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Abstract: Propulsion pellets of different metal/salt (Zn/CaCO3) composition have been prepared. The impulse imparted to the pellet by the laser has been measured using two different methods: a torsion pendulum and a piezoelectric sensor. The dependence of the coupling coefficient, C m , on the composition of the solid binary propellants in ablative laser propulsion has been investigated under different experimental conditions: in vacuum and at atmospheric pressure as well as with two different wavelengths, IR and UV. The composition of the Zn/CaCO3 propellant mixture that optimizes the coupling coefficient, C m , has been determined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this article a method to increase the capability of an electronic nose to discriminate between a priori similar odours is presented. Olive oil is analyzed because it is well known that the characteristics of its aroma impair in many cases the discrimination between different kinds of olive oils especially when they are from similar geographic regions. In the present work the improvement of the electronic nose performance for the above-mentioned discrimination by a non-destructive method of IR laser vaporization of the sample is studied. Laser vaporization has also been performed at two different IR wavelengths to analyze the effect of laser radiation absorption of the sample on the electronic nose selectivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work shows the integration of a sensor based on carbon nanotubes using CMOS technology. A chip sensor (CS) was designed and manufactured using a 0.30 μm CMOS process, leaving a free window on the passivation layer that allowed the deposition of SWCNTs over the electrodes. We successfully investigated with the CS the effect of humidity and temperature on the electrical transport properties of SWCNTs. The possibility of a large scale integration of SWCNTs with CMOS process opens a new route in the design of more efficient, low cost sensors with high reproducibility in their manufacture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Riachuelo–Matanza basin area (2.240km2) is located in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. This area is affected by intensive and extensive agricultural activities, and bears almost 3,000,000 inhabitants and more than 10,000 industries, that release their effluents to the main collector of the basin, the Riachuelo River. It is a highly polluted area and the quality of water, soil and air is severely impaired causing chronic health problems. As part of an interdisciplinary study undertaken by local institutions to reach an environmental quality diagnosis and analysis of the pollutants dynamics in the basin system we have measured, with an electronic nose, the air immediately above the water in several points at the Riachuelo River mouth where the painteresque La Boca district is located. Water quality parameters simultaneously collected at the same sites were analyzed and correlated with the electronic nose response. This study is only exploratory and focuses on the viability of using an electronic nose to locate conflictive emissions throughout a given zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]