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The degradation of desiccants is important in designing natural gas conditioning processes.

Evaluation of adsorbent integrity over thousands of cycles is necessary to establish the service time and sustainability of adsorbents employed in industrial dehydration. Herein, an adsorption apparatus for rapidly cycling multiple adsorbents through a thermal swing adsorption process is introduced with results for 2000 cycles. This apparatus has eight sample cells arranged in parallel, which are embedded in an aluminum block for rapid heating and cooling. At the outlet of each cell, the water content and temperatures are measured using capacitance relative humidity sensors, which incorporate resistance thermometers. The analysis of the breakthrough curves generated for each adsorbent gives inference into the change in water uptake capacity over continuous cycling. To handle the large sets of data generated by this instrument, an automated analysis program was implemented. To demonstrate the functionality of the instrument, zeolites 4A and 13X were cycled in a thermal swing process over 2000 cycles and the change in the uptake capacity was monitored by the analysis of the breakthrough plots for each cycle. Furthermore, the results of the breakthrough analyses were verified with the thermogravimetric analysis of the adsorbents. From these experiments, zeolites 4A and 13X were observed to lose 7 ± 3 and 19 ± 7% of the adsorption capacity, respectively.

Introduction Sudden death secondary to ventricular arrhythmias is common in HF patients, with no effective treatment available outside of implantable cardiac defibrillators. While animal models are essential for the discovery of anti-arrhythmic drugs, no reliable large animal HF models with associated ventricular arrhythmias have been described so far. Objectives We aimed at evaluating ventricular remodeling and arrhythmia susceptibility in an HF pig model with reduced ejection fraction (EF) following myocardial infarction (MI). Methods MI was induced in 53 male Göttingen minipigs (12–15 months, 20–25 kg) by coronary embolization in mid-left anterior descending and mid-left circumflex coronary arteries using endovascular coils. Seven other pigs underwent sham operation and were used as control. Two weeks after surgery, cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography, and animals were included based on EF Results At the end of the study, animals in the vehicle group had a significant LV remodeling associated with a reduced EF (p Conclusion In this new pig model of congestive HF with reduced EF, LV remodeling was associated with electrical remodeling and susceptibility to develop arrhythmias. Chronic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor treatment prevented congestion, mitigated electrical remodeling, and suppressed arrhythmia susceptibility. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Servier Research Institute - CardioVascular & Metabolic Diseases Center for Therapeutic Innovation Table 1

Seventy million tons of sulfur were produced worldwide in 2016. Much of the transportation and handling of molten sulfur require sulfur pumps which are challenging to operate due to the anomalous behavior of sulfur's liquid viscosity at temperatures near its λ-transition region. Sulfur's viscosity decreases from ca. 30 × 10−2 to ca. 7 × 10−2 Pa s when heating from the melt at T = 115 °C and then increases dramatically at T > 160 °C to a maximum of 93 000 × 10−2 Pa s at T = 187 °C. While the temperature of this viscosity transition is well known, no shear related information can be found in the literature and previous low-shear data do not address thermal hysteresis behavior (viscosity differences for cooling or heating) when sulfur is heated beyond 210 °C. This work is focused on reinvestigating the low-shear viscosity of molten sulfur which was initially studied by Bacon and Fanelli [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 65, 639–648 (1943)] and the effects of high-shear. The rheology of molten sulfur was studied using an An...

By doping with secondary and tertiary species, the electron configuration of titanium oxide can be tuned for the selective adsorption of natural gas contaminants such as thiols. In this study, we attempted to co-incorporate copper group metals/oxides and lanthanum oxide within titania nanofibers via linear poly-condensations of multiple metal acetate complexes. In all cases, a sol–gel synthesis in heptane allowed the nanofibers to randomly pack, forming 3 dimensional network bundles. The resulting nanostructures were characterized using electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N2 physisorption and Raman spectroscopy. Multicomponent breakthrough studies with three thiols, H2S, CO2 and CH4 show that doping a TiO2 matrix with copper group metals/oxides and La2O3 increased the thermal stability of anatase crystallites and nanostructures. We note that Au and Ag2O accumulated on the surfaces of the doped materials, where the La2O3 doping contributed more to the materials thermal stability. The Cu and La doped material was found to be the best adsorbent for thiols with remarkably high selectivity, demonstrating potential applications in industrial gas treatment. In addition, xerogel adsorbents through the random packing of linear structures provide the advantage of a macro-porous bulk material, which is less susceptible to fouling.

Destruction of CS2 in the modified Claus process plays a vital role in achieving high sulfur recovery (>99.9%). Although it has lower catalytic activity for CS2 hydrolysis than titania, alumina has been widely used in Claus plants for conversion of sulfur species into elemental sulfur, because it is less expensive, highly active for the Claus reaction and mechanically robust. This research explores improving CS2 hydrolysis on Claus alumina catalyst by modification with 1 wt.% of either CuO, TiO2, Fe2O3, Co2O3, Sc2O3 or Na2O. These modified catalysts were tested using the first catalytic convertor conditions. While catalyst impregnation with most of the metals described above leads to minor improved CS2 conversion, the deposition of both Cu2+ and Ti4+ stood out for resulting 22.6 and 33.7% higher activity, respectively. Results suggest that the improved catalytic activity can be explained by reduced hydrophilicity (increased hydroxyl dispersion) and somewhat increased basicity on the surface of the catalysts.

Dithiazine is a reaction product resulting from the use of triazine as a scavenging agent to remove H2S from oil and gas streams at well-head or at gas treating facilities using contactors. In some cases, MEA-dithiazine product has been found in the sales gas in downstream transmission and distribution pipeline systems. MEA-dithiazine can subsequently precipitate when the solubility conditions become unfavourable, e.g. within regulating valves on a fuel gas skid at a gas turbine driven compressor station or at distribution regulating stations. The present work utilizes experimentally-obtained solubility data in methane and lean natural gas mixtures, along with fundamentals of chemical equilibrium based on equality of fugacity, and a closed-form analytical expression of Peng-Robinson EOS. The data shows that natural gas composition does not appear to have a significant effect on the solubility of dithiazine up to ~4 MPa; however, as pressure increases above this range, dithiazine tends to be more soluble in richer than in leaner gas mixtures. More importantly, the solubility isotherms of dithiazine in natural gas mixtures exhibit minima at 2–3 MPa. The implication of this is significant in terms of the amount of dithiazine that could potentially precipitate out of the gas stream if the gas undergoes throttling at pressure regulating valves. As an example, at a gas flow rate of 20 × 106 m3/day, the rate of dithiazine precipitation may be as high as 3.3 kg/day.

The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA) aims to find the brightest transiting planet systems by monitoring the full sky at magnitudes $42\%$, and that have more than 80 hours of data, $93.5\%$ are recovered. In addition, the periods of $210$ stars without a previous VSX record were determined, and $282$ candidate variable stars were newly identified. The O'Connell effect is seen in seven eclipsing binaries, of which two have no previous record of this effect. MASCARA data are very well suited to study known variable stars. They also serve as a powerful means to find new variables among the brightest stars in the sky. Follow-up is required to ensure that the observed variability does not originate from faint background objects., Comment: 23 pages, 22 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, tables and >3000 light curves will be available on CDS

In this paper we present MASCARA-2 b, a hot Jupiter transiting the $m_V=7.6$ A2 star HD 185603. Since early 2015, MASCARA has taken more than 1.6 million flux measurements of the star, corresponding to a total of almost 3000 hours of observations, revealing a periodic dimming in the flux with a depth of $1.3\%$. Photometric follow-up observations were performed with the NITES and IAC80 telescopes and spectroscopic measurements were obtained with the Hertzsprung SONG telescope. We find MASCARA-2 b orbits HD 185603 with a period of $3.474119^{+0.000005}_{-0.000006}~\rm{days}$ at a distance of $0.057 \pm 0.006~\rm{AU}$, has a radius of $1.83 \pm 0.07~\rm{R}_{\rm{J}}$ and place a $99\%$ upper limit on the mass of $< 17~\rm{M}_{\rm{J}}$. HD 185603 is a rapidly rotating early-type star with an effective temperature of $8980^{+90}_{-130}~\rm{K}$ and a mass and radius of $1.89^{+0.06}_{-0.05}~M_\odot$, $1.60 \pm 0.06~R_\odot$, respectively. Contrary to most other hot Jupiters transiting early-type stars, the projected planet orbital axis and stellar spin axis are found to be aligned with $\lambda=0.6 \pm 4^\circ$. The brightness of the host star and the high equilibrium temperature, $2260 \pm 50~\rm{K}$, of MASCARA-2 b make it a suitable target for atmospheric studies from the ground and space. Of particular interest is the detection of TiO, which has recently been detected in the similarly hot planets WASP-33 b and WASP-19 b., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

Aims: MASCARA and bRing are photometric surveys designed to detect variability caused by exoplanets in stars with $m_V < 8.4$. Such variability signals are typically small and require an accurate calibration algorithm, tailored to the survey, in order to be detected. This paper presents the methods developed to calibrate the raw photometry of the MASCARA and bRing stations and characterizes the performance of the methods and instruments. Methods: For the primary calibration a modified version of the coarse decorrelation algorithm is used, which corrects for the extinction due to the earth's atmosphere, the camera transmission, and intrapixel variations. Residual trends are removed from the light curves of individual stars using empirical secondary calibration methods. In order to optimize these methods, as well as characterize the performance of the instruments, transit signals were injected in the data. Results: After optimal calibration an RMS scatter of 10 mmag at $m_V \sim 7.5$ is achieved in the light curves. By injecting transit signals with periods between one and five days in the MASCARA data obtained by the La Palma station over the course of one year, we demonstrate that MASCARA La Palma is able to recover 84.0, 60.5 and 20.7% of signals with depths of 2, 1 and 0.5% respectively, with a strong dependency on the observed declination, recovering 65.4% of all transit signals at $��> 0^\circ$ versus 35.8% at $��< 0^\circ$. Using the full three years of data obtained by MASCARA La Palma to date, similar recovery rates are extended to periods up to ten days. We derive a preliminary occurrence rate for hot Jupiters around A-stars of ${>} 0.4 \%$, knowing that many hot Jupiters are still overlooked. In the era of TESS, MASCARA and bRing will provide an interesting synergy for finding long-period (${>} 13.5$ days) transiting gas-giant planets around the brightest stars., 18 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

We report the discovery of MASCARA-1 b, the first exoplanet discovered with the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA). It is a hot Jupiter orbiting a bright $m_V=8.3$, rapidly rotating ($v\sin i_\star > 100~\rm{km~s}^{-1}$) A8 star with a period of $2.148780\pm8\times10^{-6} ~\rm{days}$. The planet has a mass and radius of $3.7\pm0.9~\rm{M}_{\rm{Jup}}$ and $1.5\pm0.3~\rm{R}_{\rm{Jup}}$, respectively. As with most hot Jupiters transiting early-type stars we find a misalignment between the planet orbital axis and the stellar spin axis, which may be signature of the formation and migration histories of this family of planets. MASCARA-1 b has a mean density of $1.5\pm0.9~\rm{g~cm^{-3}}$ and an equilibrium temperature of $2570^{+50}_{-30}~\rm{K}$, one of the highest temperatures known for a hot Jupiter to date. The system is reminiscent of WASP-33, but the host star lacks apparent delta-scuti variations, making the planet an ideal target for atmospheric characterization. We expect this to be the first of a series of hot Jupiters transiting bright early-type stars that will be discovered by MASCARA., 7 pages, 5 figures, Published in A&A. A typo in the value of the spectroscopic impact parameter was corrected

As natural gas production has shifted further from deep prolific gas reservoirs to shale gas, several questions are being addressed regarding fracturing technologies and the fate of chemical additives. A less investigated issue is the unexpected increase in produced hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from hot shale gas reservoirs. Understanding the source of H2S in shale reservoirs and managing low-levels of recovered elemental sulfur affects plans for future treatment, corrosion mitigation, and fracture fluid formulations. In this work we demonstrate that some typical ingredients of hydraulic fracturing fluids are not as kinetically stable as one might expect. Surfactants and biocides such as sodium dodecyl sulfate and glutaraldehyde are shown to undergo hydrolysis and thermochemical sulfate reduction reactions under moderate reservoir conditions, with H2S as the final product accompanied with long chain alcohols and hydrogen sulfate as long-lived intermediate species. This finding suggests that fracture fluid addit...

This paper describes the design, operations, and performance of the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA). Its primary goal is to find new exoplanets transiting bright stars, 4 V V = 8.4, with a precision of 1.5% per 5 minutes at m V = 8.

Selective capture of thiols from a synthetic hydrogen sulfide containing mixture using supported nanogold materials has been explored for the potential removal of thiols from sour gas production fluids. In this research, TiO2-, Al2O3-, SiO2-, and ZnO-supported gold nanoparticles have been studied for their usage as regeneratable adsorbents to capture CH3SH, C2H5SH, and i-C3H7SH. Au/TiO2 and Au/Al2O3 showed promising properties for removing the thiols efficiently from a gas-phase mixture; however, Au/Al2O3 did catalyze some undesirable side reactions, e.g., carbonyl sulfide formation. It was found that a mild temperature of T = 200 °C was sufficient for regeneration of either Au/TiO2 or Au/Al2O3 adsorbent. The metal oxide mesopores played an important role for accommodating gold particles and chemisorption of the thiols, where smaller pore sizes were found to inhibit the agglomeration/growth of gold particles. The nature of thiol adsorption and the impact of multiple adsorption-desorption cycles on the adsorbents have been studied using electron microscopy, XPS, XRD, GC, and physi/chemiadsorption analyses.

MASCARA, the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, is a project aimed at finding exoplanets transiting the brightest stars, in the V = 4 to 8 magnitude range, currently probed neither by space nor by ground based surveys. The target population for MASCARA consists mostly of hot Jupiters, for which the average transit depth is around 1%, and hot Neptunes. In order to achieve consistently a signal-to-noise ratio of better than 100 per hour at magnitude 8, MASCARA is based on three main concepts; simplicity stability and calibration. MASCARA was designed with a minimum number of moving components. Five fixed, shutter-less, Peltier-cooled cameras, fitted with standard Canon 24 mm f/1.4 lenses are operating in a temperature controlled environment. Each camera constantly stares at the same patch of the sky. The exposure time is set to 6.4 seconds, keeping trailing of stars and saturation to a minimum while allowing for continuous exposures. Each camera is connected to its own control and data processing computer, allowing for fully independent operation of each of the cameras. Each camera takes between 4,000 and 7,000 exposures per night, which are reduced locally to produce un-calibrated light curves for the up to ~40,000 pre-selected stars, as well as image stacks of 50 images. For each set of 50 images, astrometry of the solution is verified to monitor drifts in the station. Currently both reduced data as well as raw data (~500 GB/night) are transferred to a central data repository, but for stations with less bandwidth, potentially only the reduced data could be transferred. MASCARA currently only permanently stores the reduced light curves and binned image stacks, deleting the raw images after one month. After transfer, the raw light curves are self-calibrated in batches of 2-4 weeks, removing the spatially varying transmission of the camera, the impact of crowding and spatially variable PSF, and the time variable transmission of the atmosphere. Using a combination of SysRem and flagging of data points that are impacted by known artifacts (moon, sun, clouds, etc.), we have demonstrated a photometric stability of MASCARA down to 0.3% at magnitude V=7.7 within 5.3 minutes.

The need for fundamental data describing the dissolution of hydrogen sulfide, H2S, in Claus recovered liquid sulfur prompted an examination of equilibrium H2S solubility at typical industrial condensation temperatures and partial pressures. An FT/IR absorption technique has been described and new H2S solubility measurements have been reported for partial H2S pressures from 0.4 to 56 kPa and temperatures from 120 to 155 °C. The measurements were combined with previously reported values for atmospheric pressures of H2S and used to calibrate a semi-empirical equation for the Henry's law solubility in liquid sulfur as a function of temperature. Estimations were compared to Claus plant field data and appear to underestimate the H2S solubility for the first and second catalyst condenser stages. This underestimation was attributed to rapid condensation resulting in super-saturation of the recovered sulfur liquid, or an inaccurate measurement of the condensation temperatures.

The association between functional status in trauma survivors and long-term outcomes is unknown.We performed an observational cohort study on adult trauma patients (≥18 years), who required admission to the intensive care unit and who survived hospitalization between 1997 and 2011. The exposure of interest was a functional status defined as bed mobility, transfers, and gait level assessed at the time of hospital discharge. Adjusted odds ratios were estimated by multivariable logistic regression models. The primary outcome was all-cause, postdischarge mortality.We analyzed 3,565 patients with a mean (standard deviation) age of 55 (12.4) years; 60% were male, and 78% were white. The 720-day postdischarge mortality was 22.8%. In a logistic regression model, the lowest functional status category at hospital discharge was associated with 4-fold increased odds of 720-day postdischarge mortality (adjusted odds ratio 4.06 (95% confidence interval, 2.65-6.20, P .001) compared with patients with independent functional status. We compared the odds of 720-day postdischarge mortality in patients with independent functional status and in patients in the lowest functional status category at hospital discharge. The odds of 720-day postdischarge mortality were stronger in older adults (≥65 years: adjusted odds ratio 3.34 [95% confidence interval, 1.72-6.50, P .001]) than in younger adults (65 years: adjusted odds ratio 2.53 [95% confidence interval, 1.39-4.60, P = .002]). Finally, improvement of functional status prior to discharge was associated with a 52% decrease in the odds of 720-day postdischarge mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.75; P .001) compared with patients without a change in functional status prior to discharge.In trauma intensive care unit survivors, functional status at hospital discharge is predictive of long-term mortality.

This paper reviews some image- and model-based approaches for deriving artistic sketches of terrain surfaces. Using a 3D visualization system for rendering luminance maps of different types of terrain, the project compared four common edge detectors for extracting the sketches. The Sobel, and especially the Canny, operators were more useful than other operators. The best results were obtained by combining sketches from luminance maps generated using a headlight and a vertical light, respectively. Pen, pencil and charcoal styles of sketching can be obtained by varying the grey scale and thickness of output primitives. Movies of such sketches (posted on the web) exhibited good inter-frame coherence, which engendered the perception of the solid mass and shape of the terrain. Sample sketch frames were compared with model-based profile-stroke sketches to highlight some limitations of luminance map-based edge detection. The illustrations are used to provide a framework of qualitative criteria on which sketches may be evaluated. Cross-references to recent work are used to identify some themes for future research.

MASCARA, the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, consists of several fully-automated stations. Its goal is to find exoplanets transiting the brightest stars, in the mV = 4 to 8 magnitude range. Each station contains five wide- angle cameras monitoring the near-entire sky at each location. The five cameras are located in a temperature- controlled enclosure and look at the sky through five windows. A housing with a moving roof protects MASCARA from the environment. Here, we present the opto-mechanical design of the first MASCARA station.

MASCARA, the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, will consist of several fully-automated stations distributed across the globe. Its goal is to find exoplanets transiting the brightest stars, in the mV = 4 to 8 magnitude range, currently probed neither by space- nor by ground-based surveys. The nearby transiting planet systems that MASCARA is expected to discover will be key targets for future detailed planet atmosphere observations. The target population for MASCARA consists mostly of hot Jupiters. The main requirement set on MASCARA to detect these planets around stars down to magnitude 8 is to reach a minimum Signal-to-Noise Ratio of 100 within one hour of observation. Each MASCARA station consists of five low-noise off-the-shelf full-frame CCD cameras, fitted with standard Canon 24 mm , f/1.4 lenses, monitoring the near-entire sky down to magnitude 8 at that location. Measurements have demonstrated that the required Signal-to-Noise Ratio of 100, can be achieved in less than thirty minutes. MASCARA aims at deploying several stations world-wide to provide a nearly continuous coverage of the dark sky, at sub-minute cadence. While at the faint end MASCARA is limited mainly by photon noise, at the bright end scintillation and red noise become the limiting factors. Instrumental noise sources are reduced by placing the cameras in a fixed orientation and in a temperature controlled environment. By defocusing and allowing stars to drift over the detector, the impact of pixel-to-pixel variations on the photometry are minimized, while taking exposures at fixed sidereal times allows accurate cross-calibration of consecutive nights. The exposure time of 6.4 seconds gives rise to a high data acquisition rate of a MASCARA station, around 500GB per night. In order to minimize data transport and data storage requirements, the raw images are reduced to produce accurate light curves in nearly real time. The first MASCARA station will be integrated on La Palma during the summer of 2014. MASCARA test data were taken in July 2013 with one camera targeting the transiting exoplanet HD 189733b. Its brightness of mV = 7:7 is close to the faint end of the MASCARA magnitude range. The 5 - σ detection of the 2.8% deep transit with a 5-minute binning of the data confirms that we will be able to detect 1% transit at the faint end within one hour.

MASCARA, the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, consists of several fully-automated stations distributed across the globe. Its goal is to find exoplanets transiting the brightest stars, in the V = 4 to 8 magnitude range, currently probed neither by space- nor by ground-based surveys. The nearby transiting planet systems that MASCARA is expected to discover will be key targets for future detailed planet atmosphere observations. Each station contains five wide-angle cameras monitoring the near-entire sky at each location. Once fully deployed, MASCARA will provide a nearly continuous coverage of the dark sky, down to magnitude 8, at sub-minute cadence. Effectively taking an image of the full sky every 6.4 seconds, MASCARA will produce approximately 500 GB of raw data per night, per station. This data needs to be processed in order to produce calibrated light curves, for up to ~40,000 stars down to magnitude 8 and with a signal-to-noise-ratio of better than 100. The aim of the data reduction pipeline is to process the data locally and in real time, both to immediately have quality control, as well as to prevent a data back-log. Although the cameras are fixed and the stars are therefore drifting over the CCDs, MASCARA is a targeted mission. Data processing consists of three main steps: 1. Compute a complete astrometric solution to sub-pixel level for each exposure and extracting postage stamps for each of the stars in the field of view. 2. Perform accurate photometry on each of the postage stamps, including back-ground subtraction and identification of errors in the photometry due to bad pixels, satellites, air planes or Laser Guide Stars. 3. Remove fluctuations on time scales typical for transits, i.e., several hours, caused by for example the camera and atmospheric transmission, color variations in stars and pixel-to-pixel gain fluctuations. Photometry on short time scales already shows noise levels close to the photon noise limit, and using a combination of calibration and relative photometry the red-noise component can be reduced to close to this photon noise limit, allowing for semi-automated identification of exo-planet transits. This paper discusses the data handling, processing and calibration and shows the first results of the pipeline.

International audience; We present a compendium of the splinter session on stellar science from planet searches that was organized as part of the Cool Stars 18 conference. Seven speakers discussed techniques to infer stellar information from radial velocity, transit and microlensing data, as well as new instrumentation and missions designed for planet searches that will provide useful for the study of the cool stars.

Measuring the stellar position angle provides valuable information on binary stellar formation or stellar spin axis evolution. We aim to develop a method for determining the absolute stellar position angle using spectro-astrometric analysis of high resolution long-slit spectra. The method has been designed in particular for slowly rotating stars. We investigate its applicability to existing dispersive long-slit spectrographs, identified here by their plate scale, and the size of the resulting stellar sample. The stellar rotation induces a tilt in the stellar lines whose angle depends on the stellar position angle and the orientation of the slit. We developed a rotation model to calculate and reproduce the effects of stellar rotation on unreduced high resolution stellar spectra. Then we retrieved the tilt amplitude using a spectro-astrometric extraction of the position of the photocentre of the spectrum. Finally we present two methods for analysing the position spectrum using either direct measurement of the tilt or a cross-correlation analysis. For stars with large apparent diameter and using a spectrograph with a small plate scale, we show that it is possible to determine the stellar position angle directly within 10deg with a signal-to-noise ratio of the order of 6. Under less favourable conditions, i.e. larger plate scale or smaller stellar diameter, the cross-correlation method yields comparable results. We show that with the currently existing instruments, it is possible to determine the stellar position angle of at least 50 stars precisely, mostly K-type giants with apparent diameter down to 5 milliarcseconds. If we consider errors of around 10deg still acceptable, we may include stars with apparent diameter down to 2 mas in the sample that then comprises also some main sequence stars., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, A&A (in press)

Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Camarosporium aloes, Phaeococcomyces aloes and Phoma aloes from Aloe, C. psoraleae, Diaporthe psoraleae and D. psoraleae-pinnatae from Psoralea, Colletotrichum euphorbiae from Euphorbia, Coniothyrium prosopidis and Peyronellaea prosopidis from Prosopis, Diaporthe cassines from Cassine, D. diospyricola from Diospyros, Diaporthe maytenicola from Maytenus, Harknessia proteae from Protea, Neofusicoccum ursorum and N. cryptoaustrale from Eucalyptus, Ochrocladosporium adansoniae from Adansonia, Pilidium pseudoconcavum from Greyia radlkoferi, Stagonospora pseudopaludosa from Phragmites and Toxicocladosporium ficiniae from Ficinia. Several species were also described from Thailand, namely: Chaetopsina pini and C. pinicola from Pinus spp., Myrmecridium thailandicum from reed litter, Passalora pseudotithoniae from Tithonia, Pallidocercospora ventilago from Ventilago, Pyricularia bothriochloae from Bothriochloa and Sphaerulina rhododendricola from Rhododendron. Novelties from Spain include Cladophialophora multiseptata, Knufia tsunedae and Pleuroascus rectipilus from soil and Cyphellophora catalaunica from river sediments. Species from the USA include Bipolaris drechsleri from Microstegium, Calonectria blephiliae from Blephilia, Kellermania macrospora (epitype) and K. pseudoyuccigena from Yucca. Three new species are described from Mexico, namely Neophaeosphaeria agaves and K. agaves from Agave and Phytophthora ipomoeae from Ipomoea. Other African species include Calonectria mossambicensis from Eucalyptus (Mozambique), Harzia cameroonensis from an unknown creeper (Cameroon), Mastigosporella anisophylleae from Anisophyllea (Zambia) and Teratosphaeria terminaliae from Terminalia (Zimbabwe). Species from Europe include Auxarthron longisporum from forest soil (Portugal), Discosia pseudoartocreas from Tilia (Austria), Paraconiothyrium polonense and P. lycopodinum from Lycopodium (Poland) and Stachybotrys oleronensis from Iris (France). Two species of Chrysosporium are described from Antarctica, namely C. magnasporum and C. oceanitesii. Finally, Licea xanthospora is described from Australia, Hypochnicium huinayensis from Chile and Custingophora blanchettei from Uruguay. Novel genera of Ascomycetes include Neomycosphaerella from Pseudopentameris macrantha (South Africa), and Paramycosphaerella from Brachystegia sp. (Zimbabwe). Novel hyphomycete genera include Pseudocatenomycopsis from Rothmannia (Zambia), Neopseudocercospora from Terminalia (Zambia) and Neodeightoniella from Phragmites (South Africa), while Dimorphiopsis from Brachystegia (Zambia) represents a novel coelomycetous genus. Furthermore, Alanphillipsia is introduced as a new genus in the Botryosphaeriaceae with four species, A. aloes, A. aloeigena and A. aloetica from Aloe spp. and A. euphorbiae from Euphorbia sp. (South Africa). A new combination is also proposed for Brachysporium torulosum (Deightoniella black tip of banana) as Corynespora torulosa. Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.

Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Camarosporium aloes, Phaeococcomyces aloes and Phoma aloes from Aloe, C. psoraleae, Diaporthe psoraleae and D. psoraleae-pinnatae from Psoralea, Colletotrichum euphorbiae from Euphorbia, Coniothyrium prosopidis and Peyronellaea prosopidis from Prosopis, Diaporthe cassines from Cassine, D. diospyricola from Diospyros, Diaporthe maytenicola from Maytenus, Harknessia proteae from Protea, Neofusicoccum ursorum and N. cryptoaustrale from Eucalyptus, Ochrocladosporium adansoniae from Adansonia, Pilidium pseudoconcavum from Greyia radlkoferi, Stagonospora pseudopaludosa from Phragmites and Toxicocladosporium ficiniae from Ficinia. Several species were also described from Thailand, namely: Chaetopsina pini and C. pinicola from Pinus spp., Myrmecridium thailandicum from reed litter, Passalora pseudotithoniae from Tithonia, Pallidocercospora ventilago from Ventilago, Pyricularia bothriochloae from Bothriochloa and Sphaerulina rhododendricola from Rhododendron. Novelties from Spain include Cladophialophora multiseptata, Knufia tsunedae and Pleuroascus rectipilus from soil and Cyphellophora catalaunica from river sediments. Species from the USA include Bipolaris drechsleri from Microstegium, Calonectria blephiliae from Blephilia, Kellermania macrospora (epitype) and K. pseudoyuccigena from Yucca. Three new species are described from Mexico, namely Neophaeosphaeria agaves and K. agaves from Agave and Phytophthora ipomoeae from Ipomoea. Other African species include Calonectria mossambicensis from Eucalyptus (Mozambique), Harzia cameroonensis from an unknown creeper (Cameroon), Mastigosporella anisophylleae from Anisophyllea (Zambia) and Teratosphaeria terminaliae from Terminalia (Zimbabwe). Species from Europe include Auxarthron longisporum from forest soil (Portugal), Discosia pseudoartocreas from Tilia (Austria), Paraconiothyrium polonense and P. lycopodinum from Lycopodium (Poland) and Stachybotrys oleronensis from Iris (France). Two species of Chrysosporium are described from Antarctica, namely C. magnasporum and C. oceanitesii. Finally, Licea xanthospora is described from Australia, Hypochnicium huinayensis from Chile and Custingophora blanchettei from Uruguay. Novel genera of Ascomycetes include Neomycosphaerella from Pseudopentameris macrantha (South Africa), and Paramycosphaerella from Brachystegia sp. (Zimbabwe). Novel hyphomycete genera include Pseudocatenomycopsis from Rothmannia (Zambia), Neopseudocercospora from Terminalia (Zambia) and Neodeightoniella from Phragmites (South Africa), while Dimorphiopsis from Brachystegia (Zambia) represents a novel coelomycetous genus. Furthermore, Alanphillipsia is introduced as a new genus in the Botryosphaeriaceae with four species, A. aloes, A. aloeigena and A. aloetica from Aloe spp. and A. euphorbiae from Euphorbia sp. (South Africa). A new combination is also proposed for Brachysporium torulosum (Deightoniella black tip of banana) as Corynespora torulosa. Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.

We designed and constructed a special instrument to enable the determination of the stellar's spin orientation. The Differential image rotator for Stellar Spin Orientation, DeSSpOt, allows the simultaneous observations of two anti-parallel orientations of the star on the spectrum. On a high resolution \'echelle spectrum, the stellar rotation causes a slight line tilt visible in the spatial direction which is comparable to a rotation curve. We developed a new method, which exploits the variations in these tilts, to estimate the absolute position angle of the rotation axis. The line tilt is retrieved by a spectro-astrometric extraction of the spectrum. In order to validate the method, we observed spectroscopic binaries with known orbital parameters. The determination of the orbital position angle is equivalent to the determination of the stellar position angle, but is easier to to detect. DeSSpOt was successfully implemented on the high resolution Coud\'e spectrograph of the Th\"uringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg. The observations of Capella led to the determination of the orbital position angle., Comment: In-Press on the Proceedings of the SPIE Conference Astronomical Telescopes + instrumentation 2012, Amsterdam, paper #8446-149

Functional analyses of elopement (i.e., leaving a specific area without permission) are challenging to conduct because clients must have repeated opportunities to elope from one room (or area) to another safely. These analyses often require two or more adjoining rooms and retrieval of the client following each instance of elopement (e.g., Piazza et al., 1997). These room arrangements may be impractical in some settings, and therapist delivery of attention or demands during retrieval may confound the results. To address these issues, we evaluated the viability of conducting a functional analysis (FA) of elopement within a single room. Participants were 2 children and 2 adults with developmental disabilities who eloped from rooms at their day programs. Results of the single-room assessments were compared to those of a second FA that was conducted using methods similar to those described in previous studies. Function-based treatments were implemented for each participant. Results suggest that the single-room assessment may be a viable alternative for identifying the function of elopement.

Ripening of cheese with three kinds of salt treatment was studied using MgCl 2 , NaCl or a mixture of the two. Proteolysis was followed by determination of TCA-soluble nitrogen and quantitative electrophoresis. A rapid one-step method for free fatty acids was used to determine short and long-chin fatty acids. In the presence of magnesium, proteolysis increased, even with NaCl, which seemed to delay the magnesium activation. Lipolysis was retarded by NaCl, which decreased the level of free fatty acids. An imbalance between proteolysis and lipolysis could be responsible for the unpleasant flavor of the cheese containing both MgCl 2 and NaCl

Podmosta macdunnoughi (Ricker) is a small nemourid stonefly distributed over the glaciated areas of eastern Canada and northern New England, but more abundant in the boreal zone. In the outlet stream of Lake Pitt in the Lower Laurentians of Quebec, near the southern edge of its range, the species has a univoltine cycle. The adults emerged in late April and early May. The eggs, however, did not hatch till September and the first nymphs were collected in October. Growth continued throughout the winter and ended just before the emergence period. Though a wide range of sizes was present during the winter, there was a resynchronisation of the population before emergence and a short emergence period due to rapid growth of the smaller nymphs. Mature female nymphs were larger than males. The significance of the embryonic diapause in this northern species is discussed.

Reactions of a mixture of dimethyl polysulfides (DMPS, CH3SxCH3, x = 3 – 8) with methyl- and phenylmagnesium halides are described. The type of product obtained was dependent on the molar ratio of DMPS to Grignard reagent. When a 6:1 methyl-Grignard to DMPS ratio was used, methanethiol and dimethyl sulfide were the major products obtained after acidification of the reaction mixture. Lesser quantities of methyl-Grignard favored the formation of dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and H2S. Experiments with a 6:1 phenylmagnesium bromide to DMPS ratio produced benzenethiol and phenylmethyl sulfide as major products after acidification. No methanethiol was observed in these experiments. Mixtures of phenylmethyl mono-, di-, and trisulfides and H2S were obtained with a 3:1 Grignard/DMPS molar ratio. From a mechanistic viewpoint, product distributions obtained from reaction of Grignard reagents with DMPS can be explained by the formation of magnesium thiolates that are most readily stabilized by adjacent structures. Experiments using phenyl Grignard reagent in limited supply suggested that the internal sulfur atoms of the polysulfide chains were most reactive. Keywords: organic polysulfides, Grignard reagents.

Biopesticides, including botanicals, can offer a safe and effective alternative to conventional insecticides for controlling major insect pests within an integrated pest management program. The current study highlights the practical application of a botanical insecticide for controlling a major insect pest of turfgrass: European chafer, Rhizotrogus majalis (Razoumowsky). Greenhouse and field trials were conducted to test the efficacy of a botanical formulation based on black pepper, Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), seed extracts to R. majalis larvae. The 7-d P. nigrum extract LC50 for R. majalis third instars was 2.5%. Successful treatment in the field was accomplished with the application of a 2% P. nigrum formulation to turfgrass infested with R. majalis second and third instars, whereas 4% extract was required in a second field trial with older third instars. The 2% pepper extract activity was comparable with the conventional insecticide diazinon in the first field trial. However, the 4% pepper extracts significantly affected the earthworm populations in treated plots compared with diazinon in the second field trail. The analysis of soil residues for piperamides in the P. nigrum extract determined a half-life of 1 - 2.6 d in the first and second field trials, respectively. This confirmed the expectation that under field conditions the residual activity would be less than conventional insecticides, thereby reducing the environmental risk associated with pesticide use. We recommend the pepper formulation for spot treatment applications when population densities reveal an epicenter of infestation rather than broadcasting over large areas, thus helping to minimize cost and negative affects on nontarget invertebrates.

The translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) has been implicated in naturally occurring resistance to Potato virus Y (PVY) determined by the pvr2 locus in pepper (Capsicum annuum). Here, the molecular basis of the recessive resistance to PVY and Tobacco etch virus (TEV) controlled by the pot-1 locus in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum; now Solanum lycopersicum) was investigated. On the basis of genetic mapping data that indicated that pot-1 and pvr2 are located in syntenic regions of the tomato and pepper genomes, the possible involvement of eIF4E in pot-1-mediated resistance was assessed. Genetic mapping of members of the eIF4E multigenic family in tomato introgression lines revealed that an eIF4E locus indeed maps in the same genomic region as pot-1. By comparing eIF4E coding sequences between resistant and susceptible Lycopersicon genotypes, a small number of polymorphisms that co-segregate with the pot-1 locus were identified, suggesting that this gene could be involved in resistance to potyviruses. Functional complementation experiments using Potato virus X-mediated transient expression of eIF4E from a susceptible genotype in a resistant pepper genotype confirmed that a small number of amino acid substitutions in the eIF4E protein indeed account for resistance/susceptibility to both the PVY and TEV, and consequently that pot-1 and pvr2 are orthologues. Taken together, these results support the role of this eIF4E gene as a key component of recessive resistance to potyviruses, and validate the comparative genomic approach for the molecular characterization of recessive resistance genes.

The kinetics of removal of H2S and H2Sx from liquid sulfur using air sparging and amine catalysts is discussed. Removal by air is suggested to occur by reaction of O2 with H2S and H2Sx both in solution and in the headspace above the liquid sulfur forming S8 and SO2. The SO2 so formed likely reacts with H2S/H2Sx. Treatment of liquid sulfur containing H2S/H2Sx with amines results in sulfur containing no polymeric sulfur. This is believed to occur by proton abstraction from H2Sx and decomposition of the resulting HSx − anion to S8 and eventual formation of H2S.

A systematic two-step procedure for the structural identification of bioprocesses is followed in order to establish a mechanistic model for vanillin production by Pycnoporus cinnabarinus. The first step is devoted to the identification of the underlying reaction structure and the development of a validated mass balance model for the growth of P. cinnabarinus and the biotransformation of vanillic acid into vanillin. The second step is devoted to the kinetic modeling, namely, the estimation of the reaction rates and the calibration of the kinetic parameters. The whole procedure leads to the final set up of a simulation model of the process. The results are supported by the data from five cultures of P. cinnabarinus in bioreactors.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurement is being used to assess end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients' functional status and well-being from the patient's perspective. Research shows that HRQOL can screen for patients at high risk for death, hospitalization, treatment adherence, and depression. This study investigated whether patient goal setting and interdisciplinary collaboration and support could increase HRQOL scores in ESRD patients on chronic maintenance hemodialysis. Differences were found to be statistically significant in two of the MOS Short Form 36 (SF-36) categories (role physical and role emotional) following the intervention at the 95% confidence interval using a t-test statistic. This indicates that the intervention had a positive impact on patient perceptions of their health status. Eighty-seven percent indicated that there had been at least some progress made in reaching the goal. The results of this study support the utilization of HRQOL data at the facility level to improve patient's perceptions of their health status. A further study is needed to examine the long-term impact on HRQOL and other patient outcome measures through consistent use of this intervention.

In many 011 (and gas) reservoirs throughout the world, oil recovery is strongly affected by the presence of a bottom aquifer. The drawdown imposed in production welis induces the water to rise forming a cone. Sooner or later water breaks through, and thereafter the production is characterized by an iricreasing watercut. In the Iast years, besides the conventional means of correcting coning effects (smaller well spacing, optimising cornpietion intervals, implementing horizontal well technology), various treatment techniques have been proposed 10 mitigate coning. However, U 10 now, none of these techniques have proved successful. The purpose of this paper is to present the bases of a new technique to prevent coning. As opposed to current techniques that generaily focus on the near-welibore region after water breakthrough, the new preventive technique is intended to delay breakthrough. It is a dynamic technique consisting of injecting a product, soluble or dispersed in water, into the aquifer. When the product comes into contact with the all, an impervious barrier to water is forrned. The continuing presence .of the product in the aquifer provides a self-adjusting process. During injection, oil production could be rnaintained. Laboratory tests dealing with product characterization, prod uct 1 nectivity and oiI/product interaction are currently performed. Numerical simulations have been carried out to study the movement of the product, the generation of a dynamic barrier, and the efficiency of such a dynamic barrier under a wide variety of operating arid reservoir conditions. Calculations show that the in-situ spread is an important aspect in optimizing the process. In the case of a homogeneous aquifer zone, simulations show that the effective radius attained by the product is considerable and that oii recovery closely related to this radius is dramatically improved. Not only is the watercut strongly decreased but also the oil recovery is improved.

Resume L'influence de la teneur en chlorure de sodium (0, 0,4, 0,8 et 2,1%) et de la duree d'affinage (22, 40 et 55 jours) a ete etudiee sur un fromage type camembert enrichi en chlorure de magnesium. Le profil sensoriel, determine a l'aide de la norme AFNOR, comprend 44 termes. L'aspect et la texture des fromages a teneur en NaCI egale a 0%, 0,4% et 0,8% sont fortement modifies au cours de l'affinage, alors que pour une teneur en NaCI de 2,1% l'affinage a peu d'effet. L'odeur et la flaveur evoluent au cours de la maturation pour toutes les teneurs en NaCI. Le fromage dont la teneur en NaCI est egale a 0,8% est percu comme different des autres fromages. L'addition de magnesium entraine une augmentation de la proteolyse quelle que soit la teneur en NaCI des fromages et agit sur la texture des fromages.

Etude des mecanismes de reaction du benzothiophene-compose organo-soufre typique du petrole lourd et des ions metalliques aqueux rencontres dans les reservoirs simules par des injections de vapeur. Etude de l'influence de ces reactions sur les performances de la recuperation assistee

In the reactions of thiophene and tetrahydrothiophene with aqueous solutions of first-row transition-metal and aluminium cations at 240 °C and 3.4 MPa all the metal species accelerated the decomposition of the thiophenes in relation to equivalent reactions with pure water. Al3+, Sc3+, VO2+, Cr3+, Ni2+ and Cu2+ were most reactive towards thiophene and Al3+, VO2+, Cr3+ and Cu2+ were most reactive towards tetrahydrothiophene. Principal products were H2S and complex mixtures of organic products. The presence of CO2 and oxygen-containing organic products revealed that water was involved in direct chemical reaction with the substrates. It is likely that these model reactions parallel more complex processes that occur during the steam-stimulated recovery of oil-sand bitumen and other high-sulphur oils.