Fifty Years of Quasars. From Observations to Physical Parameters

in D'Onofrio, M. (Ed.) Fifty Years of Quasars: From Early Observations and Ideas to Future Research (2012)

Observational measures of AGNs allow us to directly infer some basic physical properties of quasars including (1) physical conditions and chemical abundances in the broad-line emitting gas as well as (2 ... [more ▼]

Observational measures of AGNs allow us to directly infer some basic physical properties of quasars including (1) physical conditions and chemical abundances in the broad-line emitting gas as well as (2) radius of the line-emitting region, (3) black hole mass, (4) and Eddington ratio. In this chapter, we seek information on how these quantities are measured. One of the surprises of recent times, that would have shocked the discoverers in the 1960s are the large BH masses and high chemical abundances inferred for even some of the highest redshift quasars known. [less ▲]

Du prieuré d’Oignies au musée de Namur, de l'orfèvre Hugo à son atelier : le binôme « reliques » et « arts précieux ». À propos d’une croix inédite du Trésor de la Cathédrale de Liège

in Journnée d'études Hugo d'Oignies (2012)

Hydro-mechanical modelling of the development of preferential gas pathways in claystone

in Mancuso, Claudio; Jommmi, Cristina; D'Onza, Francesca (Eds.) Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications (volume 2) (2012)

During long-term repository of radioactive waste in argillaceous formation, the gas migration in the host formation and in the engineered barriers is a crucial issue, because it could affect the safety ... [more ▼]

During long-term repository of radioactive waste in argillaceous formation, the gas migration in the host formation and in the engineered barriers is a crucial issue, because it could affect the safety function of the clay barriers. Gas migration tests on Callovo-Oxfordian argillite have been performed by the British Geological Survey. The observations show that gas migration is often accompa-nied by the development of preferential pathways, which propagate through the sample. Hydro-mechanical numerical modelling of these tests is performed. It ap-pears that a continuum approach to the movement of gas is not sufficient to repro-duce the experimental observations. A coupling between deformation of the me-dium, permeability and air entry pressure is proposed. The numerical results show that such coupling play an important role in a successful simulation of such gas flows. [less ▲]

Injury incidence in a sports school during a 3-year follow-up

in Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2012)

Does the community-based management of the sacred crocodiles pond of Bazoulé ensure the Nile crocodile conservation ?

Conference (2012)

Acute abdominal aortic aneurysm: significant regional differences across Norway.

in European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery (2012), 44(3), 273

Abelian symmetries in multi-Higgs-doublet models

in Journal of Mathematical Physics (2012)

N-Higgs-doublet models (NHDM) are a popular framework to construct electroweak symmetry breaking mechanisms beyond the Standard model. Usually, one builds an NHDM scalar sector which is invariant under a ... [more ▼]

N-Higgs-doublet models (NHDM) are a popular framework to construct electroweak symmetry breaking mechanisms beyond the Standard model. Usually, one builds an NHDM scalar sector which is invariant under a certain symmetry group. Although several such groups have been used, no general analysis of symmetries possible in the NHDM scalar sector exists. Here, we describe a strategy that identifies all abelian groups which are realizable as symmetry groups of the NHDM Higgs potential. We consider both the groups of Higgs-family transformations only and the groups which also contain generalized CP transformations. We illustrate this strategy with the examples of 3HDM and 4HDM and prove several statements for arbitrary N. [less ▲]

Connectivity within the default mode network is related to working memory performance in young but not elderly healthy adults

in Alzheimer's & Dementia : The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association (2012), 8(4), 81

Is there any scientific evidence for the use of glucosamine in the management of human osteoarthritis?

in Arthritis Research & Therapy (2012), 14(1), 201

ABSTRACT: Glucosamine in its acetylated form is a natural constituent of some glycosaminoglycans (for example, hyaluronic acid and keratan sulfate) in the proteoglycans found in articular cartilage ... [more ▼]

ABSTRACT: Glucosamine in its acetylated form is a natural constituent of some glycosaminoglycans (for example, hyaluronic acid and keratan sulfate) in the proteoglycans found in articular cartilage, intervertebral disc and synovial fluid. Glucosamine can be extracted and stabilized by chemical modification and used as a drug or a nutraceutical. It has been approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in Europe to promote cartilage and joint health and is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement in the United States. Various formulations of glucosamine have been tested, including glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. In vitro and in vivo studies have uncovered glucosamine's mechanisms of action on articular tissues (cartilage, synovial membrane and subchondral bone) and justified its efficacy by demonstrating structure-modifying and anti-inflammatory effects at high concentrations. However, results from clinical trials have raised many concerns. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that glucosamine is easily absorbed, but the current treatment doses (for example, 1,500 mg/day) barely reach the required therapeutic concentration in plasma and tissue. The symptomatic effect size of glucosamine varies greatly depending on the formulation used and the quality of clinical trials. Importantly, the effect size reduces when evidence is accumulated chronologically and evidence for the structure-modifying effects of glucosamine are sparse. Hence, glucosamine was at first recommended by EULAR and OARSI for the management of knee pain and structure improvement in OA patients, but not in the most recent NICE guidelines. Consequently, the published recommendations for the management of OA require revision. Glucosamine is generally safe and although there are concerns about potential allergic and salt-related side effects of some formulations, no major adverse events have been reported so far. This paper examines all the in vitro and in vivo evidence for the mechanism of action of glucosamine as well as reviews the results of clinical trials. The pharmacokinetics, side effects and differences observed with different formulations of glucosamine and combination therapies are also considered. Finally, the importance of study design and criteria of evaluation are highlighted as new compounds represent new interesting options for the management of OA. [less ▲]

Fermentative hydrogen production from glucose and starch using pure strains and artificial co-cultures ofClostridium spp.

in Biotechnology for biofuels (2012), 5(1), 35

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pure bacterial strains give better yields when producing H2 than mixed, natural communities. However the main drawback with the pure cultures is the need to perform the fermentations ... [more ▼]

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pure bacterial strains give better yields when producing H2 than mixed, natural communities. However the main drawback with the pure cultures is the need to perform the fermentations under sterile conditions. Therefore, H2 production using artificial co-cultures, composed of well characterized strains, is one of the directions currently undertaken in the field of biohydrogen research. RESULTS: Four pure Clostridium cultures, including C. butyricum CWBI1009, C. pasteurianum DSM525, C. beijerinckii DSM1820 and C. felsineum DSM749, and three different co-cultures composed of (1) C. pasteurianum and C. felsineum, (2) C. butyricum and C. felsineum, (3) C. butyricum and C. pasteurianum, were grown in 20 L batch bioreactors. In the first part of the study a strategy composed of three-culture sequences was developed to determine the optimal pH for H2 production (sequence 1); and the H2-producing potential of each pure strain and co-culture, during glucose (sequence 2) and starch (sequence 3) fermentations at the optimal pH. The best H2 yields were obtained for starch fermentations, and the highest yield of 2.91 mol H2/ mol hexose was reported for C. butyricum. By contrast, the biogas production rates were higher for glucose fermentations and the highest value of 1.5 L biogas/ h was observed for the co-culture (1). In general co-cultures produced H2 at higher rates than the pure Clostridium cultures, without negatively affecting the H2 yields. Interestingly, all the Clostridium strains and co-cultures were shown to utilize lactate (present in a starch-containing medium), and C. beijerinckii was able to re-consume formate producing additional H2. In the second part of the study the co-culture (3) was used to produce H2 during 13 days of glucose fermentation in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). In addition, the species dynamics, as monitored by qPCR (quantitative real-time PCR), showed a stable coexistence of C. pasteurianum and C. butyricum during this fermentation. CONCLUSIONS: The four pure Clostridium strains and the artificial co-cultures tested in this study were shown to efficiently produce H2 using glucose and starch as carbon sources. The artificial co-cultures produced H2 at higher rates than the pure strains, while the H2 yields were only slightly affected. [less ▲]