpo. Segunda. La Educación Física y el cuerpo. El proyecto social gremial institucional del cuerpo y del deporte. Se presentan algunos elementos de la historia del proyecto subjetivo social de la Educación Física. Tercera. La Comunicología, la Ingeniería Comunicológica, el cuerpo y el deporte. El movimiento hacia una nueva intersubjetividad de la vida social. Se presenta una lectura sobre la Educación Física, el deporte y el cuerpo, desde la Comunicología. Se propone un programa de trabajo sobre la Ecuación Física, el deporte y el cuerpo, como caso ejemplar, desde la Ingeniería Comunicológica, poniendo énfasis en la figura de la intersubjetividad sobre la de la subjetividad del cuerpo. Cuarta. Bibliografía seleccionada para complementar la información