White Light

Hysteresis behaviour of the current–voltage characteristics collected on spin coated synthetic eumelanin layer embedded in the Au/eumelanin/ITO/glass structure is shown. The effect has been observed under dark both in air and vacuum environment and its magnitude has been found related to the eumelanin hydration state. Moreover, in vacuum and under white light illumination, enhancement of the hysteresis loop area respect to those collected under dark has been observed. Space charge storage and charge trapping/detrapping as possible mechanisms responsible of the observed current–voltage behaviour are discussed. Preliminary experimental results have evidenced the possible integration of eumelanin layers in electro-optical charge storage based memory devices.

Comparison of the effectiveness of 8W fluorescent black and white light sources, in two 4x4 Latin squares (16 replicates) designs under South African conditions, showed black light to be up to three time more effective in collecting Culicoides imicola Kieffer (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) and other South African Culicoides species. Four Culicoides species, which were collected in low numbers with black light, were not collected in traps equipped with the white light source. No significant difference was found in the parous rate of the C. imicola populations as determined by the two light sources. The study highlighted the superiority of black light as a preferred collection method for C. imicola, considered to be the most widespread and abundant vector of livestock orbiviruses. The results underline the need to develop and adopt standard techniques for measuring the variables of vectorial capacity.

For the first time, the photosynthetic performance of field-grown macroalgae from the Magellan Strait was evaluated with respect to their photoadaptation in the field and acclimation potential to ultraviolet radiation. Five macroalgal species were collected in the eulittoral and the upper sublittoral: Ulva intestinalis, Porphyra columbina, Adenocystis utricularis, Desmarestia confervoides and D. ligulata. Photosynthesis vs. irradiance (P-I) curves of macroalgae

Phosphor conversion of light-emitting diode light for white light sources and some monochrome applications requires particular phosphor properties and has to take into account specific issues if aimed at high-power output. Limitations and solutions will be discussed, giving special considerations to drive and temperature dependencies. Efficiencies of 32 lm/W for white with good color rendering at 4600 K and 35 lm/W for green (535 nm) have been demonstrated

Large numbers of high precision solar images are now available from both terrestrial and space observatories, which has made it necessary to develop automated image processing techniques. In this paper we compare analysis of two sets of full-disk solar images: ground-based white light photographic films from Gyula and allied observa- tories, and magnetograms and quasi-continuum images from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on SOHO. We use two different automated image analysis tech- niques. The Sunspot Automatic Measurement (SAM) program has been developed at the Heliophysical Obser- vatory at Debrecen for compiling the Debrecen Photohe- liographic Data which are used to measure and catalogue the area and position of sunspots (umbra and penumbra). This project is part of the continuation of the Greenwich Catalogue. Startool is a general image analysis tool de- veloped at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and applied to the MDI imagery as part of the SOHO Guest Investigator Program. As...

Astaxanthin is a red xanthophyll (oxygenated carotenoid) with large importance in the aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and food industries. The green alga Haematococcus pluvialis and the heterobasidiomycetous yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous are currently known as the main microorganisms useful for astaxanthin production at the industrial scale. The improvement of astaxanthin titer by microbial fermentation is a requirement to be competitive with the synthetic manufacture by chemical procedures, which at present is the major source in the market. In this review, we show how the isolation of new strains of X. dendrorhous from the environment, the selection of mutants by the classical methods of random mutation and screening, and the rational metabolic engineering, have provided improved strains with higher astaxanthin productivity. To reduce production costs and enhance competitiveness from an industrial point of view, low-cost raw materials from industrial and agricultural origin have been adopted to get the maximal astaxanthin productivity. Finally, fermentation parameters have been studied in depth, both at flask and fermenter scales, to get maximal astaxanthin titers of 4.7 mg/g dry cell matter (420 mg/l) when X. dendrorhous was fermented under continuous white light. The industrial scale-up of this biotechnological process will provide a cost-effective method, alternative to synthetic astaxanthin, for the commercial exploitation of the expensive astaxanthin (about $2,500 per kilogram of pure astaxanthin).

The goal of this project was to determine the most promising co-polymerized (COP) coating for paperboard for protection against gas and water vapor transmission. The driving force for this was to create a coating that will significantly slow the permeation of water and water vapor through the paperboard, while retaining its mechanical properties. This was accomplished by creating high barrier co-polymerized coatings. This study focuses on the use of modified high shape factor engineered (HSFE) clays. In this study, acrylic co-monomers have been polymerized in the presence of three different, finely dispersed HSFE clays, to prepare the co-polymerized coatings. The wet coating structure was studied using Brookfield and Hercules Hi-Shear viscometers, water retention, and dispersion stability. The dry coating structure was studied using WYKO White Light Interferometry and burn out tests. The cylindrical laboratory coater (CLC)-coated samples were then tested for gas and water vapor permeability. Additionally, the optical and surface properties were determined. The CLC-coated board samples showed almost zero gas permeability and a significant reduction in water vapor transmission rate (water vapor permeability). The water vapor permeability was reduced up to 90% reflecting a one order of magnitude decrease in comparison to a commercially coated sample. The co-polymerized coating with high shape factor and thinner platelet clay displayed the lowest water vapor permeability and the best optical and surface properties, thereby making it the most promising barrier coating for solid bleached sulfate paperboard.

Humanity is on the threshold of recognizing the fundamental error in its view of life and death. Both death as well as active life is necessary to the vital formation of a larger, more essential whole. In this paper, I apply the sociology of knowledge and change as it pertains to death and focus on ways in which we can step outside its traditional frameworks and limitations. I also discuss topics related to death such as birth, aging, sickness, and war, and examine cultural differences in attitudes toward death. I offer varying perspectives including the Buddhist view and from these draw implications and conclusions. I apply the lenses of contemporary social scientists such as Edgar Morin, Kenneth Gergen, Edward Stewart, Milton Bennett, Mary Catherine Bateson, E. Doyle McCarthy, Philip Slater, and Piotr Sztompka. To these I add other relevant passages from the writings and speeches of key thinkers on the topic of death, in particular, Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, and educator, Daisaku Ikeda. To construct a more humanistic and sustainable view of life, it is first of all crucial to establish a culture which perceives death in its larger living context as but one cycle in the expansive eternity of life.