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Open Structure (open + structure)
Selected Abstracts6000 years of forest dynamics in Suserup Skov, a seminatural Danish woodlandGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2000Gina E. Hannon Abstract 1The history of a forest stand over the last 6000 years has been reconstructed by studying pollen, macrofossils and charcoal from a small, wet hollow in Suserup Skov on the island of Sjælland in eastern Denmark. 2The earliest recorded forest was Tilia -dominated but contained an intimate mixture of many different tree species that included Acer campestre, A. platanoides, Alnus glutinosa, Betula pubescens, Corylus avellana, Frangula alnus, Fraxinus excelsior, Malus sylvestris, Populus tremula, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus robur, Q. petraea, Salix spp., Sorbus aucuparia, Tilia cordata and T. platyphyllos. The preserved fruits of T. platyphyllos confirm its hitherto doubtful status as a native member of the Danish flora. 3The present-day woodland developed after a period of intensive anthropogenic disturbance between , 600 bc and ad 900, during which time open canopy conditions prevailed at Suserup. Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus excelsior are the dominant trees at present, together with some Quercus robur and Ulmus glabra.4,Charcoal was present in the sediments from most time periods except at the Ulmus decline. In the last 1000 years of the sequence , the period of Fagus dominance , charcoal counts were consistently low. 5Pinus sylvestris was a natural component of this primarily deciduous forest, and the last macrofossil find dates from c. ad 900. Macrofossil Pinus cone scales recorded c. ad 1800 originate from planted individuals. Prior to Fagus dominance, the forest had an open structure partly caused by frequent, low-intensity fires associated with the presence of Pinus sylvestris. 6The replacement of Tilia by Fagus in this forest was catalysed by human activity. If the forest had not been so disturbed, the rich diversity of trees would most probably have persisted up to the present time, with only a moderate-sized Fagus population. [source] Extraction of native collagen from limed bovine split wastes through improved pretreatment methodsJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2008Dong Li Abstract BACKGROUND: The large amount of limed bovine split wastes discharged by the leather industry has raised concerns regarding their environmental effect. The objective of this work was to perform pilot plant trials to extract high-value native collagen from these wastes through improved pretreatment methods. RESULTS: EDTA- and HCl-pretreatment gave similar removal percentages of inorganic substances. Owing to the open structure of fibers, the collagen yield of HCl-pretreated splits (HPS) (41.31%) was higher than that of EDTA-pretreated splits (EPS) (10.42%). Furthermore, HCl-pretreated split collagen (HPC) had a more acidic isoelectric point, lower content of primary amino groups, larger Z-average particle size and higher relative viscosity than EDTA-pretreated split collagen (EPC). Electrophoretic analysis and circular dichroism spectra revealed the maintenance of polypeptide and triple helix conformation, respectively. In addition, the transition temperatures of EPC (34.7 °C) and HPC (34.6 °C) detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were close to that of commercial collagen from calfskin (CCC) (35.7 °C). CONCLUSION: A process of native collagen extraction from limed bovine split wastes was proposed. While both EPC and HPC represented similar physicochemical properties to those of CCC, the collagen yield of HPS was much higher than that of EPS. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Novel microfibrous-structured silver catalyst for high efficiency gas-phase oxidation of alcoholsAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 6 2010Jiping Mao Abstract Novel microfibrous-structured silver catalysts were developed for gas-phase selective oxidation of mono-/aromatic-/di-alcohols. Sinter-locked three-dimensional microfibrous networks consisting of 5 vol % 8-,m-Ni (or 12-,m-SS-316L) fibers and 95 vol % void volume were built up by the papermaking/sintering processes. Silver was then deposited onto the surface of the sinter-locked fibers by incipient wetness impregnation method. At relatively low temperatures (e.g., 380°C), the microfibrous-structured silver catalysts provided quite higher activity/selectivity compared to the electrolytic silver. The microfibrous Ag/Ni-fiber offered much better low-temperature activity than the Ag/SS-fiber. The interaction at Ag particles and Ni-fiber interface not only visibly increased the active/selective sites of Ag+ ions and Agn,+ clusters but also significantly promoted their low-temperature reducibility and ability for O2 activation. In addition, the microfibrous structure provided a unique combination of large void volume, entirely open structure, high thermal conductivity and high permeability. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010 [source] Reaction-limited aggregation in presence of short-range structural forcesAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005Venkataramana Runkana Abstract A geometrically discretized sectional population balance model for reaction-limited aggregation of colloidal suspensions is presented. The two important model parameters are collision frequency factor and collision efficiency factor. The collision frequency factor is derived from physically realistic arguments proposed for collision of fractal aggregates. The collision efficiency factor is computed as a function of total interaction energy between particles, including short-range structural repulsion forces. The irregular and open structure of aggregates is taken into account by incorporating their mass fractal dimension. The characteristic time constant of reaction-limited aggregation, derived from dynamic scaling of mean aggregate size-aggregation time data, is found to correlate with electrolyte concentration. The population balance model is tested with published experimental data for aggregation of ,-alumina suspensions in the presence of different electrolytes. It is shown that the slow kinetics of aggregation under certain conditions of pH and electrolyte concentration require inclusion of short-range structural repulsion forces along with van der Waals attraction and electrical double layer repulsion forces in an extended DLVO theory. The model predictions are in good agreement with experimental data for time evolution of mean aggregate diameter in the reaction-limited aggregation regime. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005 [source] MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF UNPRESSED SEMI-HARD CHEESES BY UNIAXIAL COMPRESSIONJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 2 2000BRIGITTE WEINRICHTER ABSTRACT Different lots of Tilsit cheeses, which are characterized by their open structure caused by pressing under their own weight during manufacture, were subjected to uniaxial compression, a quasi-standard for the evaluation of mechanical properties of hard and semi-hard cheeses. Additionally, video films showing the behaviour of the specimens during compression were analysed. For standard Tilsit with a fat content of 35% in dry matter, the cheese mass proved to be highly anisotropic with respect to stress response and lateral expansion expressed as apparent Poisson number. Specimens cut perpendicular to the flat side of the cheese wheels, which had lentil-shaped eyes with their major axis parallel to the compression plates, showed significantly higher stresses and lower Poisson numbers than specimens sampled parallel to the flat side of the cheese wheels. Therefore, stress values calculated on the basis of actual specimen diameter were different from those calculated by assuming constant specimen's volume. However, for samples with a fat content of approx. 60% in dry matter no differences caused by compression direction were observed. [source] Effect of Interface Structure on the Microstructural Evolution of CeramicsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 8 2006Wook Jo The interface atomic structure was proposed to have a critical effect on microstructure evolution during sintering of ceramic materials. In liquid-phase sintering, spherical grains show normal grain growth behavior without exception, while angular grains often grow abnormally. The coarsening process of spherical grains with a disordered or rough interface atomic structure is diffusion-controlled, because there is little energy barrier for atomic attachments. On the other hand, kink-generating sources such as screw dislocations or two-dimensional (2-D) nuclei are required for angular grains having an ordered or singular interface structure. Coarsening of angular grains based on a 2-D nucleation mechanism could explain the abnormal grain growth behavior. It was also proposed that a densification process is closely related to the interface atomic structure. Enhanced densification by carefully chosen additives during solid state sintering was explained in terms of the grain-boundary structural transition from an ordered to a disordered open structure. [source] Preparation and Characterization of Trialkoxysilane-Containing Acrylic Resin/Alumina Hybrid MaterialsMACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 8 2006Mingqi Li Abstract Summary: In the present study (3-methacryloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPMS) containing acrylic resin/alumina hybrid materials with various alumina contents were prepared. The effects of ethylacetoacetate (EAA) content, catalyst type, and water content during sol,gel process for alumina sols on the microstructure and properties of the hybrid materials were investigated by SAXS, AFM, DSC, TGA, and nano-indentation tester, respectively. It was found that the hybrid materials exhibited a homogeneity and the alumina phase of the hybrids had mass fractal dimension and open structure. The thermal and mechanical properties of the hybrid materials were obviously improved when alumina was incorporated. The EAA contents, catalyst type, and water content during sol,gel process for alumina sols had obvious effects on the microstructure and properties of the hybrid materials. Typical load,displacement curves of the pure acrylic resin and hybrid materials with increasing alumina content. [source] Conformational changes in ,-endorphin as studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry,RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 23 2001Hui Lin Because of a wide range of physiological functions, the structure of ,-endorphin (BE) is of great interest. In this study, conformational changes in BE induced by methanol are explored with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Differences in the charge-state distribution (CSD) and the extent of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange were used to monitor the conformational changes. The latter experiments were conducted via time-resolved ESI-MS in a continuous-flow apparatus. Both these techniques demonstrate that BE exists in a random coil open structure in aqueous media, but it acquires a more compact conformation with increased concentration of methanol. The H/D exchange experiments reveal that BE forms 61% ,-helix in mixed solvents. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Impacts of cyclone Larry on the vegetation structure of timber plantations, restoration plantings and rainforest on the Atherton Tableland, AustraliaAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008JOHN KANOWSKI Abstract We examined the impact of severe cyclone ,Larry' on the vegetation structure of monoculture and mixed species timber plantations, restoration plantings and reference sites in upland rainforests on the Atherton Tableland, north Queensland, Australia. Sites were initially assessed in 2000 and resurveyed in 2006, 6,8 months after the cyclone traversed the region. In both surveys, timber plantations had a relatively open canopy, grassy understorey and few shrubs or small-sized trees; whereas restoration plantings had a relatively closed canopy, an understorey of bare ground, leaf litter and rainforest seedlings, a high density of small-diameter trees and a moderate representation of special life forms characteristic of rainforest. Cyclone damage varied with tree size, site type, proximity to the cyclone and stem density. First, the proportion of trees that were severely damaged by the cyclone (major branches broken, stem snapped or pushed over) increased with the diameter of trees across all site types. Second, damage to larger-sized trees (>10 cm d.b.h., >20 cm d.b.h.) was proportionally highest in monoculture plantations, intermediate in mixed species plantations and rainforest, and lowest in restoration plantings. Third, within site types, damage levels decreased with distance from the cyclone track and with stem density. There was no evidence that topographical position influenced damage levels, at least for timber plantations. We tentatively attribute the high levels of damage experienced by timber plantations to their relatively open structure and the large size of stems in plantations. Restoration plantings generally escaped severe damage by the cyclone, but their continued development towards rainforest conditions may require a coordinated monitoring and maintenance programme to address the potential threat of weed invasion. [source] Comparison and Origin of Forest and Grassland Ant Assemblages in the High Plateau of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae),BIOTROPICA, Issue 1 2002Brian L. Fisher ABSTRACT We assessed species richness and composition of ant assemblages in adjacent montane forest and secondary (anthropogenic) grassland habitats in the central plateau of Madagascar. We used five quantitative methods (leaf litter sifting, two types of pitfall traps, beating low vegetation, and soil digging) and compared methods within and across habitats. Sample,based and occurrence,based accumulation curves demonstrated that die efficiency of ant inventory methods is habitat specific. Litter sifting, however, was the single most efficient method in both habitats. Overall, our analyses of the relative efficiency of methods recommend the use of sifting and beating in the montane forest site, and sifting alone in the grassland site. In four of five methods, more species were collected in the grassland site (31 spp.) than in the forest site (26 spp.). Occurrence,based accumulation curves based on all methods demonstrated that species richness was similar in the two habitats, reaching a maximum difference of approximately one species. Only five species were shared between the grassland and forest sites. The presence of a high number of ant species restricted to the grassland site (18 spp.) is the first record of high endemism in this habitat in Madagascar and may have strong implications for the reconstruction of the natural vegetation types at the time humans arrived. Their presence suggests that a comparable open habitat, such as montane woodland, shrubland, or thicket, was present on Madagascar long before humans developed the secondary grasslands less than 2000 years ago. These results are contrary to the "classical hypothesis" that the central plateau was a continuous region of closed forest. These results support the hypothesis that the montane regions, including the central plateau, once contained areas of habitat with an open structure and that the endemic ants now found in the secondary grasslands were originally native to such a habitat. RéSUMé La richesse en espéces et la composition des fourmis ont été inventoriées dans la for,t montagneuse du plateau central de Madagascar et dans la prairie secondaire adjacente. Cinq méthodes quantitatives ont été utilisées (tamisage des litières, deux types de trous-pièges, battage des végétations basses et lavage de terre). Nous avons comparé I'efficacité de ces méthodes dans chacun et entre les deux habitats. Les courbes d'accumulation d'espèces basées sur I'échantillon et sur I'occurrence ont montré que I'efficacité des méthodes d'inventaire de fourmis est habitat-dépendant. Cependant, le tamisage des litières se montrait la méthode la plus efficace dans les deux habitats. Nos analyses sur I'efficacité relative des méthodes recommandent I'utilisation combinée du tamisage des litières et du battage de végétation dans la for,t montagneuse, et I'utilisation seule du tamisage des litières dans la prairie secondaire. Dans quatre des cinq méthodes, plus d'espèces ont été collectées dans la prairie (31 spp.) que dans la for,t (26 spp.). Les courbes d'accumulation d'occurrence basées sur routes les méthodes ont démontré que la richesse en espèces de ces deux habitats est similaire, atteignant seulement une difference maximale d'approximativement une espèce. Pourtant, seulement cinq espèces parta-geaient les deux habitats. La présence de plusieurs espèces de fourmis uniquement trouvées dans la prairie (18 spp.) est la première observation d'une forte endémicité de cet habitat et peut avoir une importante implication pour la restauration des types de végétation naturelle initiale de I'ile. Leur présence suggère que des habitats ouverts similaires tels que les formations arbustives de montagnes et les fourrés, étaient présentsà Madagascar longtemps avant la transformation de ces habitats en prairie secondaire par les humains. Ces résultats contredisent I'hypothèse classique qui avance que le plateau central a é té uniquement composé d'une région de for,t dense. Ainsi, ces résultats supportent I'hypothese que la région montagneuse contenant le plateau central, renfermait des habitats àstructure ouverte et que les fourmis endémiques actuellement trouvées dans la prairie secondaire sont, a I'origine natives de ces habitats. [source] Split-component PML absorbing conditions for SS-TLMINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NUMERICAL MODELLING: ELECTRONIC NETWORKS, DEVICES AND FIELDS, Issue 3 2004S. Le Maguer Abstract Known as alternate direct implicit (ADI) or split-step (SS) schemes, a new class of time-domain algorithms has recently been proposed. Their salient feature concerns their numerical stability, regardless the time-step used. Thus, significant computational advantages can be obtained when non-uniform mesh is used. To study open structures or determine S-parameters, absorbing boundary conditions (ABC) have to be used. The perfectly matched layers (PML) technique based on split field component is implemented for the SS-TLM algorithm. The complete set of updating equations is provided and the new PML is validated. It is shown to provide high accuracy even better than that of classical PML-TLM scheme. In addition, it is found that using a high time-step does not seem to degrade significantly the accuracy of PML. Thus, the PML technique is very well adapted to SS-TLM as confirmed by various applications. Finally, unlike all classical TLM-PML schemes, the technique is found to be stable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Multinuclear magnetic resonance, electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectral and molecular modelling characterization of lithocholic acid amide esters with various nitrogen heterocyclesMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 8 2003Elina Virtanen Abstract 1H, 13C and 15N NMR and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric characterizations of five lithocholate esters of piperazine diamides are described. Two of them are cholaphane-type cyclic structures esterified with 2,2,-bipyridine-4,4 , - and pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and the other three esters are open structures comprising two or four lithocholyl residues. The conformational preferences of the dimeric congeners were examined by using molecular modelling and variable-temperature 1H NMR techniques. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On Different Approaches to Estimate the Mass Fractal Dimension of Coal AggregatesPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 5 2005Jimmy Y. H. Liao Abstract Several methods to measure the structures of coal aggregates are compared. Loose and compact coal aggregates were generated through flocculation of ultrafine coal particles (mean volume diameter of 12,,m) under specific shearing conditions. Aggregate structure in terms of mass fractal dimension, Df, was determined using various methods; namely 2D and 3D image analysis, interpretation of intensity patterns from small angle light scattering, changes in aggregation state through light obscuration, and settling behavior. In this study, the measured values of Df ranged from 1.84,2.19 for coal aggregates with more open structures, and around 2.27,2.66 for the compact ones. All of these approaches could distinguish structural differences between aggregates, albeit with variation in Df values estimated by the different techniques. The discrepancy in the absolute values for fractal dimension is due to the different physical properties measured by each approach, depending on the assumptions used to infer Df from measurable parameters. In addition, image analysis and settling techniques are based on the examination of individual aggregates, such that a large number of data points are required to yield statistically representative estimations. Light scattering and obscuration measure the aggregates collectively to give average Df values of the particulate systems; consequently ignoring any structural variation between the aggregates, and leaving possible small contaminations undetected (e.g. by dust particles or air bubbles). Appropriate utilization of a particular method is thus largely determined by system properties and required data quality. [source] Three-Component Entanglements Consisting of Three Crescent-Shaped Bidentate Ligands Coordinated to an Octahedral Metal CentreCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 31 2007Fabien Durola Abstract 3,3,-Biisoquinoline ligands (biiq) L, bearing aromatic substituents on their 8 and 8, positions, have been used to generate interwoven systems consisting of three crescent-shaped ligands disposed around an octahedral metal centre. Mono-ligand complexes of the type [ReL(CO)3py]+ (py: pyridine) have also been prepared, leading to sterically non-hindering complexes in spite of the endotopic nature of the chelate used. The three-component entanglements have been prepared by using either FeII or RuII as gathering metal centre. The synthetic procedure is simple and efficient, affording fully characterised complexes as their PF6 or SbCl6 salts. X-ray crystallography clearly shows that the crescent-shaped ligands do not repel each other in the tris-chelate complexes. In an analogous way, the ReI complexes show open structures with no steric repulsion between the L ligand and the ancillary CO or py groups. The FeL3 or RuL3 compounds are very unusual in the sense that, contrary to all the other tris-bidentate chelate complexes made till now, the three organic components are tangled up, in a situation which will be very favourable to the formation of new non trivial topologies of the catenane type. [source] | ||||||||||||||||