| 1. |
- Merlone, A., et al.
(författare)
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The MeteoMet project - metrology for meteorology: challenges and results
- 2015
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Ingår i: Meteorological Applications. - : Wiley. - 1350-4827 .- 1469-8080. ; 22, s. 820-829
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study describes significant outcomes of the Metrology for Meteorology' project, MeteoMet, which is an attempt to bridge the meteorological and metrological communities. The concept of traceability, an idea used in both fields but with a subtle difference in meaning, is at the heart of the project. For meteorology, a traceable measurement is the one that can be traced back to a particular instrument, time and location. From a metrological perspective, traceability further implies that the measurement can be traced back to a primary realization of the quantity being measured in terms of the base units of the International System of Units, the SI. These two perspectives reflect long-standing differences in culture and practice and this project - and this study - represents only the first step towards better communication between the two communities. The 3 year MeteoMet project was funded by the European Metrology Research Program (EMRP) and involved 18 European National Metrological Institutes, 3 universities and 35 collaborating stakeholders including national meteorology organizations, research institutes, universities, associations and instrument companies. The project brought a metrological perspective to several long-standing measurement problems in meteorology and climatology, varying from conventional ground-based measurements to those made in the upper atmosphere. It included development and testing of novel instrumentation as well as improved calibration procedures and facilities, instrument intercomparison under realistic conditions and best practice dissemination. Additionally, the validation of historical temperature data series with respect to measurement uncertainties and a methodology for recalculation of the values were included.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Rasel, H., et al.
(författare)
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Development of bioplastics based on agricultural side-stream products : Film extrusion of Crambe abyssinica/wheat gluten blends for packaging purposes
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Polymer Science. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-8995 .- 1097-4628. ; 133:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this work was to add economic value to crambe meal, the protein-rich byproduct from the industrial extraction of Crambe abyssinica seed oil, by using it as a potential feedstock for oilseed meal-based plastics. The feasibility to produce continuous, flexible plastic films of glycerol-plasticized crambe meal blended with wheat gluten (WG) to improve extrudate properties and urea as a protein denaturant using extrusion was investigated. The effect of process parameters and blend composition were studied with regard to the extrusion performance and the film properties. Tensile properties and oxygen permeability were determined, and the film morphology was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. A die temperature between 125 and 130°C resulted in films with the most homogeneous surfaces and highest tensile strength and extensibility. The use of compression molding after extrusion improved the surface quality and film strength and lowered the oxygen permeability. A decrease in the plasticizer content (from 30 to 20 wt %) improved the extrudability and showed the highest tensile strength, whereas the extensibility was essentially unaffected. The importance of the presence of WG was shown by the fact that strength and extensibility decreased when the crambe content was increased from 60 to 80 wt %. It was shown that crambe-based biopolymer blends could be extruded as continuous flexible plastic films that exhibited promising mechanical and oxygen barrier properties. The operational window was, however, found to be narrow. The results provide a first basis to further develop the process and the blend toward industrial applications, for example, as packaging materials.
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| 4. |
- Rasel, H., et al.
(författare)
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New bio-based plastics, from a non-edible plant oil side-stream, for film extrusion
- 2014
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Ingår i: 19th IAPRI World Conference on Packaging 2014. - : Victoria University. - 9781510821316 ; , s. 586-590
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Renewable sourced PET, PA, PE, starch blends, etc, are fastly growing due to the processability and final performance, that is similar to their petroleum derived options. A bit in the shadow of the development of these plastics, development is ongoing on another group of plastics, made directly of the side-streams of agricultural products: oil plant residues and proteins. They can be used in edible applications but not all of them are suitable for food or forage. Industrial oilseed meal from crambe abyssinica contains relatively high levels of protein that is not suitable for human or animal consumption due to the presence of anti-nutritional compounds. This paper presents research on crambe meal as a base for new plastics, developed to extrude continuous, flexible plastic films based on crambe meal, blended with vital wheat gluten as an elastic component and urea as a protein denaturant. The effect of process parameters, such as screw speed, die temperature and pressure, and the effect of components were studied with regards to the final performance of the film extrudates. E.g. mechanical properties, oxygen permeability and moisture content were determined and surface and cross-section morphologies were examined with electron microscopy. The results showed that crambe-based blends can be extruded as continuous, flexible plastic films, which exhibit barrier properties towards oxygen. Recipes and methods for pelletizing of master batches for post-converting (e.g. extrusion or compression molding) were successfully developed. Addition of a renewable plasticizer improved the extrusion performance and resulted in less hygroscopic films, which further showed the overall highest tensile strength while the extensibility was nearly unaffected. The results provide a first basis to further develop the process and the blend towards potential industrial applications, for example as packaging materials to trays, pots and similar type of packages.
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| 5. |
- Solé-Domènech, Santiago, et al.
(författare)
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Localization of cholesterol, amyloid and glia in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse brain tissue using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and immunofluorescence imaging
- 2013
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Ingår i: Acta Neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-6322 .- 1432-0533. ; 125:1, s. 145-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The spatial distributions of lipids, amyloid-beta deposits, markers of neurons and glial cells were imaged, at submicrometer lateral resolution, in brain structures of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease using a new methodology that combines time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and confocal fluorescence microscopy. The technology, which enabled us to simultaneously image the lipid and glial cell distributions in Tg2576 mouse brain structures, revealed micrometer-sized cholesterol accumulations in hippocampal regions undergoing amyloid-beta deposition. Such cholesterol granules were either associated with individual amyloid deposits or spread over entire regions undergoing amyloidogenesis. Subsequent immunohistochemical analysis of the same brain regions showed increased microglial and astrocytic immunoreactivity associated with the amyloid deposits, as expected from previous studies, but did not reveal any particular astrocytic or microglial feature correlated with cholesterol granulation. However, dystrophic neurites as well as presynaptic vesicles presented a distribution similar to that of cholesterol granules in regions undergoing amyloid-beta accumulation, thus indicating that these neuronal endpoints may retain cholesterol in areas with lesions. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for an altered cholesterol distribution near amyloid deposits that would have been missed by several other lipid analysis methods, and opens for the possibility to study in detail the putative liaison between lipid environment and protein structure and function in Alzheimer's disease.
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| 6. |
- Wagner, J., et al.
(författare)
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First 230? : GHz VLBI fringes on 3C 279 using the APEX Telescope (Research Note)
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 581
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. We report about a 230? GHz very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) fringe finder observation of blazar 3C 279 with the APEX telescope in Chile, the phased submillimeter array (SMA), and the SMT of the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO). Methods. We installed VLBI equipment and measured the APEX station position to 1? cm accuracy (1σ). We then observed 3C 279 on 2012 May 7 in a 5? h 230? GHz VLBI track with baseline lengths of 2800? Mλ to 7200? Mλ and a finest fringe spacing of 28.6? μas. Results. Fringes were detected on all baselines with signal-to-noise ratios of 12 to 55 in 420? s. The correlated flux density on the longest baseline was ∼0.3? Jy beam-1, out of a total flux density of 19.8? Jy. Visibility data suggest an emission region ≤ 38? μas in size, and at least two components, possibly polarized. We find a lower limit of the brightness temperature of the inner jet region of about 1010? K. Lastly, we find an upper limit of 20% on the linear polarization fraction at a fringe spacing of ∼ 38? μas. Conclusions. With APEX the angular resolution of 230? GHz VLBI improves to 28.6? μas. This allows one to resolve the last-photon ring around the Galactic Center black hole event horizon, expected to be 40? μas in diameter, and probe radio jet launching at unprecedented resolution, down to a few gravitational radii in galaxies like M 87. To probe the structure in the inner parsecs of 3C 279 in detail, follow-up observations with APEX and five other mm-VLBI stations have been conducted (March 2013) and are being analyzed.
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| 7. |
- Attard, Thohmas. M., et al.
(författare)
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Supercritical extraction as an effective first-step in a maize stover biorefinery
- 2015
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Ingår i: RSC Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2046-2069. ; 5:54, s. 43831-43838
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) has been investigated for the generation of valuable waxy compounds and as an added-value technology in a holistic maize stover biorefinery. ScCO2 extraction and fractionation was carried out prior to hydrolysis and fermentation of maize stover. Fractionation of the crude extracts by scCO2 resulted in wax extracts having different compositions and melting temperatures, enabling their utilisation in different applications. One such fraction demonstrated significant potential as a renewable defoaming agent in washing machine detergent formulations. Furthermore, scCO2 extraction has been shown to have a positive effect on the downstream processing of the maize stover. Fermentation of the scCO2 extracted maize stover hydrolysates exhibited a higher glucose consumption and greater potential growth for surfactant (in comparison with non-scCO2 treated stover) axnd ethanol production (a 40% increase in overall ethanol production after scCO2 pre-treatment). This work represents an important development in the extraction of high value components from low value wastes and demonstrates the benefits of using scCO2 extraction as a first-step in biomass processing, including enhancing downstream processing of the biomass for the production of 2nd generation biofuels as part of an integrated holistic biorefinery.
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| 8. |
- Bender, P., et al.
(författare)
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Dipolar-coupled moment correlations in clusters of magnetic nanoparticles
- 2018
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. - 2469-9950 .- 2469-9969. ; 98:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we resolve the nature of the moment coupling between 10-nm dimercaptosuccinic acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles. The individual iron oxide cores were composed of >95% maghemite and agglomerated to clusters. At room temperature the ensemble behaved as a superparamagnet according to Mössbauer and magnetization measurements, however, with clear signs of dipolar interactions. Analysis of temperature-dependent ac susceptibility data in the superparamagnetic regime indicates a tendency for dipolar-coupled anticorrelations of the core moments within the clusters. To resolve the directional correlations between the particle moments we performed polarized small-angle neutron scattering and determined the magnetic spin-flip cross section of the powder in low magnetic field at 300 K. We extract the underlying magnetic correlation function of the magnetization vector field by an indirect Fourier transform of the cross section. The correlation function suggests nonstochastic preferential alignment between neighboring moments despite thermal fluctuations, with anticorrelations clearly dominating for next-nearest moments. These tendencies are confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations of such core clusters.
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| 9. |
- Bender, P., et al.
(författare)
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Distribution functions of magnetic nanoparticles determined by a numerical inversion method
- 2017
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Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 19:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the present study, we applied a regularized inversion method to extract the particle size, magnetic moment and relaxation-time distribution of magnetic nanoparticles from small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), DC magnetization (DCM) and AC susceptibility (ACS) measurements. For the measurements the particles were colloidally dispersed in water. At first approximation the particles could be assumed to be spherically shaped and homogeneously magnetized single-domain particles. As model functions for the inversion, we used the particle form factor of a sphere (SAXS), the Langevin function (DCM) and the Debye model (ACS). The extracted distributions exhibited features/peaks that could be distinctly attributed to the individually dispersed and non-interacting nanoparticles. Further analysis of these peaks enabled, in combination with a prior characterization of the particle ensemble by electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, a detailed structural and magnetic characterization of the particles. Additionally, all three extracted distributions featured peaks, which indicated deviations of the scattering (SAXS), magnetization (DCM) or relaxation (ACS) behavior from the one expected for individually dispersed, homogeneously magnetized nanoparticles. These deviations could be mainly attributed to partial agglomeration (SAXS, DCM, ACS), uncorrelated surface spins (DCM) and/or intra-well relaxation processes (ACS). The main advantage of the numerical inversion method is that no ad hoc assumptions regarding the line shape of the extracted distribution functions are required, which enabled the detection of these contributions. We highlighted this by comparing the results with the results obtained by standard model fits, where the functional form of the distributions was a priori assumed to be log-normal shaped.
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| 10. |
- Gölander, C-G, et al.
(författare)
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Structure and surface properties of diaminocyclohexane plasma polymer films
- 1993
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Polymer Science. - 0021-8995 .- 1097-4628. ; 49, s. 39-51
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plasma polymers of three isomers of diaminocyclohexane (DACH) were deposited on polyethylene, SiO2, and mica at 20 °C. The deposition rate was measured as a function of plasma density and power; a maximum was observed in the latter function. The deposition rate was highest for the monomer with the highest flow rate. The film refractive index was observed to increase with both power density and the degree of fragmentation in the plasma. Film composition was measured by elementary analysis, and was found to be almost identical for each of the three isomers; a mechanism for the polymerization reaction is proposed. The percentage of primary amino groups decreased with increasing power density and with film thickness. Surface force measurements of the thickness and refractive index agreed well with the corresponding ellipsometry values in dry air, and an adhesive force, independent of power density, was measured. When the film was exposed to water vapor, it swelled considerably and the adhesion was determined by capillary forces. Associated with swelling, at high power, was an extremely regular 2-ply rope pattern of protruding material.
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