Measurement of magnetic fluctuation induced energy transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiksel, G.; Prager, S.C.; Shen, W.; Stoneking, M.

1993-11-01

The local electron energy flux produced by magnetic fluctuations has been measured directly in the MST reversed field pinch (over the radial range r/a > 0.75). The flux, produced by electrons traveling parallel to a fluctuating magnetic field, is obtained from correlation between the fluctuations in the parallel heat flux and the radial magnetic field. The fluctuation induced flux is large (100 kW/cm 2 ) in the ''core'' (r/a 2 ) in the edge

[Core muscle chains activation during core exercises determined by EMG-a systematic review].

Science.gov (United States)

Rogan, Slavko; Riesen, Jan; Taeymans, Jan

2014-10-15

Good core muscles strength is essential for daily life and sports activities. However, the mechanism how core muscles may be effectively triggered by exercises is not yet precisely described in the literature. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the rate of activation as measured by electromyography of the ventral, lateral and dorsal core muscle chains during core (trunk) muscle exercises. A total of 16 studies were included. Exercises with a vertical starting position, such as the deadlift or squat activated significantly more core muscles than exercises in the horizontal initial position.

Ras activation by SOS: Allosteric regulation by altered fluctuation dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Iversen, Lars; Tu, Hsiung-Lin; Lin, Wan-Chen; Christensen, Sune M.; Abel, Steven M.; Iwig, Jeff; Wu, Hung-Jen; Gureasko, Jodi; Rhodes, Christopher; Petit, Rebecca S.; Hansen, Scott D.; Thill, Peter; Yu, Cheng-Han; Stamou, Dimitrios; Chakraborty, Arup K.; Kuriyan, John; Groves, Jay T.

2014-01-01

Activation of the small guanosine triphosphatase H-Ras by the exchange factor Son of Sevenless (SOS) is an important hub for signal transduction. Multiple layers of regulation, through protein and membrane interactions, govern activity of SOS. We characterized the specific activity of individual SOS molecules catalyzing nucleotide exchange in H-Ras. Single-molecule kinetic traces revealed that SOS samples a broad distribution of turnover rates through stochastic fluctuations between distinct, long-lived (more than 100 seconds), functional states. The expected allosteric activation of SOS by Ras–guanosine triphosphate (GTP) was conspicuously absent in the mean rate. However, fluctuations into highly active states were modulated by Ras-GTP. This reveals a mechanism in which functional output may be determined by the dynamical spectrum of rates sampled by a small number of enzymes, rather than the ensemble average. PMID:24994643

Effects of phase transition induced density fluctuations on pulser dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagchi, Partha; Das, Arpan; Srivastava, Ajit M.; Layek, Biswanath

2016-01-01

We show that density fluctuations during phase transitions in pulsar cores may have non-trivial effects on pulsar timings, and may also possibly account for glitches and anti-glitches. These density fluctuations invariably lead to non-zero off-diagonal components of the moment of inertia, leading to transient wobbling of star. Thus, accurate measurements of pulsar timing and intensity modulations (from wobbling) may be used to identify the specific pattern of density fluctuations, hence the particular phase transition, occurring inside the pulsar core. Changes in quadrupole moment from rapidly evolving density fluctuations during the transition, with very short time scales, may provide a new source for gravitational waves. (author)

Effects of phase transition induced density fluctuations on pulsar dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Partha Bagchi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We show that density fluctuations during phase transitions in pulsar cores may have non-trivial effects on pulsar timings, and may also possibly account for glitches and anti-glitches. These density fluctuations invariably lead to non-zero off-diagonal components of the moment of inertia, leading to transient wobbling of star. Thus, accurate measurements of pulsar timing and intensity modulations (from wobbling may be used to identify the specific pattern of density fluctuations, hence the particular phase transition, occurring inside the pulsar core. Changes in quadrupole moment from rapidly evolving density fluctuations during the transition, with very short time scales, may provide a new source for gravitational waves.

STAR FORMATION ACTIVITY OF CORES WITHIN INFRARED DARK CLOUDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, E. T.; Jackson, J. M.; Rathborne, J. M.; Simon, R.

2009-01-01

Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) contain compact cores which probably host the early stages of high-mass star formation. Many of these cores contain regions of extended, enhanced 4.5 μm emission, the so-called 'green fuzzies', which indicate shocked gas. Many cores also contain 24 μm emission, presumably from heated dust which indicates embedded protostars. Because 'green fuzzies' and 24 μm point sources both indicate star formation, we have developed an algorithm to identify star-forming cores within IRDCs by searching for the simultaneous presence of these two distinct indicators. We employ this algorithm on a sample of 190 cores found toward IRDCs, and classify the cores as 'active' if they contain a green fuzzy coincident with an embedded 24 μm source, and as 'quiescent' if they contain neither IR signature. We hypothesize that the 'quiescent' cores represent the earliest 'preprotostellar' (starless) core phase, before the development of a warm protostar, and that the 'active' cores represent a later phase, after the development of a protostar. We test this idea by comparing the sizes, densities, and maser activity of the 'active' and 'quiescent' cores. We find that, on average, 'active' cores have smaller sizes, higher densities, and more pronounced water and methanol maser activity than the 'quiescent' cores. This is expected if the 'quiescent' cores are in an earlier evolutionary state than the 'active' cores. The masses of 'active' cores suggest that they may be forming high-mass stars. The highest mass 'quiescent' cores are excellent candidates for the elusive high-mass starless cores.

Core Activities Program. TMI-2 Core Receipt and Storage Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayers, A.L. Jr.

1984-12-01

The TMI-2 Core Receipt and Storage Project is funded by the US Department of Energy and managed by the Technical Support Branch of EG and G Idaho, Inc. at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). As part of the Core Activities Program, this project will include: (a) preparations for receipt and storage of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 core debris at INEL; and (b) receipt and storage operations. This document outlines procedures; project management; safety, environment, and quality; safeguards and security; deliverables; and cost and schedule for the receipt and storage activities at INEL

Entropy Production and Fluctuation Theorems for Active Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Dibyendu; Klymko, Katherine; DeWeese, Michael R.

2017-12-01

Active biological systems reside far from equilibrium, dissipating heat even in their steady state, thus requiring an extension of conventional equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. In this Letter, we have extended the emerging framework of stochastic thermodynamics to active matter. In particular, for the active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model, we have provided consistent definitions of thermodynamic quantities such as work, energy, heat, entropy, and entropy production at the level of single, stochastic trajectories and derived related fluctuation relations. We have developed a generalization of the Clausius inequality, which is valid even in the presence of the non-Hamiltonian dynamics underlying active matter systems. We have illustrated our results with explicit numerical studies.

Solar wind fluctuations at large scale - A comparison between low and high solar activity conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Bavassano, B.; Bruno, R.

1991-02-01

The influence of the sun's activity cycle on the solar wind fluctuations at time scales from 1 hour to 3 days in the inner heliosphere (0.3 to 1 AU) is investigated. Hourly averages of plasma and magnetic field data by Helios spacecraft are used. Since fluctuations behave quite differently with changing scale, the analysis is performed separately for two different ranges in time scale. Between 1 and 6 hours Alfvenic fluctuations and pressure-balanced structures are extensively observed. At low solar activity and close to 0.3 AU Alfvenic fluctuations are more frequent than pressure-balanced structures. This predominance, however, weakens for rising solar activity and radial distance, to the point that a role-exchange, in terms of occurrence rate, is found at the maximum of the cycle close to 1 AU. On the other hand, in all cases Alfvenic fluctuations have a larger amplitude than pressure-balanced structures. The Alfvenic contribution to the solar wind energy spectrum comes out to be dominant at all solar activity conditions. These findings support the conclusion that the solar cycle evolution of the large-scale velocity pattern is the factor governing the observed variations.

Buckling of thermally fluctuating spherical shells: Parameter renormalization and thermally activated barrier crossing

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgarten, Lorenz; Kierfeld, Jan

2018-05-01

We study the influence of thermal fluctuations on the buckling behavior of thin elastic capsules with spherical rest shape. Above a critical uniform pressure, an elastic capsule becomes mechanically unstable and spontaneously buckles into a shape with an axisymmetric dimple. Thermal fluctuations affect the buckling instability by two mechanisms. On the one hand, thermal fluctuations can renormalize the capsule's elastic properties and its pressure because of anharmonic couplings between normal displacement modes of different wavelengths. This effectively lowers its critical buckling pressure [Košmrlj and Nelson, Phys. Rev. X 7, 011002 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevX.7.011002]. On the other hand, buckled shapes are energetically favorable already at pressures below the classical buckling pressure. At these pressures, however, buckling requires to overcome an energy barrier, which only vanishes at the critical buckling pressure. In the presence of thermal fluctuations, the capsule can spontaneously overcome an energy barrier of the order of the thermal energy by thermal activation already at pressures below the critical buckling pressure. We revisit parameter renormalization by thermal fluctuations and formulate a buckling criterion based on scale-dependent renormalized parameters to obtain a temperature-dependent critical buckling pressure. Then we quantify the pressure-dependent energy barrier for buckling below the critical buckling pressure using numerical energy minimization and analytical arguments. This allows us to obtain the temperature-dependent critical pressure for buckling by thermal activation over this energy barrier. Remarkably, both parameter renormalization and thermal activation lead to the same parameter dependence of the critical buckling pressure on temperature, capsule radius and thickness, and Young's modulus. Finally, we study the combined effect of parameter renormalization and thermal activation by using renormalized parameters for the energy

Molecular kinetics. Ras activation by SOS: allosteric regulation by altered fluctuation dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Iversen, Lars; Tu, Hsiung-Lin; Lin, Wan-Chen; Christensen, Sune M; Abel, Steven M; Iwig, Jeff; Wu, Hung-Jen; Gureasko, Jodi; Rhodes, Christopher; Petit, Rebecca S; Hansen, Scott D; Thill, Peter; Yu, Cheng-Han; Stamou, Dimitrios; Chakraborty, Arup K; Kuriyan, John; Groves, Jay T

2014-07-04

Activation of the small guanosine triphosphatase H-Ras by the exchange factor Son of Sevenless (SOS) is an important hub for signal transduction. Multiple layers of regulation, through protein and membrane interactions, govern activity of SOS. We characterized the specific activity of individual SOS molecules catalyzing nucleotide exchange in H-Ras. Single-molecule kinetic traces revealed that SOS samples a broad distribution of turnover rates through stochastic fluctuations between distinct, long-lived (more than 100 seconds), functional states. The expected allosteric activation of SOS by Ras-guanosine triphosphate (GTP) was conspicuously absent in the mean rate. However, fluctuations into highly active states were modulated by Ras-GTP. This reveals a mechanism in which functional output may be determined by the dynamical spectrum of rates sampled by a small number of enzymes, rather than the ensemble average. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Contralateral Delay Activity Tracks Fluctuations in Working Memory Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Kirsten C S; Robison, Matthew K; Vogel, Edward K

2018-01-08

Neural measures of working memory storage, such as the contralateral delay activity (CDA), are powerful tools in working memory research. CDA amplitude is sensitive to working memory load, reaches an asymptote at known behavioral limits, and predicts individual differences in capacity. An open question, however, is whether neural measures of load also track trial-by-trial fluctuations in performance. Here, we used a whole-report working memory task to test the relationship between CDA amplitude and working memory performance. If working memory failures are due to decision-based errors and retrieval failures, CDA amplitude would not differentiate good and poor performance trials when load is held constant. If failures arise during storage, then CDA amplitude should track both working memory load and trial-by-trial performance. As expected, CDA amplitude tracked load (Experiment 1), reaching an asymptote at three items. In Experiment 2, we tracked fluctuations in trial-by-trial performance. CDA amplitude was larger (more negative) for high-performance trials compared with low-performance trials, suggesting that fluctuations in performance were related to the successful storage of items. During working memory failures, participants oriented their attention to the correct side of the screen (lateralized P1) and maintained covert attention to the correct side during the delay period (lateralized alpha power suppression). Despite the preservation of attentional orienting, we found impairments consistent with an executive attention theory of individual differences in working memory capacity; fluctuations in executive control (indexed by pretrial frontal theta power) may be to blame for storage failures.

Solar wind fluctuations at large scale: A comparison between low and high solar activity conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bavassano, B.; Bruno, R.

1991-01-01

The influence of the Sun's activity cycle on the solar wind fluctuations at time scales from 1 hour to 3 days in the inner heliosphere (0.3 to 1 AU) is investigated. Hourly averages of plasma and magnetic field data by Helios spacecraft are used. Since fluctuations behave quite differently with changing scale, the analysis is performed separately for two different ranges in time scale. Between 1 and 6 hours Alfvenic fluctuations and pressure-balanced structures are extensively observed. At low solar activity and close to 0.3 AU, Alfvenic fluctuations are more frequent than pressure-balanced structures. This predominance, however, weakens for rising solar activity and radial distance, to the point that a role exchange, in terms of occurrence rate, is found at the maximum of the cycle close to 1 AU. On the other hand, in all cases Alfvenic fluctuations have a larger amplitude than pressure-balanced structures. On the whole, the Alfvenic contribution to the solar wind energy spectrum comes out to be dominant at all solar activity conditions. At scales from 0.5 to 3 days the most important feature is the growth, as the solar wind expansion develops, of strong positive correlations between magnetic and thermal pressures. These structures are progressively built up by the interaction between different wind flows. This effect is more pronounced at low than at high activity. Our findings support the conclusion that the solar cycle evolution of the large-scale velocity pattern is the factor governing the observed variations

Reducing and measuring fluctuations in the MST RFP: Enhancement of energy confinement and measurement of the MHD dynamo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Den Hartog, D.J.; Almagri, A.F.

1996-09-01

A three- to five-fold enhancement of the energy confinement time in a reversed-field pinch (RFP) has been achieved in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) by reducing the amplitude of tearing mode fluctuations responsible for anomalous transport in the core of the RFP. By applying a transient poloidal inductive electric field to flatten the current density profile, the fluctuation amplitude b/B decreases from 1.5% to 0.8%, the electron temperature T e0 increases from 250 eV to 370 eV, the ohmic input power decreases from 4.5 MW to approximately 1.5 MW, the poloidal beta β 0 increases from 6% to 9%, and the energy confinement time τ E increases from 1 ms to ∼5 ms in I φ = 340 kA plasmas with density n = 1 x 10 19 m -3 . Current profile control methods are being developed for the RFP in a program to eliminate transport associated with these current-gradient-driven fluctuations. In addition to controlling the amplitude of the tearing modes, we are vigorously pursuing an understanding of the physics of these fluctuations. In particular, plasma flow, both equilibrium and fluctuating, plays a critical role in a diversity of physical phenomena in MST. The key results: 1) Edge probe measurements show that the MHD dynamo is active in low collisionality plasmas, while at high collisionality a new mechanism, the 'electron diamagnetic dynamo,' is observed. 2) Core spectroscopic measurements show that the toroidal velocity fluctuations of the plasma are coherent with the large-scale magnetic tearing modes; the scalar product of these two fluctuating quantities is similar to that expected for the MHD dynamo electromotive force. 3) Toroidal plasma flow in MST exhibits large radial shear and can be actively controlled, including unlocking locked discharges, by modifying E r with a robust biased probe. 24 refs

Addendum to ''Density fluctuations in liquid rubidium''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haan, S.W.; Mountain, R.D.; Hsu, C.S.; Rahman, A.

1980-01-01

We performed molecular-dynamics simulations of liquid rubidium and the Lennard-Jones fluid at several densities and temperatures, and of a system whose pair potential is the repulsive core of the rubidium potential. In all cases, propagating density fluctuations occurred in the rubidiumlike systems at much shorter wavelengths than in the Lennard-Jones system. This indicates that the repulsive part of the pair potential is the dominant factor in determining the relaxation of short-wavelength density fluctuations

Electrostatic fluctuations measured in low temperature helical plasmas with low collisionality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, M.; Ikeda, R.; Ito, T.; Toi, K.; Suzuki, C.; Matsunaga, G.

2004-01-01

Electrostatic fluctuations have been measured by Langmuir probes from edge to core plasma region in low temperature helical plasmas which are produced by 2.45 GHz microwaves at very low field less than 0.1 T. The principal dimensionless parameters of the plasmas, that is, the normalized electron-ion collision frequency ν ei , and averaged plasma β φ and others are in the same range of them in high temperature plasmas, except the normalized gyro radius ρ s . The data on fluctuation characteristics from the dimensionally similar low temperature plasmas may give an important insight into the understanding of turbulent transport in high temperature plasmas. Dependences of fluctuation amplitudes on the radial electric field shear, ρ s and ν ei are investigated. Electrostatic fluctuations propagating in electron-diamagnetic drift direction have been observed in the plasma edge region and in ion-diamagnetic drift direction in the plasma core region. (authors)

Fluctuating gravity of Earth’s core

OpenAIRE

Stevenson, David J.

2012-01-01

For centuries, we have known that Earth’s magnetic field varies with time. Edmond Halley (better known for his eponymous recurring comet) first recognized this time variation of magnetic compass needle direction and even offered a remarkable theory that required an intervening fluid between Earth’s solid outer shell and a hypothesized innermost solid core (1). For decades, consensus has emerged for an explanation of this time variation that depends on the dynamics of Earth’s liquid metallic o...

Concentration fluctuations in gas releases by industrial accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, M.; Chatwin, P.C.; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans

2002-01-01

The COFIN project studied existing remote-sensing Lidar data on concentration fluctuations in atmospheric dispersion from continuous sources at ground level. Fluctuations are described by stochastic models developed by a combination of statisticalanalyses and surface-layer scaling. The statistical...... and the probability distribution for the plume centreline. The distance-neighbour function generalizedfor higher-order statistics has a universal exponential shape. Simulation tools for concentration fluctuations have been developed for either multiple correlated time series or multi-dimensional fields. These tools...... moments and probability density distribution of the fluctuations are most accurately determined in a frame of reference following the instantaneous plume centreline. The spatial distribution of thesemoments is universal with a gaussian core and exponential tails. The instantaneous plume width...

Research and application of active hollow core slabs in building systems for utilizing low energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Xinhua; Yu, Jinghua; Wang, Shengwei; Wang, Jinbo

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A review on the development and modeling of active hollow core slab is presented. • The applications and performance evaluation of the slab in building are reviewed. • Finite element or finite difference method is often used in multidimensional model. • Performance evaluations of building using active slabs for ventilation are limited. • More works on the active hollow core slab are worthwhile. - Abstract: The society and the building professionals have paid much concern in recent years on building energy efficiency and the development and applications of low energy technologies for buildings/green buildings allowing the elimination, or at least reduction of dependence on electricity or fossil fuel while maintaining acceptable indoor environment. Utilizations of favorable diurnal temperature difference and ground thermal source for air conditioning are among these low energy technologies. Utilization of the hollow cores in the prefabricated slab for ventilation and the mass of the slab for thermal storage is widely used in building systems in Europe by exploiting the low energy source of the ambient air. These hollow core slabs aim at enlarging the heat transfer surface between the slab mass and the air in the core, which permits substantial heat flows even for relatively small temperature differences. This, in turn, allows the use of low energy cooling or heating sources, such as the ground, outside air or recovered process heat. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the research and application of active hollow core slabs in building systems for utilizing low energy sources. The principle and development of active hollow core slabs in building systems for leveling the indoor temperature fluctuation by ventilation air passing the cores are described. Calculation models of the active hollow core concrete slab as well as the practical applications and performance evaluation of the slab applied in building systems for air

Reactor core for LMFBR type reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masumi, Ryoji; Azekura, Kazuo; Kurihara, Kunitoshi; Bando, Masaru; Watari, Yoshio.

1987-01-01

Purpose: To reduce the power distribution fluctuations and obtain flat and stable power distribution throughout the operation period in an LMFBR type reactor. Constitution: In the inner reactor core region and the outer reactor core region surrounding the same, the thickness of the inner region is made smaller than the axial height of the reactor core region and the radial width thereof is made smaller than that of the reactor core region and the volume thereof is made to 30 - 50 % for the reactor core region. Further, the amount of the fuel material per unit volume in the inner region is made to 70 - 90 % of that in the outer region. The difference in the neutron infinite multiplication factor between the inner region and the outer region is substantially constant irrespective of the burnup degree and the power distribution fluctuation can be reduced to about 2/3, by which the effect of thermal striping to the reactor core upper mechanisms can be moderated. Further, the maximum linear power during operation can be reduced by 3 %, by which the thermal margin in the reactor core is increased and the reactor core fuels can be saved by 3 %. (Kamimura, M.)

Activation of Selected Core Muscles during Pressing

OpenAIRE

Thomas W. Nesser; Neil Fleming; Matthew J. Gage

2015-01-01

Introduction: Unstable surface training is often used to activate core musculature during resistance training. Unfortunately, unstable surface training is risky and leads to detraining. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine core muscle activation during stable surface ground-based lifts. Methods: Fourteen recreational trained and former NCAA DI athletes (weight 84.2 ± 13.3 kg; height 176.0 ± 9.5 cm; age 20.9 ± 2.0 years) volunteered for participation. Subjects completed two grou...

Magnetohydrodynamic behaviour during core transport barrier experiments with ion Bernstein wave heating in PBX-M: I ELMs fluctuations and crash events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sesnic, S.; Kaita, R.; Batha, S.H.

1998-01-01

If the ion Bernstein wave (IBW) heating power in an H mode discharge of the PBX-M experiment exceeds a threshold power of about 200 kW, a core transport barrier is created in the central region of the plasma. At lower neutral beam injection (NBI) powers, the core barrier is accompanied by an edge L mode. The high edge localized mode (ELM) repetition frequency (1 kHz) prevents the creation of a strong barrier, so the edge first has to make an H-to-L transition before a strong core transport barrier can be created. At higher NBI powers, the ELM repetition frequency is lowered to less than 200 Hz, which allows the immediate creation of a strong core barrier. Edge localized mode loss, which propagates radially first on a fast (non-diffusive) and then on a slow (diffusive) time-scale all the way to the plasma core, is strongly reduced in the core barrier region. Correlated with the reduced ELM loss, the fluctuations in the core barrier region are also strongly reduced, both during the ELM and during the quite periods between the ELMs. There is strong evidence that the IBW induced poloidal flow shear is responsible for the stabilization of core turbulence and the creation of the core transport barrier. The large perpendicular E x B flow shear component of the measured toroidal velocity in co-injection neutral beam heated discharges seems to be largely cancelled by the ion diamagnetic drift shear produced by large ion pressure gradients in the core barrier region. The value of IBW induced poloidal flow has not been experimentally determined, but its numerical value is found to be a factor of 4 larger than either the toroidal velocity or the ion diamagnetic drift shear components, leaving only IBW induced flow shear as the most probable cause for the turbulence stabilization. The core turbulence suppression and the creation of the core transport barrier is also consistent with expectations from a comparison between the E x B flow shear rate and a rough estimate of the

Daily fluctuation of hepatic P450 monooxygenase activities in male rats is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus but remains unaffected by adrenal hormones.

Science.gov (United States)

Furukawa, T; Manabe, S; Watanabe, T; Sehata, S; Sharyo, S; Okada, T; Mori, Y

1999-09-01

Hepatic P450 monooxygenase activities, which strongly influence the efficacy and/or toxicity of drugs, are known to fluctuate daily. We also know that the P450 activities assessed by measurement of 7-alkoxycoumarin O-dealkylase (ACD) activities fluctuate daily, with apparently high values during the dark period in male rats. However, there is little knowledge about the factors that regulate daily fluctuation of P450 monooxygenase activities. In the present study using rats, we induced lesions in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the brain, the known site of the body's internal clock, and examined the effects on the daily fluctuation of the ACD activities to clarify the relationship between the SCN and the daily fluctuation of P450 monooxygenase activities. In addition, adrenalectomy was performed to re-evaluate the influence of adrenal hormones on the P450 activities. Our results indicated that daily fluctuations of the hepatic ACD activities were completely eliminated in the SCN-lesioned rats. However, the ACD activities in the adrenalectomized rats showed apparent daily fluctuations with high values during the dark period and low values during the light period. Therefore, this study demonstrated that the daily fluctuation of the hepatic P450 monooxygenase activities in male rats is controlled by the SCN but remains unaffected by the adrenal hormones.

Mechano-genetic DNA hydrogels as a simple, reconstituted model to probe the effect of active fluctuations on gene transcription

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Dan; Saleh, Omar

Active fluctuations - non-directed fluctuations attributable, not to thermal energy, but to non-equilibrium processes - are thought to influence biology by increasing the diffusive motion of biomolecules. Dense DNA regions within cells (i.e. chromatin) are expected to exhibit such phenomena, as they are cross-linked networks that continually experience propagating forces arising from dynamic cellular activity. Additional agitation within these gene-encoding DNA networks could have potential genetic consequences. By changing the local mobility of transcriptional machinery and regulatory proteins towards/from their binding sites, and thereby influencing transcription rates, active fluctuations could prove to be a physical means of modulating gene expression. To begin probing this effect, we construct genetic DNA hydrogels, as a simple, reconstituted model of chromatin, and quantify transcriptional output from these hydrogels in the presence/absence of active fluctuations.

In-core fuel management activities in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan Keqiang; Chen Renji; Hu Chuanwen

1990-01-01

The development of nuclear power in China has reached such a stage that PWR in-core fuel management becomes an urgent problem. At present the main effort is concentrated on solving the Qinshan nuclear power plant and Daya Bay nuclear power plant fuel management problems. For the Qinshan PWR (300 MWe) two packages of in-core fuel management code were developed, one with simplified nodal diffusion method and the other uses advanced Green's function nodal method. Both were used in the PWR core design. With the help of the two code packages first two cycles of the Qinshan PWR core burn-up were calculated. Besides, several research works are under way in the following areas: improvement of the nodal diffusion method and other coarse mesh method in terms of computing speed and accuracy; backward diffusion technique for fuel management application; optimization technique in the fuel loading pattern searching. As for the Daya Bay PWR plant (twin 900 MWe unit), the problem about using what kind of code package for in-core fuel management is still under discussion. In principle the above mentioned code packages are also applicable to it. Besides PWR, in-core fuel management research works are also under way for research reactors, for example, heavy water research reactor and high flux research reactor in some institutes in China. China also takes active participation in international in-core fuel management activities. (author). 19 refs

Core Muscle Activation in Suspension Training Exercises.

Science.gov (United States)

Cugliari, Giovanni; Boccia, Gennaro

2017-02-01

A quantitative observational laboratory study was conducted to characterize and classify core training exercises executed in a suspension modality on the base of muscle activation. In a prospective single-group repeated measures design, seventeen active male participants performed four suspension exercises typically associated with core training (roll-out, bodysaw, pike and knee-tuck). Surface electromyographic signals were recorded from lower and upper parts of rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, lower and upper parts of erector spinae muscles using concentric bipolar electrodes. The average rectified values of electromyographic signals were normalized with respect to individual maximum voluntary isometric contraction of each muscle. Roll-out exercise showed the highest activation of rectus abdominis and oblique muscles compared to the other exercises. The rectus abdominis and external oblique reached an activation higher than 60% of the maximal voluntary contraction (or very close to that threshold, 55%) in roll-out and bodysaw exercises. Findings from this study allow the selection of suspension core training exercises on the basis of quantitative information about the activation of muscles of interest. Roll-out and bodysaw exercises can be considered as suitable for strength training of rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles.

An experimental test of the fluctuation relation in an active camphor boat system

Science.gov (United States)

Paroor, H. M.; Nambiar, N.; Bandi, M. M.

The Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation relation (FR) posits a specific symmetry between positive and negative fluctuations in entropy production, or a related quantity (e.g power) for systems in non-equilibrium stationary state. Successful tests in a variety of systems suggest the FR may be more generally applicable than the conditions under which it was originally derived. Systems where the FR fails are therefore valuable for the insight they provide into the FR's general success. It has recently been suggested that ``active matter'' should not satisfy the fluctuation-dissipation theorem or FR. We experimentally test this possibility in a system of active camphor boats, self-propelled by surface tension gradients at air-water interfaces. The boats interact via short-range capillary attraction which competes with long-range surface tension mediated repulsion. Tuning interaction strength with number density, we test the FR through the statistics of power as one goes from a free non-interacting camphor boat, through a few weakly interacting boats to several, strongly interacting boats. We present preliminary results of our experiments and data analysis.

Ongoing activity in temporally coherent networks predicts intra-subject fluctuation of response time to sporadic executive control demands.

Science.gov (United States)

Nozawa, Takayuki; Sugiura, Motoaki; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Ihara, Mizuki; Kotozaki, Yuka; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Kanno, Akitake; Kawashima, Ryuta

2014-01-01

Can ongoing fMRI BOLD signals predict fluctuations in swiftness of a person's response to sporadic cognitive demands? This is an important issue because it clarifies whether intrinsic brain dynamics, for which spatio-temporal patterns are expressed as temporally coherent networks (TCNs), have effects not only on sensory or motor processes, but also on cognitive processes. Predictivity has been affirmed, although to a limited extent. Expecting a predictive effect on executive performance for a wider range of TCNs constituting the cingulo-opercular, fronto-parietal, and default mode networks, we conducted an fMRI study using a version of the color-word Stroop task that was specifically designed to put a higher load on executive control, with the aim of making its fluctuations more detectable. We explored the relationships between the fluctuations in ongoing pre-trial activity in TCNs and the task response time (RT). The results revealed the existence of TCNs in which fluctuations in activity several seconds before the onset of the trial predicted RT fluctuations for the subsequent trial. These TCNs were distributed in the cingulo-opercular and fronto-parietal networks, as well as in perceptual and motor networks. Our results suggest that intrinsic brain dynamics in these networks constitute "cognitive readiness," which plays an active role especially in situations where information for anticipatory attention control is unavailable. Fluctuations in these networks lead to fluctuations in executive control performance.

Activation of Selected Core Muscles during Pressing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas W. Nesser

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Unstable surface training is often used to activate core musculature during resistance training. Unfortunately, unstable surface training is risky and leads to detraining. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine core muscle activation during stable surface ground-based lifts. Methods: Fourteen recreational trained and former NCAA DI athletes (weight 84.2 ± 13.3 kg; height 176.0 ± 9.5 cm; age 20.9 ± 2.0 years volunteered for participation. Subjects completed two ground-based lifts: overhead press and push-press. Surface EMG was recorded from 4 muscles on the right side of the body (Rectus Abdominus (RA, External Oblique (EO, Transverse Abdominus (TA, and Erector Spinae (ES. Results: Paired sample T-tests identified significant muscle activation differences between the overhead press and the push-press included ES and EO. Average and peak EMG for ES was significantly greater in push-press (P<0.01. Anterior displacement of COP was significantly greater in push-press compared to overhead press during the eccentric phase. Conclusion: The push-press was identified as superior in core muscle activation when compared to the overhead pressing exercise. Keywords: torso, stability, weight lifting, resistance training

Hepatitis C virus core protein potentiates proangiogenic activity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yu-Yun; Hsieh, Min-Shu; Wang, Han-Yu; Li, Yong-Shi; Lin, Hang; Hsu, Hung-Wei; Huang, Chung-Yi; Hsu, Chih-Hung; Cheng, Ann-Lii

2017-10-17

Increased angiogenic activity has been demonstrated in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the mechanism was unclear. To study the role of HCV core protein, we used tube formation and Matrigel plug assays to assess the proangiogenic activity of an HCC cell line, HuH7, and 2 of its stable clones-HuH7-core-high and HuH7-core-low, with high and low HCV core protein expression, respectively. In both assays, HuH7-core-high and HuH7-core-low cells dose-dependently induced stronger angiogenesis than control cells. HuH7 cells with HCV core protein expression showed increased mRNA and protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF inhibition by bevacizumab reduced the proangiogenic activity of HuH7-core-high cells. The promotor region of VEGF contains the binding site of activator protein-1 (AP-1). Compared with controls, HuH7-core-high cells had an increased AP-1 activity and nuclear localization of phospho-c-jun. AP-1 inhibition using either RNA knockdown or AP-1 inhibitors reduced the VEGF mRNA expression and the proangiogenic activity of HuH7-core-high cells. Among 131 tissue samples from HCC patients, HCV-related HCC revealed stronger VEGF expression than did hepatitis B virus-related HCC. In conclusion, increased VEGF expression through AP-1 activation is a crucial mechanism underlying the proangiogenic activity of the HCV core protein in HCC cells.

Statistical fluctuations of the number of neutrons in a pile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raievski, V.

1958-01-01

The theory of the statistical fluctuations in a pile is extended to the space dependent case, and gives the fluctuations of the number of neutrons in a cell of the core or reflector of the pile. This number changes through elementary processes occurring at random, which are, capture, source, fission and scattering. Of all these processes, fission is the only one which changes more than one neutron at a time and so is responsible of the deviation of the fluctuations from a Poisson law. The importance of this deviation depends on the dimensions of the cell compared to the slowing down length. When the dimensions are small, the fluctuations close to a Poisson law. (author) [fr

Statistical fluctuations of the number of neutrons in a pile; Fluctuations statistiques du nombre de neutrons dans une pile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raievski, V [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1958-07-01

The theory of the statistical fluctuations in a pile is extended to the space dependent case, and gives the fluctuations of the number of neutrons in a cell of the core or reflector of the pile. This number changes through elementary processes occurring at random, which are, capture, source, fission and scattering. Of all these processes, fission is the only one which changes more than one neutron at a time and so is responsible of the deviation of the fluctuations from a Poisson law. The importance of this deviation depends on the dimensions of the cell compared to the slowing down length. When the dimensions are small, the fluctuations close to a Poisson law. (author) [French] La theorie des fluctuations statistiques est etendue au cas local et donne les fluctuations du nombre de neutrons dans une cellule situee dans le coeur ou le reflecteur de la pile. Ce nombre evolue au cours du temps sous l'influence de phenomenes aleatoires qui sont la capture, la diffusion, les sources et les neutrons secondaires de fission. L'emission simultanee de plusieurs neutrons distingue ce phenomene des precedents qui n'affectent qu'un neutron individuellement. L'importance de ce phenomene sur la loi de fluctuation depend des dimensions de la cellule par rapport a la longueur de ralentissement. Quand ces dimensions sont petites, le caractere particulier de ce phenomene disparait. (auteur)

A study of power fluctuations in a flip fuel reactor using the technique of noise analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Randall, J D; Wood, G C; Edwards, M A [Texas A and M University (United States)

1974-07-01

The Nuclear Science Center Reactor at Texas A and M University has experienced minor power fluctuations when operating at or near 1 megawatt. A noise analysis system was developed to investigate these fluctuations assuming that void formation, primarily due to nucleate boiling, was the cause. Experiments were carried out to correlate boiling noise with power level, fission product poisoning, and pool temperature. Results show that void formation in the core is the probable cause of the fluctuations with the onset of boiling occurring at 400 Kw. Data was also obtained that indicated the presence of boiling in a standard TRIGA core. (author)

Torsional Oscillations of the Earths's Core

Science.gov (United States)

Hide, Raymond; Boggs, Dale H.; Dickey, Jean O.

1997-01-01

Torsional oscillations of the Earth's liquid metallic outer core are investigated by diving the core into twenty imaginary e1qui-volume annuli coaxial with the axis of ratation of the Earth and determining temproal fluctuations in the axial component of angular memonetum of each annulus under the assumption of iso-rotation on cylindrical surfaces.

Scrape-off layer-induced beam density fluctuations and their effect on beam emission spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Moulton, D.; Marandet, Y.; Tamain, P.; Dif-Pradalier, G.

2015-07-01

A statistical model is presented to calculate the magnitude of beam density fluctuations generated by a turbulent scrape-off layer (SOL). It is shown that the SOL can induce neutral beam density fluctuations of a similar magnitude to the plasma density fluctuations in the core, potentially corrupting beam emission spectroscopy measurements. The degree of corruption is quantified by combining simulations of beam and plasma density fluctuations inside a simulated measurement window. A change in pitch angle from the separatrix to the measurement window is found to reduce the effect of beam fluctuations, whose largest effect is to significantly reduce the measured correlation time.

Remanent magnetization stratigraphy of lunar cores

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, S. K.; Gingrich, D.; Marvin, J. A.

1977-01-01

Depth dependent fluctuations have been observed in the natural remanent magnetizations (NRM) of drive cores and drill strings from Apollo 16 and 17 missions. Partial demagnetization of unstable secondary magnetizations and identification of characteristic error signals from a core which is known to have been recently disturbed allow us to identify and isolate the stable NRM stratigraphy in double drive core 60010/60009 and drill strings 60002-60004. The observed magnetization fluctuations persist after normalization to take into account depth dependent variations in the carriers of stable NRM. We tentatively ascribe the stable NRM stratigraphy to instantaneous records of past magnetic fields at the lunar surface and suggest that the stable NRM stratigraphy technique could develop as a new relative time-stratigraphic tool, to be used with other physical measurements such as relative intensity of ferromagnetic resonance and charged particle track density to study the evolution of the lunar regolith.

Investigation of radial propagation of electrostatic fluctuations in the IR-T1 tokamak plasma edge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shariatzadeh, R; Ghoranneviss, M; Salem, M K [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University (IAU), PO Box 14665-678, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Emami, M, E-mail: rezashariatzadeh@gmail.com [Laser and Optics Research School, NSTRI, AEOI, PO Box 14155-1339, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-01-15

The radial propagation of electrostatic fluctuation is considered extremely important for understanding cross-field anomalous transport. In this paper, two arrays of Langmuir probes are used to analyze electrostatic fluctuations in the edge of IR-T1 tokamak plasma in both the radial and the poloidal directions. The propagation characteristics of the floating potential fluctuations are analyzed by the two-point correlation technique. The wavenumber spectrum shows that there is a net radially outward propagation of turbulent fluctuations in the edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) regions. Hence, edge turbulence presumably originates from core fluctuations.

Investigation of radial propagation of electrostatic fluctuations in the IR-T1 tokamak plasma edge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shariatzadeh, R; Ghoranneviss, M; Salem, M K; Emami, M

2011-01-01

The radial propagation of electrostatic fluctuation is considered extremely important for understanding cross-field anomalous transport. In this paper, two arrays of Langmuir probes are used to analyze electrostatic fluctuations in the edge of IR-T1 tokamak plasma in both the radial and the poloidal directions. The propagation characteristics of the floating potential fluctuations are analyzed by the two-point correlation technique. The wavenumber spectrum shows that there is a net radially outward propagation of turbulent fluctuations in the edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) regions. Hence, edge turbulence presumably originates from core fluctuations.

Controlling fluctuations in an ITB and comparison with gyrokinetic simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, D. R.; Fiore, C. L.; Dominguez, A.; Podpaly, Y.; Reinke, M. L.; Terry, J. L.; Tsujii, N.; Bespamyatnov, I.; Churchill, M.; Greenwald, M.; Hubbard, A.; Hughes, J. W.; Lee, J.; Ma, Y.; Wolfe, S.; Wukitch, S.

2011-10-01

We have modulated on-axis ICRF minority heating to trigger fluctuations and core electron transport in Alcator C-Mod Internal Transport Barriers (ITB's). Temperature swings of 50% produced strong bursts of density fluctuations, measured by phase contrast imaging (PCI), while edge fluctuations from reflectometry, Mirnov coils, and gas puff imaging (GPI) simultaneously diminished. The PCI fluctuations are in phase with sawteeth, further evidence that they originate within the ITB foot. Linear gyrokinetic analysis with GS2 shows TEMs are driven unstable in the ITB by the on-axis heating, as in Refs.,. Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of turbulence in the ITB are compared with fluctuation data using a synthetic diagnostic. Strong ITB's were produced with high quality ion and electron profile data. Supported by U.S. DoE awards DE-FC02-99ER54512, DE-FG02-91ER54109, DE-FC02-08ER54966.

Experimental investigation of pressure fluctuations caused by a vortex rope in a draft tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirschner, O; Ruprecht, A; Göde, E; Riedelbauch, S

2012-01-01

In the last years hydro power plants have taken the task of power-frequency control for the electrical grid. Therefore turbines in storage hydro power plants often operate outside their optimum. If Francis-turbines and pump-turbines operate at off-design conditions, a vortex rope in the draft tube can develop. The vortex rope can cause pressure oscillations. In addition to low frequencies caused by the rotation of the vortex rope and the harmonics of these frequencies, pressure fluctuations with higher frequencies can be observed in some operating points too. In this experimental investigation the flow structure and behavior of the vortex rope movement in the draft tube of a model pump-turbine are analyzed. The investigation focuses on the correlation of the pressure fluctuation frequency measured at the draft tube wall with the movement of the vortex rope. The movement of the vortex rope is analyzed by the velocity field in the draft tube which was measured with particle image velocimetry. Additionally, the vortex rope movement has been analyzed with the captures of high-speed-movies from the cavitating vortex rope. Besides the rotation of the vortex rope due to pressure fluctuation with low frequencies the results of the measurement also show a correlation between the rotation of the elliptical or deformed rope cross-section and the higher frequency pressure pulsation. An approximation shows that the frequencies of the pressure fluctuation and the movement of the vortex rope are also connected with the velocity of the flow. Taking into account the size and position of the cavitating vortex core as well as the velocity at the position of the surface of the cavitating vortex core the time-period of the rotation of the vortex core can be approximated. The results show that both, the low frequency pressure fluctuation and the higher frequency pressure fluctuation are correlating with the vortex rope movement. With this estimation, the period of the higher frequency

Spark-safe mechanical fluctuation sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Retek, S; Galisz, T

1979-04-20

The subject of the invention is a mechanical fluctuation sensor in a spark-safe design for use at mines which are dangerous for gas, as an element of different systems for remote control information transfer. The patented sensor of mechanical fluctuations contains: magnetic-induction transformer characterized by the fact that its inert mass consists of a plane permanent magnet placed in the suspended state on springs between 2 coils, which together with their cores are rigidly fixed to the walls of the ferromagnetic vessels. The ends of the coil windings are interconnected, while the beginnings of the windings are lead out with connection to the outlet of the electronic amplifier with binary outlet signal. The electronic amplifier is placed between the transformer in the common ferromagnetic housing which is a screen for protection from the effect of external magnetic fields.

Determination of heavy metals and other elements by Neutron Activation Analysis in sediment cores of laguna Mar Chiquita (Cordoba, Argentina)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larizzatti, Flavio Eduardo

2001-01-01

Laguna Mar Chiquita is one of the largest water bodies of South America. It is a big lake of saline waters, and its geographic localization is SOMS' S, 62 deg 30' W, about 150 km Northwest of Cordoba, Argentina. Due to its large variability of hydrological budget, surface and water levels produced periods of low stands (LLP) and high stands (HLP). This fluctuation of water level also produces substantial changes in the water salinity. The principal tributary of the Laguna Mar Chiquita is Dulce River and also receives water from two other rivers: Suquia and Xanaes. The Suquia River drains in a small satellite lake, the Laguna del Plata. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the sediment composition of the Laguna Mar Chiquita (2 sediment cores) and del Plata (one sediment core) by using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique. The three 60 cm long sediment cores, sliced each 2 cm, were analyzed and 26 elements were determined (As, Ba, Br, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb, Zn e Zr). Other complementary techniques were utilized: macro elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si, Ti) were determined by X-ray fluorescence, and the mineralogical composition of the sediments was determined by X-ray diffraction. The results obtained did not show any indication of anthropic contribution in the sediment composition, and concentration of the majority of the elements analyzed is uniform along the entire profile of the analyzed core. Statistical analysis of elemental concentrations (Cluster Analysis) reflects that in Laguna del Plata the fine fractions of the sediments is dominated by detrital minerals, while in the Laguna Mar Chiquita, the neo formed minerals are the principal components. In both lakes, it was possible to identify compositional variations in the sediment segments, which may correspond to temporal fluctuations in the sedimentation conditions. The statistical analysis associated to sedimentation

Impact of magnetic shear modification on confinement and turbulent fluctuations in LHD plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, T.; Tamura, N.; Ida, K.

2008-10-01

For the comprehensive understandings of transport phenomena in toroidal confinement systems and improvement of the predictive capability of burning plasmas in ITER, the impact of magnetic shear has been extensively investigated in the Large Helical Device (LHD) for comparison with tokamaks. Consequently, it was heuristically documented that the pronounced effect of magnetic shear, which has been hitherto considered to be ubiquitous and strongly impacts the core transport in the tokamak experiments, is not quite obvious. Namely, the kinetic profiles respond little under extensive modification of the magnetic shear in the core, although the local transport analysis indicates the sign of improvement in confinement transiently when the magnetic shear is reduced. It was thereby concluded that the magnetic shear in the core strongly influences the MHD activity, but it may only be one of the necessary conditions for the transport reduction, and some other crucial knobs, such as the density gradient or T e /T i ratio, would have to be simultaneously controlled. The low wavenumber turbulence seems to be suppressed under the weak shear, and the turbulent fluctuation intensity behaves in a consistent manner as a whole, following the conventional paradigm accumulated in the negative shear experiments in tokamaks. However, vigorous dynamics of turbulent fluctuations have occasionally been observed under the magnetic shear modification, which respond in much faster time scale than the characteristic time scale for either the magnetic diffusion or the profile evolution. (author)

Study of the spatial dependence of neutronic flow oscillations caused by fluctuations thermohydraulics at the entrance of the core of a reactor PWR; Estudio de la dependencia espacial de las oscilaciones de flujo neutronico causadas por flucturaciones termohidraulicas a la entrada del nucleo de un reactor PWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bermejo, J. A.; Lopez, A.; Ortego, A.

2014-07-01

It presents a theoretical study on spatial dependence of flow oscillations neutronic caused by thermal hydraulics fluctuations at the entrance of the core of a PWR reactor. To simulate, with SIMULATE code - 3K different fluctuations thermohydraulics at the entrance to the core and the spatial dependence of the oscillations and is analyzed neutronic flow obtained at locations of neutron detectors. the work It is part of the r and d program initiated in CNAT to investigate the phenomenon of the noise neutronic. (Author)

Core density fluctuations in reverse magnetic shear plasmas with internal transport barrier on JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazikian, R.; Shinohara, K.; Yoshino, R.; Fujita, T.; Shirai, H.; Kramer, G.T.

1999-01-01

First measurements of the radial correlation length of density fluctuations in JT-60U plasmas with internal transport barrier (ITB) is reported. The measurements are obtained using a newly installed correlation reflectometer operating in the upper X-mode. Before transport barrier formation in the low beam power current ramp-up phase of the discharge, reflectometer measurements indicate density fluctuation levels n-tilde/n∼0.1-0.2% and radial correlation lengths 2-3 cm (k r p i ≤0.5) in the central plasma region (r/a r p i ∼3. However, fluctuation levels are considerably higher than measured near the magnetic axis. Reflectometer measurements obtained at the foot of the ITB also indicate high fluctuation levels compared to measurements in the central region of the discharge. (author)

Determination of plasma velocity from light fluctuations in a cutting torch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prevosto, L.; Mancinelli, B.; Kelly, H.

2009-01-01

Measurements of plasma velocities in a 30 A high energy density cutting torch are reported. The velocity diagnostic is based on the analysis of the light fluctuations emitted by the arc which are assumed to propagate with the flow velocity. These light fluctuations originate from plasma temperature and plasma density fluctuations mainly due to hydrodynamic instabilities. Fast photodiodes are employed as the light sensors. The arc core velocity was obtained from spectrally filtered light fluctuations measurements using a band-pass filter to detect light emission fluctuations emitted only from the arc axis. Maximum plasma jet velocities of 5000 m s -1 close to the nozzle exit and about 2000 m s -1 close to the anode were found. The obtained velocity values are in good agreement with those values predicted by a numerical code for a similar torch to that employed in this work.

Reactor core for FBR type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Tomoko; Watanabe, Hisao; Kasai, Shigeo; Yokoyama, Tsugio; Matsumoto, Hiroshi.

1996-01-01

In a gas-sealed assembly for a FBR type reactor, two or more kinds of assemblies having different eigen frequency and a structure for suppressing oscillation of liquid surface are disposed in a reactor core. Coolant introduction channels for introducing coolants from inside and outside are disposed in the inside of structural members of an upper shielding member to form a shielding member-cooling structure in the reactor core. A structure for promoting heat conduction between a sealed gas in the assembly and coolants at the inner side or the outside of the assembly is disposed in the reactor core. A material which generates heat by neutron irradiation is disposed in the assembly to heat the sealed gases positively by radiation heat from the heat generation member also upon occurrence of power elevation-type event to cause temperature expansion. Namely, the coolants flown out from or into the gas sealed-assemblies cause differential fluctuation on the liquid surface, and the change of the capacity of a gas region is also different on every gas-sealed assemblies thereby enabling to suppress fluctuation of the reactor power. Pressure loss is increased by a baffle plate or the like to lower the liquid surface of the sodium coolants or decrease the elevating speed thereof thereby suppressing fluctuation of the reactor power. (N.H.)

Decrease in scale invariance of activity fluctuations with aging and in patients with suprasellar tumors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joustra, S. D.; Gu, C.; Rohling, J. H.T.

2018-01-01

-matched healthy controls (age range 21.0–70.6 years). Spontaneous wrist locomotor activity was measured for 7 days with actigraphy, and detrended fluctuation analysis was applied to assess correlations over a range of time scales from minutes to 24 h. For all the subjects, complex scale-invariant correlations...... scale invariance. Conversely, activity patterns at time scales between 10 and 24 h were significantly more regular than all other time scales, and this was mostly associated with age. In conclusion, scale invariance is degraded in healthy subjects at the ages of >33 year as characterized by attenuation......Motor activity in healthy young humans displays intrinsic fluctuations that are scale-invariant over a wide range of time scales (from minutes to hours). Human postmortem and animal lesion studies showed that the intact function of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is required to maintain...

Fluctuation-Driven Neural Dynamics Reproduce Drosophila Locomotor Patterns.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Maesani

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The neural mechanisms determining the timing of even simple actions, such as when to walk or rest, are largely mysterious. One intriguing, but untested, hypothesis posits a role for ongoing activity fluctuations in neurons of central action selection circuits that drive animal behavior from moment to moment. To examine how fluctuating activity can contribute to action timing, we paired high-resolution measurements of freely walking Drosophila melanogaster with data-driven neural network modeling and dynamical systems analysis. We generated fluctuation-driven network models whose outputs-locomotor bouts-matched those measured from sensory-deprived Drosophila. From these models, we identified those that could also reproduce a second, unrelated dataset: the complex time-course of odor-evoked walking for genetically diverse Drosophila strains. Dynamical models that best reproduced both Drosophila basal and odor-evoked locomotor patterns exhibited specific characteristics. First, ongoing fluctuations were required. In a stochastic resonance-like manner, these fluctuations allowed neural activity to escape stable equilibria and to exceed a threshold for locomotion. Second, odor-induced shifts of equilibria in these models caused a depression in locomotor frequency following olfactory stimulation. Our models predict that activity fluctuations in action selection circuits cause behavioral output to more closely match sensory drive and may therefore enhance navigation in complex sensory environments. Together these data reveal how simple neural dynamics, when coupled with activity fluctuations, can give rise to complex patterns of animal behavior.

How scaling fluctuation analyses can transform our view of the climate

Science.gov (United States)

Lovejoy, Shaun; Schertzer, Daniel

2013-04-01

There exist a bewildering diversity of proxy climate data including tree rings, ice cores, lake varves, boreholes, ice cores, pollen, foraminifera, corals and speleothems. Their quantitative use raises numerous questions of interpretation and calibration. Even in classical cases - such as the isotope signal in ice cores - the usual assumption of linear dependence on ambient temperature is only a first approximation. In other cases - such as speleothems - the isotope signals arise from multiple causes (which are not always understood) and this hinders their widespread use. We argue that traditional interpretations and calibrations - based on essentially deterministic comparisons between instrumental data, model outputs and proxies (albeit with the help of uncertainty analyses) - have been both overly ambitious while simultaneously underexploiting the data. The former since comparisons typically involve series at different temporal resolutions and from different geographical locations - one does not expect agreement in a deterministic sense, while with respect to climate models, one only expects statistical correspondences. The proxies are underexploited since comparisons are done at unique temporal and / or spatial resolutions whereas the fluctuations they describe provide information over wide ranges of scale. A convenient method of overcoming these difficulties is the use of fluctuation analysis systematically applied over the full range of available scales to determine the scaling proeprties. The new transformative element presented here, is to define fluctuations ΔT in a series T(t) at scale Δt not by differences (ΔT(Δt) = T(t+Δt) - T(t)) but rather by the difference in the means over the first and second halves of the lag Δt . This seemingly minor change - technically from "poor man's" to "Haar" wavelets - turns out to make a huge difference since for example, it is adequate for analysing temperatures from seconds to hundreds of millions of years yet

Experimental study of particle transport and density fluctuation in LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, K.; Morita, S.; Sanin, A.; Michael, C.; Kawahata, K.; Yamada, H.; Miyazawa, J.; Tokuzawa, T.; Akiyama, T.; Goto, M.; Ida, K.; Yoshinuma, M.; Narihara, K.; Yamada, I.; Yokoyama, M.; Masuzaki, S.; Morisaki, T.; Sakamoto, R.; Funaba, H.; Komori, A.; Vyacheslavov, L.N.; Murakami, S.; Wakasa, A.

2005-01-01

A variety of electron density (n e ) profiles have been observed in Large Helical Device (LHD). The density profiles change dramatically with heating power and toroidal magnetic field (B t ) under the same line averaged density. The particle transport coefficients, i.e., diffusion coefficient (D) and convection velocity (V) are experimentally obtained from density modulation experiments in the standard configuration. The values of D and V are estimated separately at the core and edge. The diffusion coefficients are strong function of electron temperature (T e ) and are proportional to T e 1.7±0.9 in core and T e 1.1±0.14 in edge. And edge diffusion coefficients are proportional to B t -2.08 . It is found that the scaling of D in edge is close to gyro-Bohm-like in nature. The existence of non-zero V is observed. It is observed that the electron temperature (T e ) gradient can drive particle convection. This is particularly clear in the core region. The convection velocity in the core region reverses direction from inward to outward as the T e gradient increases. In the edge, the convection is inward directed in the most of the case of the present data set. And it shows modest tendency, whose value is proportional to T e gradient keeping inward direction. However, the toroidal magnetic field also significantly affects value and direction of V. The spectrum of density fluctuation changes at different heating power suggesting that it has an influence on particle transport. The peak wavenumber is around 0.1 times the inversed ion Larmor radius, as is expected from gyro-Bohm diffusion. The peaks of fluctuation intensity are localized at the plasma edge, where density gradient becomes negative and diffusion contributes most to the particle flux. These results suggest a qualitative correlation of fluctuations with particle diffusion. (author)

Experimental study of particle transport and density fluctuation in LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, K.; Michael, C.; Sanin, A.

2005-01-01

A variety of electron density (n e ) profiles have been observed in Large Helical Device (LHD). The density profiles change dramatically with heating power and toroidal magnetic field (B t ) under the same line averaged density. The particle transport coefficients, i.e., diffusion coefficient (D) and convection velocity (V) are experimentally obtained in the standard configuration from density modulation experiments. The values of D and V are estimated separately in the core and edge. The diffusion coefficients are found to be a strong function of electron temperature (T e ) and are proportional to T e 1.7±0.9 in the core and T e 1.1±0.14 in the edge. Edge diffusion coefficients are proportional to B t -2.08 . It is found that the scaling of D in the edge is close to gyro-Bohm-like in nature. Non-zero V is observed and it is found that the electron temperature gradient can drive particle convection, particularly in the core region. The convection velocity in the core reverses direction from inward to outward as the T e gradient increases. In the edge, convection is inward directed in most cases of the present data set. It shows a modest tendency, being proportional to T e gradient and remaining inward directed. However, the toroidal magnetic field also significantly affects the value and direction of V. The density fluctuation spectrum varies with heating power suggesting that it has an influence on particle transport. The value of K sub(perpendicular) ρ i is around 0.1, as expected for gyro-Bohm diffusion. Fluctuations are localized in both positive and negative density gradient regions of the hollow density profiles. The fluctuation power in each region is clearly distinguished having different phase velocity profiles. (author)

HCV core protein induces hepatic lipid accumulation by activating SREBP1 and PPARγ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kook Hwan; Hong, Sung Pyo; Kim, KyeongJin; Park, Min Jung; Kim, Kwang Jin; Cheong, JaeHun

2007-01-01

Hepatic steatosis is a common feature in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HCV core protein plays an important role in the development of hepatic steatosis in HCV infection. Because SREBP1 (sterol regulatory element binding protein 1) and PPARγ (peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ) are involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism of hepatocyte, we sought to determine whether HCV core protein may impair the expression and activity of SREBP1 and PPARγ. In this study, it was demonstrated that HCV core protein increases the gene expression of SREBP1 not only in Chang liver, Huh7, and HepG2 cells transiently transfected with HCV core protein expression plasmid, but also in Chang liver-core stable cells. Furthermore, HCV core protein enhanced the transcriptional activity of SREBP1. In addition, HCV core protein elevated PPARγ transcriptional activity. However, HCV core protein had no effect on PPARγ gene expression. Finally, we showed that HCV core protein stimulates the genes expression of lipogenic enzyme and fatty acid uptake associated protein. Therefore, our finding provides a new insight into the mechanism of hepatic steatosis by HCV infection

An accelerating high-latitude jet in Earth's core

Science.gov (United States)

Livermore, P. W.; Finlay, C. C.; Hollerbach, R.

2017-12-01

Observations of the change in Earth's magnetic field, the secular variation, provide information on the motion of liquid metal within the core that is responsible for its generation. The very latest high-resolution observations from ESA's Swarm satellite mission show intense field change at high-latitude localised in a distinctive circular daisy-chain configuration centred on the north geographic pole. Here we explain this feature with a localised, nonaxisymmetric, westwards jet of 420 km width on the tangent cylinder, the cylinder of fluid within the core that is aligned with the rotation axis and tangent to the solid inner core. We find that the jet has increased in magnitude by a factor of three over the period 2000-2016 to about 40 km/yr, and is now much stronger than typical large-scale flows inferred for the core. The current accelerating phase may be a part of a longer term fluctuation of the jet causing both eastwards and westwards movement of magnetic features over historical periods, and may contribute to recent changes in torsional wave activity and the rotation direction of the inner core.

Elucidation of the fluctuation history of cosmic radiation and global environmental using AMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Kazuho

2008-01-01

Recently, accuracy of AMS has further been raised in trace amounts of sample. Besides application of 14 C to the age estimation, it has been able to restore in detail the past fluctuation of cosmic radiation strength using the other radioactive isotopes ( 10 Be, 36 Cl etc) in environmental samples and to elucidate the correlation of this with the fluctuation of climate and environment. In this report, the attempts to elucidate the fluctuation history of cosmic radiation and global environment with ice cores using AMS are presented. (M.H.)

Study of thermal - hydraulic sensors signal fluctuations in PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hennion, F.

1987-10-01

This thesis deals with signal fluctuations of thermal-hydraulic sensors in the main coolant primary of a pressurized water reactor. The aim of this work is to give a first response about the potentiality of use of these noise signals for the functionning monitoring. Two aspects have been studied: - the modelisation of temperature fluctuations of core thermocouples, by a Monte-Carlo method, gives the main characteristics of these signals and their domain of application. - the determination of eigenfrequency in the primary by an acoustic representation could permit the monitoring of local and global thermo-hydraulic conditions [fr

A Common Definition of the System Operators' Core Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-02-01

In this report a common definition of the system operator's core activities in the Nordic countries is identified and also a list of non-core activities is introduced. As a starting point the common tasks for system responsibility as identified by Nordel has been used for the work. The term TSO (Transmission System Operator) is employed as a common denominator in the report. It is found out that the TSOs carry out common core activities in the roles as a transmission operator, a system operator and a balance settlement responsible. The core activities for the TSO as a transmission network operator are: Maintain the adequate transmission system in the long run and network development plan on the national as well as on the Nordic level using sophisticated analysis and planning methods and tools. Plan the transmission network on the national as well as on the Nordic level utilising new investments, renewal and maintenance of existing network components so that the network is secure to operate and adequate transmission capacity is guaranteed. Aim at timely network expansions using enhanced information exchange between the Nordic TSOs, and on the national level between the TSO and distribution and regional network operators, large consumers and large producers. Secure the technical compatibility with networks across the border and within a country by establishing connection requirements on the national level and ensuring that the national requirements are compatible across the Nordic power system. The core activities for the TSO as a system operator are: Define common technical requirements for the secure system operation using common planning, operation, connection and data exchange procedures. Secure the system operation with the operational planning for the following year by using information exchange between TSOs enabling the TSOs to make the best possible forecast of the global grid situation in order to assess the flows in their network and the available

Investigation of the fluctuation range of activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in surface air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, R.; Hoetzl, H.

1985-01-01

Daily and seasonal concentration fluctuations of short-lived Rn fission products observed and the seasonal and long-term concentration fluctuations of Pb-210, Po-210, Ra-226, Ra-228, K-40 and Be-7 are discussed; the frequency distributions of the concentration values are illustrated. For a period of several years, the following mean values of activity concentrations were found (μBq/m 3 ): Pb-210: 600 Ra-226: 1.3 K-40: 13, Po-210: 33 Ra-228: 0.5 Be-7: 3700. In accordance with the origin from the soil, there is a significant correlation between the respective activity concentration and air-borne dust concentration for Ra-226, Ra-228, and K-40. The investigation revealed a most significant correlation between the Pb-210 concentration and the stagnancy index, the latter being a measure for the degree of blending of the surface layer of air. The resuspension factors found for Ra-226 and Pb-210 are discussed. (orig./HP) [de

Fluctuations at electrode-YSZ interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Torben; Hansen, Karin Vels; Skou, Eivind

2005-01-01

Current fluctuations at potentiostatically controlled point electrodes of Pt, La$_{0.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$MnO$_3$ and Ni on YSZ surfaces are determined at 1000$^\\circ$C. For the oxygen reduction process on Pt electrodes characteristic sawtooth shaped low frequency fluctuations are observed. At temperat......Current fluctuations at potentiostatically controlled point electrodes of Pt, La$_{0.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$MnO$_3$ and Ni on YSZ surfaces are determined at 1000$^\\circ$C. For the oxygen reduction process on Pt electrodes characteristic sawtooth shaped low frequency fluctuations are observed....../water atmosphere are presented for discussion. The origin of the observations is not known at present but it appears likely that they are related to the activation/deactivation mechanism of SOFCs....

Orbital Noise of the Earth Causes Intensity Fluctuation in the Geomagnetic Field

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Han-Shou; Kolenkiewicz, R.; Wade, C., Jr.

2003-01-01

Orbital noise of Earth's obliquity can provide an insight into the core of the Earth that causes intensity fluctuations in the geomagnetic field. Here we show that noise spectrum of the obliquity frequency have revealed a series of frequency periods centered at 250-, 1OO-, 50-, 41-, 30-, and 26-kyr which are almost identical with the observed spectral peaks from the composite curve of 33 records of relative paleointensity spanning the past 800 kyr (Sint-800 data). A continuous record for the past two million years also reveals the presence of the major 100 kyr periodicity in obliquity noise and geomagnetic intensity fluctuations. These results of correlation suggest that obliquity noise may power the dynamo, located in the liquid outer core of the Earth, which generates the geomagnetic field.

Transform and filtration methods in fluctuation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxe, R.F.

1976-01-01

Digitized fluctuation signals from an ex-core ion-chamber of a PWR were analysed to produce a Power Spectral Density, (PSD), curve by two means: (1) by digital filter techniques and (2) by a Fast Fourier Transform program. For both these methods, the effects of the precision of the input data were investigated and it is shown that reasonably good PSD curves may be obtained using very poor input precision. (author)

Reactor core flow rate control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakuma, Hitoshi; Tanikawa, Naoshi; Takahashi, Toshiyuki; Miyakawa, Tetsuya.

1996-01-01

When an internal pump is started by a variable frequency power source device, if magnetic fields of an AC generator are introduced after the rated speed is reached, neutron flux high scram occurs by abrupt increase of a reactor core flow rate. Then, in the present invention, magnetic fields for the AC generator are introduced at a speed previously set at which the fluctuation range of the reactor core flow rate (neutron flux) by the start up of the internal pump is within an allowable value. Since increase of the speed of the internal pump upon its start up is suppressed to determine the change of the reactor core flow rate within an allowable range, increase of neutron fluxes is suppressed to enable stable start up. Then, since transition boiling of fuels caused by abrupt decrease of the reactor core flow rate upon occurrence of abnormality in an external electric power system is prevented, and the magnetic fields for the AC generator are introduced in such a manner to put the speed increase fluctuation range of the internal pump upon start up within an allowable value, neutron flux high scram is not caused to enable stable start-up. (N.H.)

Velocity fluctuations in polar solar wind: a comparison between different solar cycles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Bavassano

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The polar solar wind is a fast, tenuous and steady flow that, with the exception of a relatively short phase around the Sun's activity maximum, fills the high-latitude heliosphere. The polar wind properties have been extensively investigated by Ulysses, the first spacecraft able to perform in-situ measurements in the high-latitude heliosphere. The out-of-ecliptic phases of Ulysses cover about seventeen years. This makes possible to study heliospheric properties at high latitudes in different solar cycles. In the present investigation we focus on hourly- to daily-scale fluctuations of the polar wind velocity. Though the polar wind is a quite uniform flow, fluctuations in its velocity do not appear negligible. A simple way to characterize wind velocity variations is that of performing a multi-scale statistical analysis of the wind velocity differences. Our analysis is based on the computation of velocity differences at different time lags and the evaluation of statistical quantities (mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis for the different ensembles. The results clearly show that, though differences exist in the three-dimensional structure of the heliosphere between the investigated solar cycles, the velocity fluctuations in the core of polar coronal holes exhibit essentially unchanged statistical properties.

Velocity fluctuations in polar solar wind: a comparison between different solar cycles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Bavassano

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The polar solar wind is a fast, tenuous and steady flow that, with the exception of a relatively short phase around the Sun's activity maximum, fills the high-latitude heliosphere. The polar wind properties have been extensively investigated by Ulysses, the first spacecraft able to perform in-situ measurements in the high-latitude heliosphere. The out-of-ecliptic phases of Ulysses cover about seventeen years. This makes possible to study heliospheric properties at high latitudes in different solar cycles. In the present investigation we focus on hourly- to daily-scale fluctuations of the polar wind velocity. Though the polar wind is a quite uniform flow, fluctuations in its velocity do not appear negligible. A simple way to characterize wind velocity variations is that of performing a multi-scale statistical analysis of the wind velocity differences. Our analysis is based on the computation of velocity differences at different time lags and the evaluation of statistical quantities (mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis for the different ensembles. The results clearly show that, though differences exist in the three-dimensional structure of the heliosphere between the investigated solar cycles, the velocity fluctuations in the core of polar coronal holes exhibit essentially unchanged statistical properties.

Electrosprayed core-shell polymer-lipid nanoparticles for active component delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Eltayeb, Megdi; Stride, Eleanor; Edirisinghe, Mohan

2013-11-01

A key challenge in the production of multicomponent nanoparticles for healthcare applications is obtaining reproducible monodisperse nanoparticles with the minimum number of preparation steps. This paper focus on the use of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) techniques to produce core-shell polymer-lipid structures with a narrow size distribution in a single step process. These nanoparticles are composed of a hydrophilic core for active component encapsulation and a lipid shell. It was found that core-shell nanoparticles with a tunable size range between 30 and 90 nm and a narrow size distribution could be reproducibly manufactured. The results indicate that the lipid component (stearic acid) stabilizes the nanoparticles against collapse and aggregation and improves entrapment of active components, in this case vanillin, ethylmaltol and maltol. The overall structure of the nanoparticles produced was examined by multiple methods, including transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, to confirm that they were of core-shell form.

An accelerating high-latitude jet in Earth’s core

Science.gov (United States)

Livermore, Philip W.; Hollerbach, Rainer; Finlay, Christopher C.

2017-01-01

Observations of the change in Earth’s magnetic field--the secular variation--provide information about the motion of liquid metal within the core that is responsible for the magnetic field’s generation. High-resolution observations from the European Space Agency’s Swarm satellite mission show intense field change at high latitude, localized in a distinctive circular daisy-chain configuration centred on the north geographic pole. Here we show that this feature can be explained by a localized, non-axisymmetric, westward jet of 420 km width on the tangent cylinder, the cylinder of fluid within the core that is aligned with the rotation axis and tangent to the solid inner core. We find that the jet has increased in magnitude by a factor of three over the period 2000-2016 to about 40 km yr-1, and is now much stronger than typical large-scale flows inferred for the core. We suggest that the current accelerating phase may be part of a longer-term fluctuation of the jet causing both eastward and westward movement of magnetic features over historical periods, and may contribute to recent changes in torsional-wave activity and the rotation direction of the inner core.

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activities in Languedoc (Southern France)

Science.gov (United States)

Azuara, J.; Combourieu-Nebout, N.; Lebreton, V.; Mazier, F.; Müller, S. D.; Dezileau, L.

2015-09-01

Holocene climate fluctuations and human activities since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to reconstruct Mediterranean paleoenvironments over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the Late Holocene and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600-4300, 2800-2400 and 1300-1100 cal BP. These periods of climatic instability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events depicted in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of evergreen taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. The Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activities and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activity in Languedoc (southern France)

Science.gov (United States)

Azuara, J.; Combourieu-Nebout, N.; Lebreton, V.; Mazier, F.; Müller, S. D.; Dezileau, L.

2015-12-01

Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean paleoenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the late Holocene, and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600-4300, 2800-2400 and 1300-1100 cal BP. These periods of high-frequency climate variability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events observed in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of sclerophyllous taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. Classical Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activity and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while the cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present-day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.

Plasma-activated core-shell gold nanoparticle films with enhanced catalytic properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Llorca, Jordi, E-mail: jordi.llorca@upc.edu; Casanovas, Albert; Dominguez, Montserrat; Casanova, Ignasi [Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Institut de Tecniques Energetiques (Spain); Angurell, Inmaculada; Seco, Miquel; Rossell, Oriol [Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Quimica Inorganica (Spain)

2008-03-15

Catalytically active gold nanoparticle films have been prepared from core-shell nanoparticles by plasma-activation and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Methane can be selectively oxidized into formic acid with an O{sub 2}-H{sub 2} mixture in a catalytic wall reactor functionalized with plasma-activated gold nanoparticle films containing well-defined Au particles of about 3.5 nm in diameter. No catalytic activity was recorded over gold nanoparticle films prepared by thermal decomposition of core-shell nanoparticles due to particle agglomeration.

Plasma-activated core-shell gold nanoparticle films with enhanced catalytic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llorca, Jordi; Casanovas, Albert; Dominguez, Montserrat; Casanova, Ignasi; Angurell, Inmaculada; Seco, Miquel; Rossell, Oriol

2008-01-01

Catalytically active gold nanoparticle films have been prepared from core-shell nanoparticles by plasma-activation and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Methane can be selectively oxidized into formic acid with an O 2 -H 2 mixture in a catalytic wall reactor functionalized with plasma-activated gold nanoparticle films containing well-defined Au particles of about 3.5 nm in diameter. No catalytic activity was recorded over gold nanoparticle films prepared by thermal decomposition of core-shell nanoparticles due to particle agglomeration

Nonequilibrium phase transitions, fluctuations and correlations in an active contractile polar fluid.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowrishankar, Kripa; Rao, Madan

2016-02-21

We study the patterning, fluctuations and correlations of an active polar fluid consisting of contractile polar filaments on a two-dimensional substrate, using a hydrodynamic description. The steady states generically consist of arrays of inward pointing asters and show a continuous transition from a moving lamellar phase, a moving aster street, to a stationary aster lattice with no net polar order. We next study the effect of spatio-temporal athermal noise, parametrized by an active temperature TA, on the stability of the ordered phases. In contrast to its equilibrium counterpart, we find that the active crystal shows true long range order at low TA. On increasing TA, the asters dynamically remodel, concomitantly we find novel phase transitions characterized by bond-orientational and polar order upon "heating".

The Relationship of Core Strength and Activation and Performance on Three Functional Movement Screens.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Caleb D; Whitehead, Paul N; Pletcher, Erin R; Faherty, Mallory S; Lovalekar, Mita T; Eagle, Shawn R; Keenan, Karen A

2018-04-01

Johnson, CD, Whitehead, PN, Pletcher, ER, Faherty, MS, Lovalekar, MT, Eagle, SR, and Keenan, KA. The relationship of core strength and activation and performance on three functional movement screens. J Strength Cond Res 32(4): 1166-1173, 2018-Current measures of core stability used by clinicians and researchers suffer from several shortcomings. Three functional movement screens appear, at face-value, to be dependent on the ability to activate and control core musculature. These 3 screens may present a viable alternative to current measures of core stability. Thirty-nine subjects completed a deep squat, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability screen. Scores on the 3 screens were summed to calculate a composite score (COMP). During the screens, muscle activity was collected to determine the length of time that the bilateral erector spinae, rectus abdominis, external oblique, and gluteus medius muscles were active. Strength was assessed for core muscles (trunk flexion and extension, trunk rotation, and hip abduction and adduction) and accessory muscles (knee flexion and extension and pectoralis major). Two ordinal logistic regression equations were calculated with COMP as the outcome variable, and: (a) core strength and accessory strength, (b) only core strength. The first model was significant in predicting COMP (p = 0.004) (Pearson's Chi-Square = 149.132, p = 0.435; Nagelkerke's R-Squared = 0.369). The second model was significant in predicting COMP (p = 0.001) (Pearson's Chi-Square = 148.837, p = 0.488; Nagelkerke's R-Squared = 0.362). The core muscles were found to be active for most screens, with percentages of "time active" for each muscle ranging from 54-86%. In conclusion, performance on the 3 screens is predicted by core strength, even when accounting for "accessory" strength variables. Furthermore, it seems the screens elicit wide-ranging activation of core muscles. Although more investigation is needed, these screens, collectively, seem to be a good

The effects of therapeutic hip exercise with abdominal core activation on recruitment of the hip muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Mandy Ky; Chow, Ka Wai; Lai, Alfred Ys; Mak, Noble Kc; Sze, Jason Ch; Tsang, Sharon Mh

2017-07-21

Core stabilization has been utilized for rehabilitation and prevention of lower limb musculoskeletal injuries. Previous studies showed that activation of the abdominal core muscles enhanced the hip muscle activity in hip extension and abduction exercises. However, the lack of the direct measurement and quantification of the activation level of the abdominal core muscles during the execution of the hip exercises affect the level of evidence to substantiate the proposed application of core exercises to promote training and rehabilitation outcome of the hip region. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of abdominal core activation, which is monitored directly by surface electromyography (EMG), on hip muscle activation while performing different hip exercises, and to explore whether participant characteristics such as gender, physical activity level and contractile properties of muscles, which is assessed by tensiomyography (TMG), have confounding effect to the activation of hip muscles in enhanced core condition. Surface EMG of bilateral internal obliques (IO), upper gluteus maximus (UGMax), lower gluteus maximus (LGMax), gluteus medius (GMed) and biceps femoris (BF) of dominant leg was recorded in 20 young healthy subjects while performing 3 hip exercises: Clam, side-lying hip abduction (HABD), and prone hip extension (PHE) in 2 conditions: natural core activation (NC) and enhanced core activation (CO). EMG signals normalized to percentage of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (%MVIC) were compared between two core conditions with the threshold of the enhanced abdominal core condition defined as >20%MVIC of IO. Enhanced abdominal core activation has significantly promoted the activation level of GMed in all phases of clam exercise (P recruitment in Clam, HABD and PHE exercises, and this enhancement is correlated with higher physical activity and stiffer hip muscle. Our results suggest the potential application of abdominal core activation for

A UAV-based active AirCore system for measurements of greenhouse gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Andersen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available We developed and field-tested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-based active AirCore for atmospheric mole fraction measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO. The system applies an alternative way of using the AirCore technique invented by NOAA. As opposed to the conventional concept of passively sampling air using the atmospheric pressure gradient during descent, the active AirCore collects atmospheric air samples using a pump to pull the air through the tube during flight, which opens up the possibility to spatially sample atmospheric air. The active AirCore system used for this study weighs ∼ 1.1 kg. It consists of a ∼ 50 m long stainless-steel tube, a small stainless-steel tube filled with magnesium perchlorate, a KNF micropump, and a 45 µm orifice working together to form a critical flow of dried atmospheric air through the active AirCore. A cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS was used to analyze the air samples on site not more than 7 min after landing for mole fraction measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO. We flew the active AirCore system on a UAV near the atmospheric measurement station at Lutjewad, located in the northwest of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Five consecutive flights took place over a 5 h period on the same morning, from sunrise until noon. We validated the measurements of CO2 and CH4 from the active AirCore against those from the Lutjewad station at 60 m. The results show a good agreement between the measurements from the active AirCore and the atmospheric station (N  =  146; R2CO2: 0.97 and R2CH4: 0.94; and mean differences: ΔCO2: 0.18 ppm and ΔCH4: 5.13 ppb. The vertical and horizontal resolution (for CH4 at typical UAV speeds of 1.5 and 2.5 m s−1 were determined to be ±24.7 to 29.3 and ±41.2 to 48.9 m, respectively, depending on the storage time. The collapse of the nocturnal boundary layer and the buildup of the mixed layer were clearly observed with three consecutive vertical

A UAV-based active AirCore system for measurements of greenhouse gases

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Truls; Scheeren, Bert; Peters, Wouter; Chen, Huilin

2018-05-01

We developed and field-tested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based active AirCore for atmospheric mole fraction measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO. The system applies an alternative way of using the AirCore technique invented by NOAA. As opposed to the conventional concept of passively sampling air using the atmospheric pressure gradient during descent, the active AirCore collects atmospheric air samples using a pump to pull the air through the tube during flight, which opens up the possibility to spatially sample atmospheric air. The active AirCore system used for this study weighs ˜ 1.1 kg. It consists of a ˜ 50 m long stainless-steel tube, a small stainless-steel tube filled with magnesium perchlorate, a KNF micropump, and a 45 µm orifice working together to form a critical flow of dried atmospheric air through the active AirCore. A cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) was used to analyze the air samples on site not more than 7 min after landing for mole fraction measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO. We flew the active AirCore system on a UAV near the atmospheric measurement station at Lutjewad, located in the northwest of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Five consecutive flights took place over a 5 h period on the same morning, from sunrise until noon. We validated the measurements of CO2 and CH4 from the active AirCore against those from the Lutjewad station at 60 m. The results show a good agreement between the measurements from the active AirCore and the atmospheric station (N = 146; R2CO2: 0.97 and R2CH4: 0.94; and mean differences: ΔCO2: 0.18 ppm and ΔCH4: 5.13 ppb). The vertical and horizontal resolution (for CH4) at typical UAV speeds of 1.5 and 2.5 m s-1 were determined to be ±24.7 to 29.3 and ±41.2 to 48.9 m, respectively, depending on the storage time. The collapse of the nocturnal boundary layer and the buildup of the mixed layer were clearly observed with three consecutive vertical profile measurements in the early morning hours. Besides

Drift-Alfven waves induced optical emission fluctuations in Aditya tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manchanda, R.; Ghosh, J.; Chattopadhyay, P. K.; Chowdhuri, M. B.; Banerjee, Santanu; Ramasubramanian, N.; Patel, Ketan M.; Kumar, Vinay; Vasu, P.; Tanna, R. L.; Paradkar, B.; Gupta, C. N.; Bhatt, S. B.; Raju, D.; Jha, R.; Atrey, P. K.; Joisa, S.; Rao, C. V. S.; Saxena, Y. C.

2010-01-01

In Aditya tokamak [S. B. Bhatt et al. Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys. 27, 710 (1989)], an increase in the H α and C 2+ intensity fluctuations from the edge region is observed with an increase in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. Very small fluctuation amplitudes of H α and C 2+ intensity are observed in discharges where there is no MHD activity compared to the discharges with MHD activity. These fluctuations in the H α and C 2+ , measured by optical filter--photomultiplier tube combination--are modulated by Mirnov oscillations having a dominant peak with a common frequency ∼7-10 kHz. Further investigation reveals the presence of strong coherent fluctuations in density and floating potential at same frequency as well. These observations indicate the existence of a nonelectrostatic instability, which may be based on the coupled mode of the drift mode and the Alfven mode. The coherent density fluctuations give rise to the experimentally observed coherent H α and C 2+ intensity fluctuations.

Spontaneous Slow Fluctuation of EEG Alpha Rhythm Reflects Activity in Deep-Brain Structures: A Simultaneous EEG-fMRI Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kei Omata

Full Text Available The emergence of the occipital alpha rhythm on brain electroencephalogram (EEG is associated with brain activity in the cerebral neocortex and deep brain structures. To further understand the mechanisms of alpha rhythm power fluctuation, we performed simultaneous EEGs and functional magnetic resonance imaging recordings in human subjects during a resting state and explored the dynamic relationship between alpha power fluctuation and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD signals of the brain. Based on the frequency characteristics of the alpha power time series (APTS during 20-minute EEG recordings, we divided the APTS into two components: fast fluctuation (0.04-0.167 Hz and slow fluctuation (0-0.04 Hz. Analysis of the correlation between the MRI signal and each component revealed that the slow fluctuation component of alpha power was positively correlated with BOLD signal changes in the brain stem and the medial part of the thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex, while the fast fluctuation component was correlated with the lateral part of the thalamus and the anterior cingulate cortex, but not the brain stem. In summary, these data suggest that different subcortical structures contribute to slow and fast modulations of alpha spectra on brain EEG.

Calculation and analysis of thermal–hydraulics fluctuations in pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malmir, Hessam; Vosoughi, Naser

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Single-phase thermal–hydraulics noise equations are originally derived in the frequency domain. • The fluctuations of all the coolant parameters are calculated, without any simplifying assumptions. • The radial distribution of the temperature fluctuations in the fuel, gap and cladding are taken into account. • The closed-loop calculations are performed by means of the point kinetics noise theory. • Both the space- and frequency-dependence of the thermal–hydraulics fluctuations are analyzed. - Abstract: Analysis of thermal–hydraulics fluctuations in pressurized water reactors (e.g., local and global temperature or density fluctuations, as well as primary and charging pumps fluctuations) has various applications in calculation or measurement of the core dynamical parameters (temperature or density reactivity coefficients) in addition to thermal–hydraulics surveillance and diagnostics. In this paper, the thermal–hydraulics fluctuations in PWRs are investigated. At first, the single-phase thermal–hydraulics noise equations (in the frequency domain) are originally derived, without any simplifying assumptions. The fluctuations of all the coolant parameters, as well as the radial distribution of the temperature fluctuations in the fuel, gap and cladding are taken into account. Then, the derived governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method (FVM). Based on the discretized equations and the proposed algorithm of solving, a single heated channel noise calculation code (SHC-Noise) is developed, by which the steady-state and fluctuating parameters of PWR fuel assemblies can be calculated. The noise sources include the inlet coolant temperature and velocity fluctuations, in addition to the power density noises. The developed SHC-Noise code is benchmarked in different cases and scenarios. Furthermore, to show the effects of the power feedbacks, the closed-loop calculations are performed by means of the point kinetics noise

Reactor core of FBR type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Hideyuki; Ichimiya, Masakazu.

1994-01-01

A reactor core is a homogeneous reactor core divided into two regions of an inner reactor core region at the center and an outer reactor core region surrounding the outside of the inner reactor core region. In this case, the inner reactor core region has a lower plutonium enrichment degree and less amount of neutron leakage in the radial direction, and the outer reactor core region has higher plutonium enrichment degree and greater amount of neutron leakage in the radial direction. Moderator materials containing hydrogen are added only to the inner reactor core fuels in the inner reactor core region. Pins loaded with the fuels with addition of the moderator materials are inserted at a ratio of from 3 to 10% of the total number of the fuel pins. The moderator materials containing hydrogen comprise zirconium hydride, titanium hydride, or calcium hydride. With such a constitution, fluctuation of the power distribution in the radial direction along with burning is suppressed. In addition, an absolute value of the Doppler coefficient can be increased, and a temperature coefficient of coolants can be reduced. (I.N.)

Critical Thoughts About the Core Entrustable Professional Activities in Undergraduate Medical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Krupat, Edward

2018-03-01

The Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (Core EPAs) have taken a strong hold on undergraduate medical education (UME). This Perspective questions their value added and considers the utility of the Core EPAs along two separate dimensions: (1) the ways they change the content and focus of the goals of UME; and (2) the extent to which entrustable professional activity (EPA)-based assessment conforms to basic principles of measurement theory as practiced in the social sciences. Concerning content and focus, the author asks whether the 13 Core EPAs frame UME too narrowly, putting competencies into the background and overlooking certain aspirational, but important and measurable, objectives of UME. The author also discusses the unevenness of EPAs in terms of their breadth and their developmental status as core activities. Regarding measurement and assessment, the author raises concerns that the EPA metric introduces layers of inference that may cause distortions and hinder accuracy and rater agreement. In addition, the use of weak anchors and multidimensional scales is also of concern. The author concludes with a proposal for reframing the Core EPAs and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies into broadly defined sets of behaviors, referred to as "Tasks of Medicine," and calls for the development of a systematic and longitudinal research agenda. The author asserts that "slowing down when you should" applies to medical education as well as patient care, and calls for a reevaluation of the Core EPAs before further commitment to them.

fMRI resting state networks and their association with cognitive fluctuations in dementia with Lewy bodies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis R. Peraza

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive fluctuations are a core symptom in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB and may relate to pathological alterations in distributed brain networks. To test this we analysed resting state fMRI changes in a cohort of fluctuating DLB patients (n = 16 compared with age matched controls (n = 17 with the aim of finding functional connectivity (FC differences between these two groups and whether these associate with cognitive fluctuations in DLB. Resting state networks (RSNs were estimated using independent component analysis and FC between the RSN maps and the entirety of the brain was assessed using dual regression. The default mode network (DMN appeared unaffected in DLB compared to controls but significant cluster differences between DLB and controls were found for the left fronto-parietal, temporal, and sensory–motor networks. Desynchronization of a number of cortical and subcortical areas related to the left fronto-parietal network was associated with the severity and frequency of cognitive fluctuations. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the potential role of attention–executive networks in the aetiology of this core symptom in DLB.

Edge transport and fluctuation induced turbulence characteristics in early SST-1 plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kakati, B., E-mail: bharat.kakati@ipr.res.in; Pradhan, S., E-mail: pradhan@ipr.res.in; Dhongde, J.; Semwal, P.; Yohan, K.; Banaudha, M.

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Anomalous particle transport during the high MHD activity at SST-1. • Electrostatic turbulence is modulated by MHD activity at SST-1 tokamak. • Edge floating potential fluctuations shows poloidal long-range cross correlation. - Abstract: Plasma edge transport characteristics are known to be heavily influenced by the edge fluctuation induced turbulences. These characteristics play a critical role towards the confinement of plasma column in a Tokamak. The edge magnetic fluctuations and its subsequent effect on electrostatic fluctuations have been experimentally investigated for the first time at the edge of the SST-1 plasma column. This paper reports the correlations that exist and is experimentally been observed between the edge densities and floating potential fluctuations with the magnetic fluctuations. The edge density and floating potential fluctuations have been measured with the help of poloidally separated Langmuir probes, whereas the magnetic fluctuations have been measured with poloidally spaced Mirnov coils. Increase in magnetic fluctuations associated with enhanced MHD activities has been found to increase the floating potential and ion saturation current. These observations indicate electrostatic turbulence getting influenced with the MHD activities and reveal the edge anomalous particle transport during SST-1 tokamak discharge. Large-scale coherent structures have been observed in the floating potential fluctuations, indicating long-distance cross correlation in the poloidal directions. From bispectral analysis, a strong nonlinear coupling among the floating potential fluctuations is observed in the low-frequency range about 0–15 kHz.

Measuring shape fluctuations in biological membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monzel, C; Sengupta, K

2016-01-01

Shape fluctuations of lipid membranes have intrigued cell biologists and physicists alike. In the cellular context, their origin—thermal or active—and their physiological significance are open questions. These small incessant displacements, also called membrane undulations, have mostly been studied in model membranes and membranes of simple cells like erythrocytes. Thermal fluctuations of such membranes have been very well described both theoretically and experimentally; active fluctuations are a topic of current interest. Experimentally, membrane fluctuations are not easy to measure, the main challenge being to develop techniques which are capable of measuring very small displacements at very high speed, and preferably over a large area and long time. Scattering techniques have given access to fluctuations in membrane stacks and a variety of optical microscopy based techniques have been devised to study membrane fluctuations of unilamellar vesicles, erythrocytes and other cells. Among them are flicker spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, diffraction phase microscopy and reflection interference contrast microscopy. Each of these techniques has its advantages and limitations. Here we review the basic principles of the major experimental techniques used to measure bending or shape fluctuations of biomembranes. We report seminal results obtained with each technique and highlight how these studies furthered our understanding of physical properties of membranes and their interactions. We also discuss suggested role of membrane fluctuations in different biological processes. (topical review)

Concept of the core for a small-to-medium-sized BWR that does not use control rods during normal operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakadozono, N.; Ikegawa, T., E-mail: naoyuki.nakadozono.st@hitachi.com [Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Research Lab., Ibaraki (Japan); Nishida, K. [Hitachi Works, Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd., Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki (Japan)

2013-07-01

A small-to-medium-sized boiling water reactor (BWR) with a natural circulation system is being developed for countries where initial investment funds for construction are limited and electricity transmission networks have not been fully constructed. To lighten operators' work load, a core that does not use control rods during normal operation (control rod-free core) was developed by using a neutronics calculation system coupled with core flow evaluation. The control rod-free core had large core power fluctuation with conventional burnable poison design. The target of core power fluctuation was set to less than 10% and was achieved by optimization of burnable poison arrangement. (author)

Concept of the core for a small-to-medium-sized BWR that does not use control rods during normal operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakadozono, N.; Ikegawa, T.; Nishida, K.

2013-01-01

A small-to-medium-sized boiling water reactor (BWR) with a natural circulation system is being developed for countries where initial investment funds for construction are limited and electricity transmission networks have not been fully constructed. To lighten operators' work load, a core that does not use control rods during normal operation (control rod-free core) was developed by using a neutronics calculation system coupled with core flow evaluation. The control rod-free core had large core power fluctuation with conventional burnable poison design. The target of core power fluctuation was set to less than 10% and was achieved by optimization of burnable poison arrangement. (author)

Mathematical formulation of temperature fluctuation and control rod vibration in PARR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansari, S.A.; Ayazuddin, S.K.

This report describes the mathematical interpretation of experimental neutron noise spectra obtained for PARR core. A one dimensional thermal-hydraulic model of PARR core was developed to calculate the magnitude of neutron noise as a result of fluctuation in the core inlet coolant temperature. The sink structure of the neutron power spectral density as well as the dependence of observed neutron spectra on coolant velocity is also explained by the thermal hydraulic model. An attempt is made to explain the phenomena of control rod vibration by a simple eigen frequency vibration model. The calculated neutron power spectral density due to vibration and temperature noise were added and compared with the experimental power spectra obtained for PARR. (orig./A.B.)

Mesoporous activated carbon from corn stalk core for lithium ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi; Li, Chun; Qi, Hui; Yu, Kaifeng; Liang, Ce

2018-04-01

A novel mesoporous activated carbon (AC) derived from corn stalk core is prepared via a facile and effective method which including the decomposition and carbonization of corn stalk core under an inert gas atmosphere and further activation process with KOH solution. The mesoporous activated carbon (AC) is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements. These biomass waste derived from activated carbon is proved to be promising anode materials for high specific capacity lithium ion batteries. The activated carbon anode possesses excellent reversible capacity of 504 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 0.2C. Compared with the unactivated carbon (UAC), the electrochemical performance of activated carbon is significantly improved due to its mesoporous structure.

Modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 3 by hepatitis C virus core protein

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ngo, HT; Pham, Long; Kim, JW

2013-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly dependent on cellular proteins for its own propagation. In order to identify the cellular factors involved in HCV propagation, we performed protein microarray assays using the HCV core protein as a probe. Of ~9,000 host proteins immobilized in a microarray...... inducers. Binding of HCV core to MAPKAPK3 was confirmed by in vitro pulldown assay and further verified by coimmunoprecipitation assay. HCV core protein interacted with MAPKAPK3 through amino acid residues 41 to 75 of core and the N-terminal half of kinase domain of MAPKAPK3. In addition, both RNA...... increased HCV IRES-mediated translation and MAPKAPK3-dependent HCV IRES activity was further increased by core protein. These data suggest that HCV core may modulate MAPKAPK3 to facilitate its own propagation....

Characterization of the up-down asymmetry of density fluctuations induced by a lower modular limiter in Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenzi, C.; Devynck, P.; Garbet, X.; Antar, G.; Capes, H.; Laviron, C.; Truc, A.; Gervais, F.; Hennequin, P.; Quemeneur, A.

1999-01-01

In magnetic fusion devices, the effect of plasma facing components on plasma turbulence is a key issue for several reasons. Firstly, the edge turbulence controls the power deposition on plasma facing components. Secondly, the possible influence of the edge parameters on the core fluctuations is a central question, since the core turbulent transport is responsible for the confinement degradation. It is in practice difficult to determine whether the plasma core influences the edge, or the opposite. We show here that spatial edge asymmetries of density fluctuations, and particularly up-down asymmetries, provide a powerful tool to investigate this problem. In TORE SUPRA, previous scaling analyses with various plasma parameters have emphasized that a very clear effect on the asymmetry level appears when the plasma leans on the lower modular limiter located close to the measurement chord. We present here recent measurement results concerning that specific case. They tend to show that the limiter configuration has some effect on the core turbulence. (authors)

Determination of the neutron activation profile of core drill samples by gamma-ray spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurau, D; Boden, S; Sima, O; Stanga, D

2018-04-01

This paper provides guidance for determining the neutron activation profile of core drill samples taken from the biological shield of nuclear reactors using gamma spectrometry measurements. Thus, it provides guidance for selecting a model of the right form to fit data and using least squares methods for model fitting. The activity profiles of two core samples taken from the biological shield of a nuclear reactor were determined. The effective activation depth and the total activity of core samples along with their uncertainties were computed by Monte Carlo simulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concentration fluctuations in gas releases by industrial accidents. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielsen, M.; Chatwin, P.C.; Joergensen, H.E.; Mole, N.; Munro, R.J.; Ott, S.

2002-05-01

The COFIN project studied existing remote-sensing Lidar data on concentration fluctuations in atmospheric dispersion from continuous sources at ground level. Fluctuations are described by stochastic models developed by a combination of statistical analyses and surface-layer scaling. The statistical moments and probability density distribution of the fluctuations are most accurately determined in a frame of reference following the instantaneous plume centreline. The spatial distribution of these moments is universal with a gaussian core and exponential tails. The instantaneous plume width is fluctuating with a log-normal distribution. The position of the instantaneous plume centre-line is modelled by a normal distribution and a Langevin equation, by which the meander effect on the time-averaged plume width is predicted. Fixed-frame statistics are modelled by convolution of moving-frame statistics and the probability distribution for the plume centreline. The distance-neighbour function generalized for higher-order statistics has a universal exponential shape. Simulation tools for concentration fluctuations have been developed for either multiple correlated time series or multi-dimensional fields. These tools are based on Karhunen-Loeve expansion and Fourier transformations using iterative or correlation-distortion techniques. The input to the simulation is the probability distribution of the individual processes, assumed stationary, and the cross-correlations of all signal combinations. The use in practical risk assessment is illustrated by implementation of a typical heavy-gas dispersion model, enhanced for prediction and simulation of concentration fluctuations. (au)

Gas density fluctuations in the Perseus Cluster: clumping factor and velocity power spectrum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhuravleva, I.; Churazov, E.; Arevalo, P.; Schekochihin, A. A.; Allen, S. W.; Fabian, A. C.; Forman, W. R.; Sanders, J. S.; Simionescu, A.; Sunyaev, R.; Vikhlinin, A.; Werner, N.

2015-05-20

X-ray surface brightness fluctuations in the core of the Perseus Cluster are analysed, using deep observations with the Chandra observatory. The amplitude of gas density fluctuations on different scales is measured in a set of radial annuli. It varies from 7 to 12 per cent on scales of ~10–30 kpc within radii of 30–220 kpc from the cluster centre. Using a statistical linear relation between the observed amplitude of density fluctuations and predicted velocity, the characteristic velocity of gas motions on each scale is calculated. The typical amplitudes of the velocity outside the central 30 kpc region are 90–140 km s^-1 on ~20–30 kpc scales and 70–100 km s^-1 on smaller scales ~7–10 kpc. The velocity power spectrum (PS) is consistent with cascade of turbulence and its slope is in a broad agreement with the slope for canonical Kolmogorov turbulence. The gas clumping factor estimated from the PS of the density fluctuations is lower than 7–8 per cent for radii ~30–220 kpc from the centre, leading to a density bias of less than 3–4 per cent in the cluster core. Uncertainties of the analysis are examined and discussed. Future measurements of the gas velocities with the Astro-H, Athena and Smart-X observatories will directly measure the gas density–velocity perturbation relation and further reduce systematic uncertainties in this analysis.

Detectors for hydrodynamical processes in the reactor core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strube, D.

1976-01-01

The method described in this report is based on noise analytical measurements of electrical conductivity fluctuations of the cooling water stream in the reactor core. The conductivity fluctuations have their origin in steam and air bubbles and in cooling water mixing effects in regard to temperature and ionisation by gamma and neutron fields. The fluctuations are transformed into voltage signals by two electrodes in direction of the cooling water stream and then crosscorrelated. From the known distance of the two electrodes and the shift of the crosscorrelation function one can compute the velocity of the cooling medium and the bubbles. Void fractions were also determined with this detection device in out of pile experiments. (author)

Current status of studies on temperature fluctuation phenomena in LMFRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohshima, H.; Muramatsu, T.; Kobayashi, J.; Yamaguchi, A.

1994-01-01

This paper describes the current status of studies being performed in PNC on temperature fluctuation phenomena occurring in fast reactors. The studies concentrate on four problems: thermal stratification, thermal striping, core-plenum interaction and free surface sloshing. Both experimental and analytical approaches to reveal these phenomena and to establish design and safety evaluation methods are presented together with future works. (author)

An Objective Fluctuation Score for Parkinson's Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, Malcolm K.; McGregor, Sarah; Bergquist, Filip

2015-01-01

Introduction Establishing the presence and severity of fluctuations is important in managing Parkinson’s Disease yet there is no reliable, objective means of doing this. In this study we have evaluated a Fluctuation Score derived from variations in dyskinesia and bradykinesia scores produced by an accelerometry based system. Methods The Fluctuation Score was produced by summing the interquartile range of bradykinesia scores and dyskinesia scores produced every 2 minutes between 0900-1800 for at least 6 days by the accelerometry based system and expressing it as an algorithm. Results This Score could distinguish between fluctuating and non-fluctuating patients with high sensitivity and selectivity and was significant lower following activation of deep brain stimulators. The scores following deep brain stimulation lay in a band just above the score separating fluctuators from non-fluctuators, suggesting a range representing adequate motor control. When compared with control subjects the score of newly diagnosed patients show a loss of fluctuation with onset of PD. The score was calculated in subjects whose duration of disease was known and this showed that newly diagnosed patients soon develop higher scores which either fall under or within the range representing adequate motor control or instead go on to develop more severe fluctuations. Conclusion The Fluctuation Score described here promises to be a useful tool for identifying patients whose fluctuations are progressing and may require therapeutic changes. It also shows promise as a useful research tool. Further studies are required to more accurately identify therapeutic targets and ranges. PMID:25928634

Monitoring core barrel motion by neutron noise diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Por, G.

1985-08-01

The core barrel motion is detected by ionization chambers located around the reactor vessel. The method is based on the measurement of the neutron flux fluctuations. Calculations to determine the direction and the size of the motion are discussed. The identification of core barrel motion and its connection with the error of one of the main circulating pumps in the Rheinsberg nuclear power plant are described. Core barrel motion of 10 Hz with an amplitude less than 50 μm could be diagnozed at the Paks-1 reactor using the Dutch high accuracy evaluation system. (V.N.)

Determination of activation parameters for the core transformation of the screw dislocation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guénolé, J; Godet, J; Pizzagalli, L

2010-01-01

The non-dissociated screw dislocation in a model covalent material like silicon is known to exist in three possible stable core configurations. We performed calculations combining the nudged elastic band technique and a semi-empirical description in order to determine mechanisms and activation parameters for transforming one core into another. Our results showed that a glide core is necessarily reconstructed, since the energy barrier for reconstruction is easily overcome by thermal activation. Conversely, a transformation between a shuffle and a glide core appears unlikely at low temperature, which raises questions about the existence of the double-period glide configuration

Measurement of the Effective Delayed Neutron Fraction in Three Different FR0-cores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moberg, L; Kockum, J

1972-06-15

The effective delayed neutron fraction, beta{sub eff}, has been measured in the three cores 3, 5 and 8 of the fast zero-power reactor FR0. The variance-to-mean method, in which the statistical fluctuations of the neutron density in the reactor is studied, was used. A 3He-gas scintillator was placed in the reflector and used as a neutron detector. It was made more sensitive to fast neutrons by surrounding it with polythene. Its efficiency, expressed as the number of counts per fission in the reactor, was determined using fission chambers with known efficiency placed in the core. The space distribution of the fission rate in the core was determined by foil activation technique. The experimental results were compared with theoretical beta{sub eff}-values calculated with perturbation theory. The difference was about 3 % which is of the same order as the accuracy in the experimental values

Fluctuation - a common but neglected pattern of physical activity behaviour: An exploratory review of studies in recent 20 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Borui; Duan, Yanping; Huang, Wendy Yajun; Brehm, Walter

2018-03-01

Regular physical activity (PA) is beneficial for physical and psychological well-being, yet many people do not achieve these health benefits due to irregular PA participation which is also known as fluctuation. Limited attention has been given to the phenomenon of fluctuation in the PA behaviour literature. The aim of this review was to explore and to map definitions, measurements, behavioural evidence, and factors related to PA fluctuation. Eligible studies were initially identified by a systematic search of articles conducted in four databases: Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus between January 1996 and March 2016. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set to check the eligibility of all articles. Additional articles were included by manual searching and expert recommendation. Fifteen articles were finally included. Definitions of fluctuation are understood from two perspectives, either as a stage in the process of behaviour change, or as a particular PA phenomenon consisting of lapse and readoption. Common features were extracted: behavioural irregularity, high risk of drop-out, intention and readiness for PA, low automaticity, and limited self-regulation. Furthermore, fluctuation identification was summarised in three approaches such as stage algorithm, self-identified PA lapse and readoption, and prospective within-person variation in meeting the PA guidelines. Regarding the empirical evidence, this review found that people in PA fluctuation were significantly distinct from those in preparation and maintenance of PA behavioural performance, as well as distinct in psychosocial features. Notwithstanding the limitations, this review has provided valuable insight into the phenomenon of PA fluctuation.

[Fluctuations in biophysical measurements as a result of variations in solar activity].

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, T F

1995-01-01

A theory is proposed to explain variations in the net electrical charge of biological substances at the Earth's surface. These are shown to occur in association with changes in the solar wind and geomagnetic field. It is suggested that a liquid dielectric's net volume charge will imitate pH effects, influence chemical reaction rates, and alter ion transfer mechanisms in biophysical systems. An experiment is described which measures dielectric volume charge, or non-neutrality, to allow correlation of this property with daily, 28-day, and 11-year fluctuation patterns in geophysical and satellite data associated with solar activity and the interplanetary magnetic field.

Measurements of temperature fluctuations in the mixing of hot and cold air jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumner, V.W.

1977-03-01

In order to assess the effect of the mixing of 'hot' and 'cold' jets of sodium on structures in the above-core region of the fast reactor, temperature fluctuations have been measured in an experiment consisting of a heated jet of air surrounded by six unheated jets. Temperature spectra obtained from the experiment showed no strong peaks or bands. In considering the effect of thermal cycling of the above-core structures, it is the higher strain values at low frequencies which will be more limiting than the smaller values at high frequencies, due to the nature of strain-lifetime curves. Thus the spectra have been summarised using a low-frequency level and a cut-off frequency at which this level has fallen by an order of magnitude. Attenuation of temperature fluctuations due to the high thermal conductivity of sodium or by boundary layer effects has been considered; however, in the low-frequency, high-energy region of the spectra, little attenuation can be expected. (author)

Size effects in many-valley fluctuations in semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolov, V.N.; Kochelap, V.A.

1995-08-01

We present the results of theoretical investigations of nonhomogeneous fluctuations in submicron active regions of many-valley semiconductors with equivalent valleys(Ge, Si-type), where the dimension 2d of the region is comparable to or less than the intervalley diffusion relaxation length L iv . It is shown that for arbitrary orientations of the valley axes (the crystal axes) with respect to lateral sample surfaces, the fluctuation spectra depend on the bias voltage applied to the layer in the region of weak nonheating electric fields. The new physical phenomenon is reported: the fluctuation spectra depend on the sample thickness, with 2d iv the suppression of fluctuations arises for fluctuation frequencies ω -1 iv , τ -1 iv is the characteristic intervalley relaxation time. (author). 43 refs, 5 figs

Effect of beam-attenuation modulation on fluctuation measurements by heavy-ion beam probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, D.W.; Sloan, M.L.; Wootton, A.J.

1991-03-01

Beam-attenuation modulation arising from density fluctuations along the orbit of the heavy-ion beam probe can distort the local amplitude, coherence, and phase derived from one- and two-point correlation measurements. Path-integral expressions for these effects are derived and applications to TEXT data are discussed. The effects depend critically on the ratio of the average fluctuation amplitude, n e , along the beam path to the local n e at the sample volume. Because the fluctuation amplitude is small in the core and rises sharply toward the plasma edge, the contamination effect is negligible in a radial zone near the edge but rises sharply to the interior of a critical radius. With increasing average plasma density, bar n e , the interior contamination increases strongly and the critical radius moves outward. 16 refs., 12 figs

Fluctuating chemohydrodynamics and the stochastic motion of self-diffusiophoretic particles

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspard, Pierre; Kapral, Raymond

2018-04-01

The propulsion of active particles by self-diffusiophoresis is driven by asymmetric catalytic reactions on the particle surface that generate a mechanochemical coupling between the fluid velocity and the concentration fields of fuel and product in the surrounding solution. Because of thermal and molecular fluctuations in the solution, the motion of micrometric or submicrometric active particles is stochastic. Coupled Langevin equations describing the translation, rotation, and reaction of such active particles are deduced from fluctuating chemohydrodynamics and fluctuating boundary conditions at the interface between the fluid and the particle. These equations are consistent with microreversibility and the Onsager-Casimir reciprocal relations between affinities and currents and provide a thermodynamically consistent basis for the investigation of the dynamics of active particles propelled by diffusiophoretic mechanisms.

Vessel size effect on the characteristic frequency of the free surface fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, Ho Yun; Kim, Min Joon; Kim, Jong Man; Choi, Byoung Hae

2004-01-01

Studies of the free surface fluctuations is one of the important topics in a liquid metal nuclear reactor using sodium as the coolant that has a free surface in the upper plenum of the reactor vessel. The main reasons for the study on the free surface fluctuations can be summarized as: 1. to secure the structural integrity of a reactor vessel by considering the thermal stress on the vessel wall induced by the fluctuations of the free surface between the hot sodium and cold cover gas, 2. to prevent the cover gas entrainment at the free surface of the sodium because the entrained gas causes a change in the reactivity and also reduces the heat removal capability in the core. Some experimental studies on the free surface fluctuations have been reported. However, most of them focus on the gas entrainment phenomena and only a few works concern the basic characteristics of the free surface fluctuations. Since the thermal stress on the wall is strongly dependent on the amplitude and frequency of the free surface fluctuations, studies on the amplitudes and frequencies should receive more attention. In Nam, empirical formulae on the amplitudes and frequencies with respect to the geometric and hydraulic parameters were introduced. It is an interesting result, but the experiment was performed within the parameter range near the onset point of the fluctuations. In the real reactor condition, larger sized fluctuations may exist and the formula needs to be modified. In this study, we performed experiments on the free surface fluctuations, especially on larger sized fluctuations and made an analysis of the amplitudes and frequencies. The main focus of this paper is the effect of the vessel size on the characteristic frequencies. It is thought to be helpful for finding the scaling laws, for example, designing a scale-down experiment

Hepatitis C virus core protein regulates p300/CBP co-activation function. Possible role in the regulation of NF-AT1 transcriptional activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez-Gonzalo, Marta; Benedicto, Ignacio; Carretero, Marta; Lara-Pezzi, Enrique; Maldonado-Rodriguez, Alejandra; Moreno-Otero, Ricardo; Lai, Michael M.C.; Lopez-Cabrera, Manuel

2004-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core is a viral structural protein; it also participates in some cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation. However, the mechanisms of core-mediated transcriptional regulation remain poorly understood. Oncogenic virus proteins often target p300/CBP, a known co-activator of a wide variety of transcription factors, to regulate the expression of cellular and viral genes. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that HCV core protein interacts with p300/CBP and enhances both its acetyl-transferase and transcriptional activities. In addition, we demonstrate that nuclear core protein activates the NH 2 -terminal transcription activation domain (TAD) of NF-AT1 in a p300/CBP-dependent manner. We propose a model in which core protein regulates the co-activation function of p300/CBP and activates NF-AT1, and probably other p300/CBP-regulated transcription factors, by a novel mechanism involving the regulation of the acetylation state of histones and/or components of the transcriptional machinery

Neural evidence that human emotions share core affective properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson-Mendenhall, Christine D; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Barsalou, Lawrence W

2013-06-01

Research on the "emotional brain" remains centered around the idea that emotions like fear, happiness, and sadness result from specialized and distinct neural circuitry. Accumulating behavioral and physiological evidence suggests, instead, that emotions are grounded in core affect--a person's fluctuating level of pleasant or unpleasant arousal. A neuroimaging study revealed that participants' subjective ratings of valence (i.e., pleasure/displeasure) and of arousal evoked by various fear, happiness, and sadness experiences correlated with neural activity in specific brain regions (orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala, respectively). We observed these correlations across diverse instances within each emotion category, as well as across instances from all three categories. Consistent with a psychological construction approach to emotion, the results suggest that neural circuitry realizes more basic processes across discrete emotions. The implicated brain regions regulate the body to deal with the world, producing the affective changes at the core of emotions and many other psychological phenomena.

Effective tension and fluctuations in active membranes

OpenAIRE

Loubet, Bastien; Seifert, Udo; Lomholt, Michael Andersen

2011-01-01

We calculate the fluctuation spectrum of the shape of a lipid vesicle or cell exposed to a nonthermal source of noise. In particular we take into account constraints on the membrane area and the volume of fluid that it encapsulates when obtaining expressions for the dependency of the membrane tension on the noise. We then investigate three possible origins of the non-thermal noise taken from the literature: A direct force, which models an external medium pushing on the membrane. A curvature f...

Linear variable differential transformer sensor using glass-covered amorphous wires as active core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiriac, H.; Hristoforou, E.; Neagu, Maria; Pieptanariu, M.

2000-01-01

Results concerning linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) displacement sensor using as movable core glass-covered amorphous wires are presented. The LVDT response is linear for a displacement of the movable core up to about 14 mm, with an accuracy of 1 μm. LVDT using glass-covered amorphous wire as an active core presents a high sensitivity and good mechanical and corrosion resistance

Designing Class Activities to Meet Specific Core Training Competencies: A Developmental Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Guth, Lorraine J.; McDonnell, Kelly A.

2004-01-01

This article presents a developmental model for designing and utilizing class activities to meet specific Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) core training competencies for group workers. A review of the relevant literature about teaching group work and meeting core training standards is provided. The authors suggest a process by…

Transport barrier fluctuations governed by SOL turbulence spreading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghendrih, Ph.; Sarazin, Y.; Ciraolo, G.; Darmet, G.; Garbet, X.; Grangirard, V.; Tamain, P.; Benkadda, S.; Beyer, P.

2007-01-01

Turbulence spreading, namely turbulent transport extending into a stable region is reported both for the flat density profiles in the far SOL and into a modeled H-mode barrier. It is shown that due to turbulence penetration, the pedestal width fluctuates and that its effective width is a factor 2 smaller than the linear predicted width. Turbulence overshooting throughout the pedestal leads to a non-vanishing turbulent transport within the barrier and provides a coupling of core and SOL turbulence despite the transport barrier

Temperature fluctuation reducing device for FBR type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ootsuka, Fumio; Shiratori, Fumihiro.

1991-01-01

In existent FBR type reactors, since temperature fluctuation in the reactor upper portion has been inevitable, thermal fatigue may be caused possibly in reactor core upper mechanisms. Then, a valve is disposed to a control rod lower guide tube contained in a reactor container for automatically controlling the amount of passing coolants in accordance with the temperature of the passing coolants, to mix and control coolants passing through a fuel assembly in adjacent with the guide tube and coolants passing through the guide tube. Further, a rectification cylinder is disposed, in which a portion of coolants passing through the fuel assembly is caused to flow. An orifice is disposed to the cylinder with an exit being disposed to the upstream thereof such that the coolants not flown into the rectification cylinder and the coolants passing through the guide tube are mixed to moderate the temperature fluctuation. That is, a portion of the coolants flown into the rectification cylinder can not pass through the orifice, but flow backwardly to the upstream and is discharged out of the rectification cylinder from the coolants exit and mixed sufficiently with coolants passing through the guide tube. In this way, temperature fluctuation can be moderated. (N.H.)

Fluctuations and correlations in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baharian, Soheil; Baym, Gordon

2010-01-01

We investigate the effects of correlations on the properties of the ground state of the rotating harmonically trapped Bose gas by adding Bogoliubov fluctuations to the mean-field ground state of an N-particle single-vortex system. We demonstrate that the fluctuation-induced correlations lower the energy compared to that of the mean-field ground state, that the vortex core is pushed slightly away from the center of the trap, and that an unstable mode with negative energy (for rotations slower than a critical frequency) emerges in the energy spectrum, thus pointing to a better state for slow rotation. We construct mean-field ground states of zero-, one-, and two-vortex states as a function of rotation rate and determine the critical frequencies for transitions between these states, as well as the critical frequency for appearance of a metastable state with an off-center vortex and its image vortex in the evanescent tail of the cloud.

Carbon Dioxide Fluctuations Are Associated with Changes in Cerebral Oxygenation and Electrical Activity in Infants Born Preterm.

Science.gov (United States)

Dix, Laura Marie Louise; Weeke, Lauren Carleen; de Vries, Linda Simone; Groenendaal, Floris; Baerts, Willem; van Bel, Frank; Lemmers, Petra Maria Anna

2017-08-01

To evaluate the effects of acute arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure changes on cerebral oxygenation and electrical activity in infants born preterm. This retrospective observational study included ventilated infants born preterm with acute fluctuations of continuous end-tidal CO 2 (etCO 2 ) as a surrogate marker for arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure, during the first 72 hours of life. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation and fractional tissue oxygen extraction were monitored with near-infrared spectroscopy. Brain activity was monitored with 2-channel electroencephalography. Spontaneous activity transients (SATs) rate (SATs/minute) and interval between SATs (in seconds) were calculated. Ten-minute periods were selected for analysis: before, during, and after etCO 2 fluctuations of ≥5  mm Hg. Thirty-eight patients (mean ± SD gestational age of 29 ± 1.8 weeks) were included, with 60 episodes of etCO 2 increase and 70 episodes of etCO 2 decrease. During etCO 2 increases, brain oxygenation increased (regional cerebral oxygen saturation increased, fractional tissue oxygen extraction decreased; P carbon dioxide partial pressure that may be harmful to the neonatal brain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Harvesting thermal fluctuations: Activation process induced by a nonlinear chain in thermal equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reigada, Ramon; Sarmiento, Antonio; Romero, Aldo H.; Sancho, J. M.; Lindenberg, Katja

2000-01-01

We present a model in which the immediate environment of a bistable system is a molecular chain which in turn is connected to a thermal environment of the Langevin form. The molecular chain consists of masses connected by harmonic or by anharmonic springs. The distribution, intensity, and mobility of thermal fluctuations in these chains is strongly dependent on the nature of the springs and leads to different transition dynamics for the activated process. Thus, all else (temperature, damping, coupling parameters between the chain and the bistable system) being the same, the hard chain may provide an environment described as diffusion-limited and more effective in the activation process, while the soft chain may provide an environment described as energy-limited and less effective. The importance of a detailed understanding of the thermal environment toward the understanding of the activation process itself is thus highlighted. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

Does stress affect the joints? Daily stressors, stress vulnerability, immune and HPA axis activity, and short-term disease and symptom fluctuations in rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Evers, Andrea W M; Verhoeven, Elisabeth W M; van Middendorp, Henriët; Sweep, Fred C G J; Kraaimaat, Floris W; Donders, A Rogier T; Eijsbouts, Agnes E; van Laarhoven, Antoinette I M; de Brouwer, Sabine J M; Wirken, Lieke; Radstake, Timothy R D J; van Riel, Piet L C M

2014-09-01

Both stressors and stress vulnerability factors together with immune and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity components have been considered to contribute to disease fluctuations of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether daily stressors and worrying as stress vulnerability factor as well as immune and HPA axis activity markers predict short-term disease activity and symptom fluctuations in patients with RA. In a prospective design, daily stressors, worrying, HPA axis (cortisol) and immune system (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, interferon (IFN)-γ, tumour necrosis factor α) markers, clinical and self-reported disease activity (disease activity score in 28 joints, RA disease activity index), and physical symptoms of pain and fatigue were monitored monthly during 6 months in 80 RA patients. Multilevel modelling indicated that daily stressors predicted increased fatigue in the next month and that worrying predicted increased self-reported disease activity, swollen joint count and pain in the next month. In addition, specific cytokines of IL-1β and IFN-γ predicted increased fatigue 1 month later. Overall, relationships remained relatively unchanged after controlling for medication use, disease duration and demographic variables. No evidence was found for immune and HPA axis activity markers as mediators of the stress-disease relationship. Daily stressors and the stress-vulnerability factor worrying predict indicators of the short-term course of RA disease activity and fatigue and pain, while specific cytokines predict short-term fluctuations of fatigue. These stress-related variables and immune markers seem to affect different aspects of disease activity or symptom fluctuations independently in RA. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Fluctuations and Photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Sourendu

2007-01-01

In this talk I discuss measures of fluctuations, especially those leading to the proof that the quark gluon plasma indeed contains quarks. I discuss the quark mass dependence of the critical end point of QCD. Then I discuss probes of the QCD critical point. Non-gaussian behaviour of event-to-event fluctuations of conserved quantum numbers is one such probe. Another is due to the coupling of fluctuations in baryon number and electrical charge, giving rise to long range random fluctuations of local charge density which relax slowly. These fluctuations can scatter photons, giving rise to critical opalescence

Fluctuations and Photons

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Sourendu

2007-02-01

In this talk I discuss measures of fluctuations, especially those leading to the proof that the quark gluon plasma indeed contains quarks. I discuss the quark mass dependence of the critical end point of QCD. Then I discuss probes of the QCD critical point. Non-gaussian behaviour of event-to-event fluctuations of conserved quantum numbers is one such probe. Another is due to the coupling of fluctuations in baryon number and electrical charge, giving rise to long range random fluctuations of local charge density which relax slowly. These fluctuations can scatter photons, giving rise to critical opalescence.

Fluctuations and Photons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Sourendu [Department of Theoretical Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005 (India)

2007-02-15

In this talk I discuss measures of fluctuations, especially those leading to the proof that the quark gluon plasma indeed contains quarks. I discuss the quark mass dependence of the critical end point of QCD. Then I discuss probes of the QCD critical point. Non-gaussian behaviour of event-to-event fluctuations of conserved quantum numbers is one such probe. Another is due to the coupling of fluctuations in baryon number and electrical charge, giving rise to long range random fluctuations of local charge density which relax slowly. These fluctuations can scatter photons, giving rise to critical opalescence.

Birefringent hollow core fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roberts, John

2007-01-01

Hollow core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF), fabricated according to a nominally non-birefringent design, shows a degree of un-controlled birefringence or polarization mode dispersion far in excess of conventional non polarization maintaining fibers. This can degrade the output pulse in many...... applications, and places emphasis on the development of polarization maintaining (PM) HC-PCF. The polarization cross-coupling characteristics of PM HC-PCF are very different from those of conventional PM fibers. The former fibers have the advantage of suffering far less from stress-field fluctuations...... and an increased overlap between the polarization modes at the glass interfaces. The interplay between these effects leads to a wavelength for optimum polarization maintenance, lambda(PM), which is detuned from the wavelength of highest birefringence. By a suitable fiber design involving antiresonance of the core...

Fluctuation-dissipation theorem in an isolated system of quantum dipolar bosons after a quench.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatami, Ehsan; Pupillo, Guido; Srednicki, Mark; Rigol, Marcos

2013-08-02

We examine the validity of fluctuation-dissipation relations in isolated quantum systems taken out of equilibrium by a sudden quench. We focus on the dynamics of trapped hard-core bosons in one-dimensional lattices with dipolar interactions whose strength is changed during the quench. We find indications that fluctuation-dissipation relations hold if the system is nonintegrable after the quench, as well as if it is integrable after the quench if the initial state is an equilibrium state of a nonintegrable Hamiltonian. On the other hand, we find indications that they fail if the system is integrable both before and after quenching.

Effect of high temperature filtration on out-core corrosion product activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horvath, G.L.; Bogancs, J.

1983-01-01

Investigation of the effect of high temperature filtration on corrosion product transport and out-core corrosion product activity has been carried out for VVER-440 plants. In the physico-chemical model applied particulate and dissolved corrosion products were taken into account. We supposed 100% effectivity for the particulate filter. It was found that about 0,5% 160 t/h/ of the main flow would result in an approx.50% reduction of the out-core corrosion product activity. Investigation of the details of the physico-chemical model in Nuclear Power Plant Paks showed a particle deposition rate measured during power transients fairly agreeing with other measurements and data used in the calculations. (author)

Statistical properties of turbulent transport and fluctuations in tokamak and stellarator devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hidalgo, C; Pedrosa, M A; Milligen, B Van; Sanchez, E; Balbin, R; Garcia-Cortes, I [Euratom-CIEMAT Association, Madrid (Spain); Bleuel, J; Giannone, L.; Niedermeyer, H [Euratom-IPP Association, Garching (Germany)

1997-05-01

The statistical properties of fluctuations and turbulent transport have been studied in the plasma boundary region of stellarator (TJ-IU, W7-AS) and tokamak (TJ-I) devices. The local flux probability distribution function shows the bursty character of the flux and presents a systematic change as a function of the radial location. There exist large amplitude transport bursts that account for a significant part of the total flux. There is a strong similarity between the statistical properties of the turbulent fluxes in different devices. The value of the radial coherence associated with fluctuations and turbulent transport is strongly intermittent. This result emphasizes the importance of measurements with time resolution in understanding the interplay between the edge and the core regions in the plasma. For measurements in the plasma edge region of the TJ-IU torsatron, the turbulent flux does not, in general, show a larger radial coherence than the one associated with the fluctuations. (author). 14 refs, 6 figs.

Magnetic fluctuations associated with density fluctuations in the tokamak edge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.J.; Gentle, K.W.; Ritz, C.P.; Rhodes, T.L.; Bengtson, R.D.

1989-01-01

Electrostatic density and potential fluctuations occurring with high amplitude near the edge of a tokamak are correlated with components of the fluctuating magnetic field measured outside the limiter radius. It has been established that this turbulence is associated with fluctuations in current as well as density and potential. The correlation extends for substantial toroidal distances, but only if the probes are displaced approximately along field lines, consistent with the short coherence lengths poloidally but long coherence lengths parallel to the field which are characteristic for this turbulence. Furthermore, the correlation can be found only with density fluctuations measured inside the limiter radius; density fluctuations behind the limiter have no detectable magnetic concomitant for the toroidally spaced probes used here. (author). Letter-to-the-editor. 12 refs, 3 figs

Space potential fluctuations during MHD activities in the Compact Helical System (CHS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iguchi, H.; Fujisawa, A.; Crowley, T.P.

1998-02-01

Local space potential fluctuations have been measured during MHD activities in a low-beta NBI heated plasma in the Compact Helical System (CHS) by the use of a heavy ion beam probe (HIBP). Two types of MHD modes with accompanying potential oscillations are observed. One appears in periodic bursts with relatively low frequency (< 40 kHz) and large amplitude (20-40 volts), and is localized around the q=2 surface (average minor radius ρ ∼ 0.7). The other appears in continuous and coherent oscillation with higher frequency (105-125 kHz) and smaller amplitude (∼5 volts). This oscillation also has spatial structure. Possible interpretation for the space potential oscillations is presented. (author)

Limitation and suppression of hot electron fluctuations in submicron semiconductor structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kochelap, V.A.; Zahleniuk, N.A.; Sokolov, V.N.

1992-09-01

We present theoretical investigations of fluctuations of hot electrons in submicron active regions, where the dimensions 2 d of the region is comparable to the electron energy relaxation length L ε . The new physical phenomenon is reported; the fluctuations depend on the sample thickness, with 2d ε a suppression of fluctuations arises in the range of fluctuation frequencies ω much less than T -1 ε , T ε is the electron energy relaxation time. (author). 12 refs, 7 figs

Study of density fluctuations during MHD activity, soft landing discharges and major disruptions in TEXTOR using CO2 laser collective scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boileau, A.; Van Andel, H.W.H.; Hellermann, M. von; Rogister, A.

1987-01-01

A modulation of microturbulence is observed in TEXTOR during low mode number MHD activity using CO 2 laser collective scattering. This is accomplished by a strong enhancement of density fluctuations near ka s approx. = 3 at the end of soft landing discharges and a displacement of the frequency spectrum towards lower frequencies. The increase is most significant for rapid rampdown of the plasma current accompanied by strong MHD activity but also occurs when the latter is not detected. The evolution of microturbulence is also studied during major plasma disruptions. It was found that disruptions without MHD precursor oscillations are characterized by a rapid increase in the density fluctuations starting approx. 100 ms before plasma disruption. (author)

Identifying functions for ex-core neutron noise analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila, J.M.; Oliveira, J.C.

1987-01-01

A method of performing the phase analysis of signals arising from neutron detectors placed in the periphery of a pressurized water reactor is proposed. It consists in the definition of several identifying functions, based on the phases of cross power spectral densities corresponding to four ex-core neutron detectors. Each of these functions enhances the appearance of different sources of noise. The method, applied to the ex-core neutron fluctuation analysis of a French PWR, proved to be very useful as it allows quick recognition of various patterns in the power spectral densities. (orig.) [de

Alfvénic fluctuations in "newborn"' polar solar wind

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Bavassano

2005-06-01

Full Text Available The 3-D structure of the solar wind is strongly dependent upon the Sun's activity cycle. At low solar activity a bimodal structure is dominant, with a fast and uniform flow at the high latitudes, and slow and variable flows at low latitudes. Around solar maximum, in sharp contrast, variable flows are observed at all latitudes. This last kind of pattern, however, is a relatively short-lived feature, and quite soon after solar maximum the polar wind tends to regain its role. The plasma parameter distributions for these newborn polar flows appear very similar to those typically observed in polar wind at low solar activity. The point addressed here is about polar wind fluctuations. As is well known, the low-solar-activity polar wind is characterized by a strong flow of Alfvénic fluctuations. Does this hold for the new polar flows too? An answer to this question is given here through a comparative statistical analysis on parameters such as total energy, cross helicity, and residual energy, that are of general use to describe the Alfvénic character of fluctuations. Our results indicate that the main features of the Alfvénic fluctuations observed in low-solar-activity polar wind have been quickly recovered in the new polar flows developed shortly after solar maximum. Keywords. Interplanetary physics (MHD waves and turbulence; Sources of the solar wind – Space plasma physics (Turbulence

Fluctuation reduction and enhanced confinement in the MST reversed-field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, B.E.

1997-10-01

Plasmas with a factor of ≥3 improvement in energy confinement have been achieved in the MST reversed-field pinch (RFP). These plasmas occur spontaneously, following sawtooth crashes, subject to constraints on, eg, toroidal magnetic field reversal and wall conditioning. Possible contributors to the improved confinement include a reduction of core-resonant, global magnetic fluctuations and a reduction of electrostatic fluctuations over the entire plasma edge. One feature of these plasmas is a region of strong ExB flow shear in the edge. Never before observed in conjunction with enhanced confinement in the RFP, such shear is common in enhanced confinement discharges in tokamaks and stellarators. Another feature of these plasmas is a new type of discrete dynamo event. Like sawtooth crashes, a common form of discrete dynamo, these events correspond to bursts of edge parallel current. The reduction of electrostatic fluctuations in these plasmas occurs within and beyond the region of strong ExB flow shear, similar to what is observed in tokamaks and stellarators. However, the reductions in the MST include fluctuations whose correlation lengths are larger than the width of the shear region. The reduction of the global magnetic fluctuations is most likely due to flattening of the μ=μ 0 rvec J· rvec B/B 2 profile. Flattening can occur, eg, due to the new type of discrete dynamo event and reduced edge resistivity. Enhanced confinement plasmas are also achieved in the MST when auxiliary current is applied to flatten the μ profile and reduce magnetic fluctuations. Unexpectedly, these plasmas also exhibit a region (broader than in the case above) of strong ExB flow shear in the edge, an edge-wide reduction of electrostatic fluctuations, and the new type of discrete dynamo event. Auxiliary current drive has historically been viewed as the principal route to fusion reactor viability for the RFP

Quantum fluctuations from thermal fluctuations in Jacobson formalism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faizal, Mir [University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, Kelowna, BC (Canada); University of Lethbridge, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lethbridge, AB (Canada); Ashour, Amani; Alcheikh, Mohammad [Damascus University, Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic); Alasfar, Lina [Universite Clermont Auvergne, Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire de Clermont-Ferrand, Aubiere (France); Alsaleh, Salwa; Mahroussah, Ahmed [King Saud University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

2017-09-15

In the Jacobson formalism general relativity is obtained from thermodynamics. This is done by using the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy-area relation. However, as a black hole gets smaller, its temperature will increase. This will cause the thermal fluctuations to also increase, and these will in turn correct the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy-area relation. Furthermore, with the reduction in the size of the black hole, quantum effects will also start to dominate. Just as the general relativity can be obtained from thermodynamics in the Jacobson formalism, we propose that the quantum fluctuations to the geometry can be obtained from thermal fluctuations. (orig.)

Neutron activation for logging the distribution of gold in bore-hole cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmanian, H.; Watterson, J.I.W.

1992-01-01

A new method for the non-destructive determination of gold in bore-hole cores has been developed using instrumental neutron activation analysis with a 252 Cf source. The procedure obtains the distribution and concentration of gold along the longitudinal axis of the core i.e. a log of the gold concentration. The accuracy of the method is comparable to fire assay at a level of 2 ppm and has a detection limit of 1 ppm under the conditions used. The assay of the gold is carried out by employing a novel variation of the conventional comparator method using gold wires as both standard and flux monitor. A method is described for logging gold in bore-hole cores using neutron activation with a 160 μg 252 Cf neutron source. The method has a limit of detection of about 1 ppm under the described conditions. (author)

Opposing Effects of Intrinsic Conductance and Correlated Synaptic Input on V-Fluctuations during Network Activity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolind, Jens; Hounsgaard, Jørn Dybkjær; Berg, Rune W

2012-01-01

Neurons often receive massive concurrent bombardment of synaptic inhibition and excitation during functional network activity. This increases membrane conductance and causes fluctuations in membrane potential (V(m)) and spike timing. The conductance increase is commonly attributed to synaptic....... If the spikes arrive at random times the changes in synaptic conductance are therefore stochastic and rapid during intense network activity. In comparison, sub-threshold intrinsic conductances vary smoothly in time. In the present study this discrepancy is investigated using two conductance-based models: a (1...... conductance, but also includes the intrinsic conductances recruited during network activity. These two sources of conductance have contrasting dynamic properties at sub-threshold membrane potentials. Synaptic transmitter gated conductance changes abruptly and briefly with each presynaptic action potential...

Convectively driven decadal zonal accelerations in Earth's fluid core

Science.gov (United States)

More, Colin; Dumberry, Mathieu

2018-04-01

Azimuthal accelerations of cylindrical surfaces co-axial with the rotation axis have been inferred to exist in Earth's fluid core on the basis of magnetic field observations and changes in the length-of-day. These accelerations have a typical timescale of decades. However, the physical mechanism causing the accelerations is not well understood. Scaling arguments suggest that the leading order torque averaged over cylindrical surfaces should arise from the Lorentz force. Decadal fluctuations in the magnetic field inside the core, driven by convective flows, could then force decadal changes in the Lorentz torque and generate zonal accelerations. We test this hypothesis by constructing a quasi-geostrophic model of magnetoconvection, with thermally driven flows perturbing a steady, imposed background magnetic field. We show that when the Alfvén number in our model is similar to that in Earth's fluid core, temporal fluctuations in the torque balance are dominated by the Lorentz torque, with the latter generating mean zonal accelerations. Our model reproduces both fast, free Alfvén waves and slow, forced accelerations, with ratios of relative strength and relative timescale similar to those inferred for the Earth's core. The temporal changes in the magnetic field which drive the time-varying Lorentz torque are produced by the underlying convective flows, shearing and advecting the magnetic field on a timescale associated with convective eddies. Our results support the hypothesis that temporal changes in the magnetic field deep inside Earth's fluid core drive the observed decadal zonal accelerations of cylindrical surfaces through the Lorentz torque.

Effect of Ni Core Structure on the Electrocatalytic Activity of Pt-Ni/C in Methanol Oxidation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Linkov

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Methanol oxidation catalysts comprising an outer Pt-shell with an inner Ni-core supported on carbon, (Pt-Ni/C, were prepared with either crystalline or amorphous Ni core structures. Structural comparisons of the two forms of catalyst were made using transmission electron microscopy (TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, and methanol oxidation activity compared using CV and chronoamperometry (CA. While both the amorphous Ni core and crystalline Ni core structures were covered by similar Pt shell thickness and structure, the Pt-Ni(amorphous/C catalyst had higher methanol oxidation activity. The amorphous Ni core thus offers improved Pt usage efficiency in direct methanol fuel cells.

Conformational Fluctuations in G-Protein-Coupled Receptors

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Michael F.

2014-03-01

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise almost 50% of pharmaceutical drug targets, where rhodopsin is an important prototype and occurs naturally in a lipid membrane. Rhodopsin photoactivation entails 11-cis to all-trans isomerization of the retinal cofactor, yielding an equilibrium between inactive Meta-I and active Meta-II states. Two important questions are: (1) Is rhodopsin is a simple two-state switch? Or (2) does isomerization of retinal unlock an activated conformational ensemble? For an ensemble-based activation mechanism (EAM) a role for conformational fluctuations is clearly indicated. Solid-state NMR data together with theoretical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations detect increased local mobility of retinal after light activation. Resultant changes in local dynamics of the cofactor initiate large-scale fluctuations of transmembrane helices that expose recognition sites for the signal-transducing G-protein. Time-resolved FTIR studies and electronic spectroscopy further show the conformational ensemble is strongly biased by the membrane lipid composition, as well as pH and osmotic pressure. A new flexible surface model (FSM) describes how the curvature stress field of the membrane governs the energetics of active rhodopsin, due to the spontaneous monolayer curvature of the lipids. Furthermore, influences of osmotic pressure dictate that a large number of bulk water molecules are implicated in rhodopsin activation. Around 60 bulk water molecules activate rhodopsin, which is much larger than the number of structural waters seen in X-ray crystallography, or inferred from studies of bulk hydrostatic pressure. Conformational selection and promoting vibrational motions of rhodopsin lead to activation of the G-protein (transducin). Our biophysical data give a paradigm shift in understanding GPCR activation. The new view is: dynamics and conformational fluctuations involve an ensemble of substates that activate the cognate G-protein in the amplified visual

Magnetic fluctuation driven cross-field particle transport in the reversed-field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheffel, J.; Liu, D.

1997-01-01

Electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations generally cause cross-field particle transport in confined plasmas. Thus core localized turbulence must be kept at low levels for sufficient energy confinement in magnetic fusion plasmas. Reversed-field pinch (RFP) equilibria can, theoretically, be completely stable to ideal and resistive (tearing) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes at zero beta. Unstable resistive interchange modes are, however, always present at experimentally relevant values of the poloidal beta β θ . An analytical quasilinear, ambipolar diffusion model is here used to model associated particle transport. The results indicate that core density fluctuations should not exceed a level of about 1% for plasmas of fusion interest. Parameters of experimentally relevant stationary states of the RFP were adjusted to minimize growth rates, using a fully resistive linearized MHD stability code. Density gradient effects are included through employing a parabolic density profile. The scaling of particle diffusion [D(r)∝λ 2 n 0.5 T/aB, where λ is the mode width] is such that the effects of particle transport are milder in present day RFP experiments than in future reactor-relevant plasmas. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Density Fluctuations in a Polar Coronal Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Michael; D’Huys, Elke; Savin, Daniel Wolf

2018-06-01

We have measured the root-mean-square (rms) amplitude of intensity fluctuations, ΔI, in plume and interplume regions of a polar coronal hole. These intensity fluctuations correspond to density fluctuations. Using data from the Sun Watcher using the Active Pixel System detector and Image Processing on the Project for Onboard Autonomy (Proba2), our results extend up to a height of about 1.35 R ⊙. One advantage of the rms analysis is that it does not rely on a detailed evaluation of the power spectrum, which is limited by noise levels to low heights in the corona. The rms approach can be performed up to larger heights where the noise level is greater, provided that the noise itself can be quantified. At low heights, both the absolute ΔI, and the amplitude relative to the mean intensity, ΔI/I, decrease with height. However, starting at about 1.2 R ⊙, ΔI/I increases, reaching 20%–40% by 1.35 R ⊙. This corresponds to density fluctuations of Δn e/n e ≈ 10%–20%. The increasing relative amplitude implies that the density fluctuations are generated in the corona itself. One possibility is that the density fluctuations are generated by an instability of Alfvén waves. This generation mechanism is consistent with some theoretical models and with observations of Alfvén wave amplitudes in coronal holes. Although we find that the energy of the observed density fluctuations is small, these fluctuations are likely to play an important indirect role in coronal heating by promoting the reflection of Alfvén waves and driving turbulence.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and the importance of multifield fluctuation measurements for testing nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

White, A E; Schmitz, L; Peebles, W A; Carter, T A; Rhodes, T L; Doyle, E J; Gourdain, P A; Hillesheim, J C; Wang, G; Holland, C; Tynan, G R; Austin, M E; McKee, G R; Shafer, M W; Burrell, K H; Candy, J; DeBoo, J C; Prater, R; Staebler, G M; Waltz, R E; Makowski, M A

2008-10-01

A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been used to measure local, turbulent fluctuations of the electron temperature in the core of DIII-D plasmas. This paper describes the hardware and testing of the CECE diagnostic and highlights the importance of measurements of multifield fluctuation profiles for the testing and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic codes. The process of testing and validating such codes is critical for extrapolation to next-step fusion devices. For the first time, the radial profiles of electron temperature and density fluctuations are compared to nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. The CECE diagnostic at DIII-D uses correlation radiometry to measure the rms amplitude and spectrum of the electron temperature fluctuations. Gaussian optics are used to produce a poloidal spot size with w(o) approximately 1.75 cm in the plasma. The intermediate frequency filters and the natural linewidth of the EC emission determine the radial resolution of the CECE diagnostic, which can be less than 1 cm. Wavenumbers resolved by the CECE diagnostic are k(theta) < or = 1.8 cm(-1) and k(r) < or = 4 cm(-1), relevant for studies of long-wavelength turbulence associated with the trapped electron mode and the ion temperature gradient mode. In neutral beam heated L-mode plasmas, core electron temperature fluctuations in the region 0.5 < r/a < 0.9, increase with radius from approximately 0.5% to approximately 2%, similar to density fluctuations that are measured simultaneously with beam emission spectroscopy. After incorporating "synthetic diagnostics" to effectively filter the code output, the simulations reproduce the characteristics of the turbulence and transport at one radial location r/a = 0.5, but not at a second location, r/a = 0.75. These results illustrate that measurements of the profiles of multiple fluctuating fields can provide a significant constraint on the turbulence models employed by the code.

Broadband magnetic and density fluctuations in the TCA tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollenstein, Ch.; Keller, R.; Pochelon, A.; Ryter, F.; Sawley, M.L.; Simm, W.; Weisen, H.

1987-01-01

The results of comparative studies of broadband magnetic and density fluctuations during ohmic discharges in the TCA tokamak are described. Long coherence lengths are observed in poloidal and toroidal directions between magnetic probes in the scrape-off layer. A phase contrast diagnostic provides a newly accessible range of density fluctuations in the bulk plasma with very long wavelengths. Langmuir probes provide similar measurements in the scrape-off layer. Statistical dispersion relations for both density and magnetic fluctuations are deduced and are shown to be substantially different. Low mean poloidal wavenumbers (m ∼ 2 at 100 kHz) are obtained for the magnetic fluctuations, in contrast to the much higher values measured for density fluctuations. The difference between magnetic and density fluctuations is also reflected in different scalings with plasma parameters and with electron confinement time. The helicity of the coherent magnetic structures is analyzed to show that interior regions of the plasma, such as the q = 2 region contribute to the magnetic activity at the edge. This explains why the magnetic fluctuations measured at the edge are likely to reflect the confinement properties of the bulk plasma. The results of detailed probe rotation experiments and coherence measurements give indications of the physical nature and origin of magnetic fluctuations

Studies on the inhomogeneous core density of a fluidized bed nuclear reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van der Hagen, T.H.J.J.; Van Dam, H.; Hoogenboom, J.E.; Khotylev, V.A. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands). Interfaculty Reactor Inst.; Harteveld, W.; Mudde, R.F.

1997-12-31

Results are reported on the expected time dependent core density profile of a fluidized-bed nuclear fission reactor. Core densities have been measured in a test facility by the gamma-transmission technique. Bubble and particle-cluster sizes, positions, velocities and frequencies could be determined. Neutronic studies have been performed on the influence of core voids on reactivity using Monte-Carlo and neutron-transport codes. Fuel-particle importance has been determined. Point-kinetic parameters have been calculated for linking reactivity perturbations to power fluctuations. (author)

In-core Instrument Subcritical Verification (INCISV) - Core Design Verification Method - 358

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prible, M.C.; Heibel, M.D.; Conner, S.L.; Sebastiani, P.J.; Kistler, D.P.

2010-01-01

According to the standard on reload startup physics testing, ANSI/ANS 19.6.1, a plant must verify that the constructed core behaves sufficiently close to the designed core to confirm that the various safety analyses bound the actual behavior of the plant. A large portion of this verification must occur before the reactor operates at power. The INCISV Core Design Verification Method uses the unique characteristics of a Westinghouse Electric Company fixed in-core self powered detector design to perform core design verification after a core reload before power operation. A Vanadium self powered detector that spans the length of the active fuel region is capable of confirming the required core characteristics prior to power ascension; reactivity balance, shutdown margin, temperature coefficient and power distribution. Using a detector element that spans the length of the active fuel region inside the core provides a signal of total integrated flux. Measuring the integrated flux distributions and changes at various rodded conditions and plant temperatures, and comparing them to predicted flux levels, validates all core necessary core design characteristics. INCISV eliminates the dependence on various corrections and assumptions between the ex-core detectors and the core for traditional physics testing programs. This program also eliminates the need for special rod maneuvers which are infrequently performed by plant operators during typical core design verification testing and allows for safer startup activities. (authors)

Glacial greenhouse-gas fluctuations controlled by ocean circulation changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmittner, Andreas; Galbraith, Eric D

2008-11-20

Earth's climate and the concentrations of the atmospheric greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) varied strongly on millennial timescales during past glacial periods. Large and rapid warming events in Greenland and the North Atlantic were followed by more gradual cooling, and are highly correlated with fluctuations of N(2)O as recorded in ice cores. Antarctic temperature variations, on the other hand, were smaller and more gradual, showed warming during the Greenland cold phase and cooling while the North Atlantic was warm, and were highly correlated with fluctuations in CO(2). Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) have often been invoked to explain the physical characteristics of these Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations, but the mechanisms for the greenhouse-gas variations and their linkage to the AMOC have remained unclear. Here we present simulations with a coupled model of glacial climate and biogeochemical cycles, forced only with changes in the AMOC. The model simultaneously reproduces characteristic features of the Dansgaard-Oeschger temperature, as well as CO(2) and N(2)O fluctuations. Despite significant changes in the land carbon inventory, CO(2) variations on millennial timescales are dominated by slow changes in the deep ocean inventory of biologically sequestered carbon and are correlated with Antarctic temperature and Southern Ocean stratification. In contrast, N(2)O co-varies more rapidly with Greenland temperatures owing to fast adjustments of the thermocline oxygen budget. These results suggest that ocean circulation changes were the primary mechanism that drove glacial CO(2) and N(2)O fluctuations on millennial timescales.

On Small-Angle Neutron Scattering from Microemulsion Droplets the Role of Shape Fluctuations

CERN Document Server

Lisy, V

2001-01-01

The form factor and intensity of static neutron scattering from microemulsion droplets are calculated. The droplet is modeled by a double-layered sphere consisting of a fluid core and a thin surfactant layer, immersed in another fluid. All the three components are incompressible and characterized by different scattering length densities. As distinct from previous descriptions of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we consistently take into account thermal fluctuations of the droplet shape, to the second order of the fluctuations of the droplet radius. The properties of the layer are described within Helfrich's concept of the elasticity of curved interfaces. It is shown that in many cases the account for the fluctuations is essential for the interpretation of SANS. Information about two elastic constants \\kappa and \\bar\\kappa (so far extracted from the experiments in the combination 2\\kappa+\\bar\\kappa) can be now simultaneously obtained from SANS for system in conditions of two-phase coexistence. As an illu...

Respondence Between Electrochemical Fluctuations and Phenomenon for Localized Corrosion of Less-Noble Metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoi, Yasuhiko; Take, Seisho; Tsuru, Tooru

2008-01-01

We have been studying application of electrochemical noise (Fluctuation) analysis for localized corrosion. Foils of Zinc, Aluminum and Magnesium were used as specimens for electrochemical cell simulating localized corrosion. These specimens were dipped in sodium chloride solutions adjusted to each exponent of hydrogen ion concentration (pH) condition of 5.5, 10, 12 respectively. Time variations of potential and current were measured in those solutions, and simultaneously the surfaces of specimens were observed using microscope with television monitor. Two types of electrochemical cells were arranged for experiments simulated localized corrosion. The fluctuations on trendy component of short-circuited potential and short-circuited current were appeared in synchronization. It was seemed that these fluctuations result from hydrogen evolution on the aluminum active site in the crevice from the microscopic observation. In the case of zinc and magnesium, fluctuations appeared on the trendy component of the corrosion potential. Two types fluctuation were detected. First one is the fluctuation varied periodically. The second one is the random fluctuation. It was seemed that these fluctuations result from generation of corrosion products and hydrogen evolution on the active site in the crevice of zinc and magnesium from the microscopic observation

Fabrication of Fe3O4@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajabi, S.K.; Sohrabnezhad, Sh.; Ghafourian, S.

2016-01-01

Magnetic Fe 3 O 4 @CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe 3 O 4 @HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe 3 O 4 core and a CuO shell. The Fe 3 O 4 @CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe 3 O 4 -CuO core-shell was investigated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent. - Graphical abstract: Fe 3 O 4 @CuO core-shell release of copper ions. These Cu 2+ ions were responsible for the exhibited antibacterial activity. - Highlights: • The Fe 3 O 4 @CuO core-shell was prepared by MOF method. • This is the first study of antibacterial activity of core-shell consist of CuO and Fe 3 O 4 . • The core-shell can be reused effectively. • Core-shell was separated from the reaction solution by external magnetic field.

Thermal fluctuations in perpendicular recording media: New methodology for estimation of activation moment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamiya, H; Oba, Y; Ohnuma, M; Hagiya, H; Oku, T; Suzuki, J; Yokoyama, M; Nishihara, Y; Katayama, T; Awano, H; Koda, T

2011-01-01

In nanoparticulate films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, a large demagnetizing field almost compensates for the experimentally designed change in the magnetic field applied parallel to the film normal. We propose a new method based on field-cycling to eliminate the uncertainty in the demagnetizing response from the analysis of the activation volume of the reversal or magnetic activation moment in such films. In this method, the applied field induced variation in the magnetic relaxation rate is measured before the effect of the demagnetizing field becomes dominant. We also discuss an analogical thermal-cycling method to clarify the temperature dependence of the barrier height for magnetization reversal in a magnetic field. We apply these methods to a Co 74 Pt 16 Cr 10 -SiO 2 nanoparticulate film as an example. The results demonstrate that these methods are useful for studying thermal fluctuations in perpendicular recording media.

Maximal Fluctuations of Confined Actomyosin Gels: Dynamics of the Cell Nucleus.

Science.gov (United States)

Rupprecht, J-F; Singh Vishen, A; Shivashankar, G V; Rao, M; Prost, J

2018-03-02

We investigate the effect of stress fluctuations on the stochastic dynamics of an inclusion embedded in a viscous gel. We show that, in nonequilibrium systems, stress fluctuations give rise to an effective attraction towards the boundaries of the confining domain, which is reminiscent of an active Casimir effect. We apply this generic result to the dynamics of deformations of the cell nucleus, and we demonstrate the appearance of a fluctuation maximum at a critical level of activity, in agreement with recent experiments [E. Makhija, D. S. Jokhun, and G. V. Shivashankar, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 113, E32 (2016)PNASA60027-842410.1073/pnas.1513189113].

On-line core monitoring with CORE MASTER / PRESTO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindahl, S.O.; Borresen, S.; Ovrum, S.

1986-01-01

Advanced calculational tools are instrumental in improving reactor plant capacity factors and fuel utilization. The computer code package CORE MASTER is an integrated system designed to achieve this objective. The system covers all main activities in the area of in-core fuel management for boiling water reactors; design, operation support, and on-line core monitoring. CORE MASTER operates on a common data base, which defines the reactor and documents the operating history of the core and of all fuel bundles ever used

Identification of trapped electron modes in frequency fluctuation spectra of fusion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnichand, Hugo

2015-01-01

This thesis shows that the analysis of frequency fluctuation spectra can provide an additional experimental indication of the dominant mode. Depending on the plasma scenario, fluctuation spectra can display different frequency components: Broadband spectra (Δf ∼ hundreds of kHz) which are always observed. Their amplitude is maximum at the zero frequency and they are attributed to turbulence. Coherent modes (Δf ∼ 1 kHz) which oscillate at a very well defined frequency. They can for example be due to geodesic acoustic or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes; Quasi-Coherent (QC) modes (Δf ∼ tens of kHz) which oscillate at a rather well defined frequency but which are reminiscent of broadband fluctuations. The fluctuation study performed in the plasma core region shows that the fluctuation spectra in TEM-dominated regimes can be noticeably different from the ones in ITG-dominated regimes, as only TEM can induce QC modes. Such a finding has been achieved by comparing fluctuations measurements with simulations Measurements are made with a reflectometry diagnostic, a radar-like technique able to provide local indications of the density fluctuations occurring in the vicinity of the reflection layer. Frequency fluctuation spectra are inferred from a Fourier analysis of the reflectometry signal. First, the main properties of QC modes are characterized experimentally. Their normalized scale is estimated to k(perpendicular)ρ i ≤1, their amplitude is ballooned on the low field side mid-plane and they can be observed at many different radii. These indications are in agreement with what could be expected for ITG/TEM instabilities. Then reflectometry measurements are analyzed in Ohmic plasmas. QC modes are observed in the Linear Ohmic Confinement (LOC) regime dominated by TEM whereas only broadband spectra are seen in the Saturated Ohmic Confinement (SOC) regime dominated by ITG. Frequency spectra from nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations show that TEM induce a narrow

Observational Analysis of Variation Characteristics of GPS-Based TEC Fluctuation over China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xifeng Liu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the characteristics of the total electron content (TEC fluctuations and their regional differences over China were analyzed by utilizing the rate of the TEC index (ROTI based on GPS data from 21 reference stations across China during a solar cycle. The results show that there were significant regional differences at different latitudes. Strong ionospheric TEC fluctuations were usually observed at lower latitudes in southern China, where the occurrence of TEC fluctuations demonstrated typical nighttime- and season-dependent (equinox months features. This phenomenon was consistent with the ionospheric scintillation characteristics of this region. Additionally, compared to low-latitude China, the intensity of TEC fluctuations over mid-latitude China was significantly weaker, and the occurrence of TEC fluctuations was not a nighttime-dependent phenomenon. Moreover, the intensity of TEC fluctuations was much stronger during high solar activity than during low solar activity. Furthermore, the summer-dependent characteristics of TEC fluctuations gradually emerged over lower mid-latitude areas as equinox characteristics weakened. Similar to the equinox characteristics, the summer-dependent characteristics gradually weakened or even disappeared with the increasing latitude. Relevant discussions of this phenomenon are still relatively rare, and it requires further study and analysis.

Fluctuations in Cytosolic Calcium Regulate the Neuronal Malate-Aspartate NADH Shuttle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Satrústegui, Jorgina; Bak, Lasse K

2015-01-01

that MAS is regulated by fluctuations in cytosolic Ca(2+) levels, and that this regulation is required to maintain a tight coupling between neuronal activity and mitochondrial respiration and oxidative phosphorylation. At cytosolic Ca(2+) fluctuations below the threshold of the mitochondrial calcium...

Detrended fluctuation analysis and Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy of electroencephalogram signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Jung Ho; Khang, Eun Joo; Lee, Tae Hyun; Kim, In Hye; Maeng, Seong Eun; Lee, Jae Woo

2013-01-01

We measured the electroencephalogram (EEG) of young students in the relaxed state and in the state of the mathematical activities. We applied the detrended fluctuation analysis and Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy (KSE) in the EEG signals. We found that the detrended fluctuation functions follow a power law with Hurst exponents larger than 1/2. The Hurst exponents enhanced at all EEG channels in the state of mathematical activities. The KSE in the relaxed state is larger than those in the state of the mathematical activities. These indicate that the entropy is enhanced in the disorder state of the brain.

Deep bore well water level fluctuations in the Koyna region, India: the presence of a low order dynamical system in a seismically active environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. V. Ramana

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Water level fluctuations in deep bore wells in the vicinity of seismically active Koyna region in western India provides an opportunity to understand the causative mechanism underlying reservoir-triggered earthquakes. As the crustal porous rocks behave nonlinearly, their characteristics can be obtained by analysing water level fluctuations, which reflect an integrated response of the medium. A Fractal dimension is one such measure of nonlinear characteristics of porous rock as observed in water level data from the Koyna region. It is inferred in our study that a low nonlinear dynamical system with three variables can predict the water level fluctuations in bore wells.

The business fluctuations and the lobbying evolution in European Union, Canada and USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oanta Ilie Stefan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Business fluctuations are associated with business cycles but are not implying the regularity. We consider that the lobbying activities can influence the periods of economic recession and expansion from business fluctuations. The role of lobbying is to affect the decisions made by officials in the government or international corporations and agencies or organizations. In this paper we describe the structure of lobbying practice in European Union, Canada and United States of America and the characteristics of business fluctuations. Specifically, this paper looks at the lobbying activities evolution in European Union, Canada and United States of America and also at a potential relationship between lobbying and business fluctuations, from periods of boom to periods of recession.

Membrane fluctuations mediate lateral interaction between cadherin bonds

Science.gov (United States)

Fenz, Susanne F.; Bihr, Timo; Schmidt, Daniel; Merkel, Rudolf; Seifert, Udo; Sengupta, Kheya; Smith, Ana-Sunčana

2017-09-01

The integrity of living tissues is maintained by adhesion domains of trans-bonds formed between cadherin proteins residing on opposing membranes of neighbouring cells. These domains are stabilized by lateral cis-interactions between the cadherins on the same cell. However, the origin of cis-interactions remains perplexing since they are detected only in the context of trans-bonds. By combining experimental, analytical and computational approaches, we identify bending fluctuations of membranes as a source of long-range cis-interactions, and a regulator of trans-interactions. Specifically, nanometric membrane bending and fluctuations introduce cooperative effects that modulate the affinity and binding/unbinding rates for trans-dimerization, dramatically affecting the nucleation and growth of adhesion domains. Importantly, this regulation relies on physical principles and not on details of protein-protein interactions. These omnipresent fluctuations can thus act as a generic control mechanism in all types of cell adhesion, suggesting a hitherto unknown physiological role for recently identified active fluctuations of cellular membranes.

On the origin of shape fluctuations of the cell nucleus.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Fang-Yi; Haley, Shannon C; Zidovska, Alexandra

2017-09-26

The nuclear envelope (NE) presents a physical boundary between the cytoplasm and the nucleoplasm, sandwiched in between two highly active systems inside the cell: cytoskeleton and chromatin. NE defines the shape and size of the cell nucleus, which increases during the cell cycle, accommodating for chromosome decondensation followed by genome duplication. In this work, we study nuclear shape fluctuations at short time scales of seconds in human cells. Using spinning disk confocal microscopy, we observe fast fluctuations of the NE, visualized by fluorescently labeled lamin A, and of the chromatin globule surface (CGS) underneath the NE, visualized by fluorescently labeled histone H2B. Our findings reveal that fluctuation amplitudes of both CGS and NE monotonously decrease during the cell cycle, serving as a reliable cell cycle stage indicator. Remarkably, we find that, while CGS and NE typically fluctuate in phase, they do exhibit localized regions of out-of-phase motion, which lead to separation of NE and CGS. To explore the mechanism behind these shape fluctuations, we use biochemical perturbations. We find the shape fluctuations of CGS and NE to be both thermally and actively driven, the latter caused by forces from chromatin and cytoskeleton. Such undulations might affect gene regulation as well as contribute to the anomalously high rates of nuclear transport by, e.g., stirring of molecules next to NE, or increasing flux of molecules through the nuclear pores.

Effects of the amplitude and frequency of salinity fluctuations on antioxidant responses in juvenile tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khairnar, S.A.; Tian, X.; Dong, S.; Fang, Z.; Solanki, B.V.; Shanthanagouda, H.A.

2016-11-01

To understand the tolerance of tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis, to varying salinities, the effects of the amplitude (2, 4, 6 and 8 g/L) and frequency (2, 4 and 8 days) of salinity fluctuations on the activities of antioxidant responses, including acidic phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) from antioxidant system in liver, muscle, gills and kidney were investigated in this study. The results showed that the antioxidant responses of tongue sole were highly tissue-specific during the varying salinity fluctuations. In all tissues, ACP and AKP activity was found to be highest at moderate salinity fluctuations compared to the control, low and high salinity treatments (p<0.05). SOD and CAT activities had significant effect due to salinity fluctuations in all tissues (p<0.05), except in hepatic and renal tissues. Variations in branchial SOD activity proved that salinity fluctuations had greater impact on tongue sole at moderate and high fluctuating salinities compared to the control and low fluctuating salinities, whereas the branchial CAT activities showed contrasting trend. Further, cortisol levels were significantly affected in lower and higher salinity fluctuations. However, plasma cortisol levels remained low in moderate salinity fluctuations and control (p<0.05). Taken together, the results indicated that salinity fluctuations could effectively stimulate and enhance the antioxidant enzyme activity in the liver, kidney, gills and muscle of the juvenile tongue sole, thus effectively eliminating the excessive reactive oxygen species and minimizing the body damage in tongue sole or could be for any other euryhaline teleosts. (Author)

Links between Patagonian Ice Sheet fluctuations and Antarctic dust variability during the last glacial period (MIS 4-2)

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Jérôme; Lamy, Frank

2010-06-01

Antarctic and Greenland ice-core records reveal large fluctuations of dust input on both orbital and millennial time-scales with potential global climate implications. At least during glacial periods, the Antarctic dust fluctuations appear to be largely controlled by environmental changes in southern South America. We compare dust flux records from two Antarctic ice-cores to variations in the composition of the terrigenous supply at ODP Site 1233 located off southern Chile and known to record fluctuations in the extent of the northern part of the Patagonian ice-sheet (NPIS) during the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage, MIS, 4 to 2). Within age uncertainties, millennial-scale glacial advances (retreats) of the NPIS correlate to Antarctic dust maxima (minima). In turn, NPIS fluctuations were closely related to offshore sea surface temperature (SST) changes. This pattern suggests a causal link involving changes in temperature, in rock flour availability, in latitudinal extensions of the westerly winds and in foehn winds in the southern Pampas and Patagonia. We further suggest that the long-term trend of dust accumulation is partly linked to the sea-level related changes in the size if the Patagonian source area due to the particular morphology of the Argentine shelf. We suggest that sea-level drops at the beginning of MIS 4 and MIS 2 were important for long-term dust increases, while changes in the Patagonian dust source regions primarily control the early dust decrease during the MIS 4/3 transition and Termination 1.

An Efficient Null Model for Conformational Fluctuations in Proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harder, Tim Philipp; Borg, Mikael; Bottaro, Sandro

2012-01-01

Protein dynamics play a crucial role in function, catalytic activity, and pathogenesis. Consequently, there is great interest in computational methods that probe the conformational fluctuations of a protein. However, molecular dynamics simulations are computationally costly and therefore are often...... limited to comparatively short timescales. TYPHON is a probabilistic method to explore the conformational space of proteins under the guidance of a sophisticated probabilistic model of local structure and a given set of restraints that represent nonlocal interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or disulfide...... on conformational fluctuations that is in correspondence with experimental measurements. TYPHON provides a flexible, yet computationally efficient, method to explore possible conformational fluctuations in proteins....

Highly active dealloyed Cu@Pt core-shell electrocatalyst towards 2-propanol electrooxidation in acidic solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poochai, Chatwarin, E-mail: p_chatwarin@yahoo.com

2017-02-28

Highlights: • This is the first report on electrooxidation of 2-propanol in acidic media on dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP core-shell electrocatalyst. • The dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP is prepared using cyclic co-electrodeposition and selective Cu dealloying (CCEd-sCuD). • The structure of dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP is core-shell structure with Cu-rich core and Pt-rich surface. • The dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP shows high activity and great stability towards 2-propanol electrooxidation in acidic media. - Abstract: Dealloyed Cu@Pt core-shell electrocatalyst was fabricated by cyclic co-electrodeposition and selective Cu dealloying (CCEd-sCuD) on carbon paper (CP), namely Cu@Pt/CP. The Cu@Pt/CP exhibited a core-shell structure comprising with a Cu-rich core and a Pt-rich shell. The crystalline phases of Pt/CP and Cu@Pt/CP were a face-centered cubic (fcc). The compressive lattice strain approximately 0.85% was found in the Cu@Pt/CP owing to a lattice mismatch between a core and a shell region. In the core-region, Cu was formed Pt-Cu alloy as major and copper oxide and also metallic copper as minor. The morphology and grain size of the Cu@Pt/CP displayed a porous spherical shape with 100 nm in diameter, while those of Pt/CP seemed to be a cubic shape with smaller diameter of 40 nm. In electrochemical and catalytic activity, the surface of Cu@Pt/CP had a larger electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) than that of Pt/CP due to a porous formation caused by Cu dealloying. It is not surprising that the Cu@Pt/CP showed higher catalytic activity and greater stability towards 0.5 M 2-propanol electrooxidation in 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} in terms of peak current density (j{sub p}), peak potential (E{sub p}), onset potential (E{sub onset}), diffusion coefficient (D), and charge transfer resistance (R{sub ct}) which were caused by electronic structure modification, higher compressive lattice strain, and larger ECSA, compared with Pt/CP.

The status of HEU and LEU core conversion activities at the Jamaica SLOWPOKE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preston, J.; Grant, C., E-mail: john.preston@uwimona.edu.jm [Univ. of the West Indies, Mona Campus, International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, Kingston (Jamaica)

2013-07-01

The SLOWPOKE reactor in Jamaica has been operated by the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, University of the West Indies since 1984, mainly for the purpose of Neutron Activation Analysis. The HEU core with current utilization has another 14 years of operation, before the addition of a large beryllium annulus would be required to further extend the life-time by 15 years. However, in keeping with the spirit of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program, the decision was taken in 2003 to convert the core from HEU to LEU, inline with those at the Ecole Polytechnic and RMC SLOWPOKE facilities. This paper reports on the current status of the conversion activities, including key fuel manufacture and regulatory issues, which have seen substantial progress during the last year. A timetable for the complete process is given, and provided that the fuel fabrication can be completed in the estimated 18 months, the core conversion should be accomplished by the end of 2014. (author)

Study of core support barrel vibration monitoring using ex-core neutron noise analysis and fuzzy logic algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christian, Robby; Song, Seon Ho; Kang, Hyun Gook

2015-01-01

The application of neutron noise analysis (NNA) to the ex-core neutron detector signal for monitoring the vibration characteristics of a reactor core support barrel (CSB) was investigated. Ex-core flux data were generated by using a nonanalog Monte Carlo neutron transport method in a simulated CSB model where the implicit capture and Russian roulette technique were utilized. First and third order beam and shell modes of CSB vibration were modeled based on parallel processing simulation. A NNA module was developed to analyze the ex-core flux data based on its time variation, normalized power spectral density, normalized cross-power spectral density, coherence, and phase differences. The data were then analyzed with a fuzzy logic module to determine the vibration characteristics. The ex-core neutron signal fluctuation was directly proportional to the CSB's vibration observed at 8Hz and15Hzin the beam mode vibration, and at 8Hz in the shell mode vibration. The coherence result between flux pairs was unity at the vibration peak frequencies. A distinct pattern of phase differences was observed for each of the vibration models. The developed fuzzy logic module demonstrated successful recognition of the vibration frequencies, modes, orders, directions, and phase differences within 0.4 ms for the beam and shell mode vibrations.

A portable and independent edge fluctuation diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsui, H.Y.W.; Ritz, C.P.; Wootton, A.J.

1991-01-01

The measurements of fluctuations and its associated transport with Langmuir probes have provided essential experimental information for some understanding of the turbulent transport. While such measurements have been conducted in the edge region of several tokamaks, only limited effort has been devoted to link and to consolidate these results: such effort can provide information for a more global understanding of the transport process. The purpose of this project is to provide a portable diagnostic facility to measure the edge turbulence on different devices, a signal processing package to analyze the data in a systematic manner and a database to consolidate the experimental results. The end product which provides a collection of information for the comparisons with the theoretical models may lead to a more global understanding of the transport process. A compact self contained portable system has been designed and developed to diagnose the edge plasma of devices with a wide range of sizes and configurations. The system is capable of measuring both the mean and the fluctuation quantities of density, temperature and potential from a standardized Langmuir probe array using a fast reciprocating probe drive. The system can also be used for other fluctuation diagnostics, such as magnetic probes, if necessary. The data acquisition and analysis is performed on a Macintosh 2fx which provides a user-friendly environment. The results obtained by the signal processing routines are stored in a tabloid format to allow comparative studies. The database is a core part of the portable signal analysis system. It allows a fast display of shot data versus each other, as well as comparison between different devices

Perturbative analysis of transport and fluctuation studies on RFX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martini, S.

2002-01-01

On the RFX reversed field pinch different transport mechanisms govern the centre and the edge of the plasma. Core transport is driven by parallel transport in a stochastic magnetic field, giving rise to an outward directed particle convection velocity. At the edge, roughly corresponding to the region outside the toroidal field reversal surface (where q=0), electrostatic fluctuations are an important loss channel, but more than 50% of the power losses have been associated to localized plasma-wall interaction due to the non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations caused by locked modes. In the paper we present the most recent progress made in the modeling and understanding of the above mechanisms underlying particle and energy transport. The paper also discusses the correlations between core and edge transport phenomena. The main tools are perturbative transport studies by pellet injection and the analysis of the contribution of intermittency processes to particle transport in the edge. (author)

Surface-engineered core-shell nano-size ferrites and their antimicrobial activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baraliya, Jagdish D.; Joshi, Hiren H.

2014-01-01

We report the results of biological study on core-shell structured MFe 2 O 4 (where M = Co, Mn, Ni) nanoparticles and influence of silica- DEG dual coating on their antimicrobial activity. Spherical MFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles were prepared via a Co-precipitation method. The microstructures and morphologies of these nanoparticles were studied by x-ray diffraction and FTIR. The antimicrobial activity study carried out in nutrient agar medium with addition of antimicrobial synthesis compound which is tested for its activity against different types of bacteria

On small-angle neutron scattering from microemulsion droplets: the role of shape fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisy, V.; Brutovsky, B.

2001-01-01

The form factor and intensity of static neutron scattering from microemulsion droplets are calculated. The droplet is modeled by a double-layered sphere consisting of a fluid core and a thin surfactant layer, immersed in another fluid. All the three components are incompressible and characterized by different scattering length densities. As distinct from previous descriptions of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we consistently take into account thermal fluctuations of the droplet shape, to the second order of the fluctuations of the droplet radius. The properties of the layer are described within Helfrich's concept of the elasticity of curved interfaces. It is shown that in many cases the account for the fluctuations is essential for the interpretation of SANS. Information about two elastic constants k and k bar (so far extracted from the experiments in the combination 2k + k bar) can be now simultaneously obtained from SANS for the system in conditions of two-phase coexistence. As an illustration, the theory is applied for the quantitative description of SANS experiments from the literature

The circadian rhythm of core body temperature (Part I: The use of modern telemetry systems to monitor core body temperature variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Słomko Joanna

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The best known daily rhythms in humans include: the sleep-wake rhythm, the circadian core body temperature variability, daily fluctuations in arterial blood pressure and heartbeat frequency, and daily changes in hormone secretion: e.g. melatonin, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin. The core body temperature in humans has a characteristic sinusoidal course, with the maximum value occurring between 3:00-5:00 pm and the minimum between 3:00-5:00 am. Analysis of literature indicates that the obtained results concerning core body temperature are to a large extent influenced by the type of method applied in the measurement. Depending on test protocols, we may apply various methodologies to measuring core body temperature. One of the newest methods of measuring internal and external body temperature consists in the utilisation of remote temperature sensors transmitting the obtained value via a radio signal. The advantages of this method includes the ability to perform: continuous core temperature measurement, observe dynamic changes in core body temperature occurring in circadian rhythm and the repeatability and credibility of the obtained results, which is presented in numerous scientific reports.

Fluctuations and structure of amphiphilic films; Fluctuations et structure de films d`amphiphiles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gourier, CH

1996-07-01

This thesis is divided in three parts.The first part exposes in a theoretical point of view, how the fluctuations spectrum of an amphiphilic film is governed by its properties and its bidimensional characteristics.The measurements of fluctuations spectra of an interface are accessible with the measurement of intensity that interface diffuses out of the specular angle, we present in the second chapter the principles of the X rays diffusion by a real interface and see how the diffuse diffusion experiments allow to determine the fluctuations spectrum of an amphiphilic film. The second part is devoted to the different experimental techniques that have allowed to realize the study of fluctuation as well as the structural study.The third part is devoted to experimental results concerning the measurements of fluctuations spectra and to the study of the structure of amphiphilic films. We show that it is possible by using an intense source of X rays (ESRF: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) to measure the water and amphiphilic films fluctuations spectra until molecular scales. The last chapter is devoted to the structural study and film fluctuations made of di-acetylenic molecules. (N.C.)

Ecophysiology of novel core phylotypes in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McIlroy, Simon Jon; Awata, Takanori; Nierychlo, Marta

limited to no information is available for their ecophysiology in activated sludge. A combination of MAR-FISH and SIP was applied to identify members of the genera Rhodoferax, Dechloromonas and Sulfuritalea, all within the class Betaproteobacteria, to be core denitrifiers in these systems. Similar...... may explain why many of these core organisms have not attracted attention during the many years of research into the ecology of these systems. The future goal will be to obtain genome sequences for members of these core genera, applying recently developed protocols for the assembly of genomes from...

Influence of thermal fluctuations on ligament break-up: a fluctuating lattice Boltzmann study

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Xiao; Biferale, Luca; Sbragaglia, Mauro; Toschi, Federico

2017-11-01

Thermal fluctuations are essential ingredients in a nanoscale system, driving Brownian motion of particles and capillary waves at non-ideal interfaces. Here we study the influence of thermal fluctuations on the breakup of liquid ligaments at the nanoscale. We offer quantitative characterization of the effects of thermal fluctuations on the Plateau-Rayleigh mechanism that drives the breakup process of ligaments. Due to thermal fluctuations, the droplet sizes after break-up need to be analyzed in terms of their distribution over an ensemble made of repeated experiments. To this aim, we make use of numerical simulations based on the fluctuating lattice Boltzmann method (FLBM) for multicomponent mixtures. The method allows an accurate and efficient simulation of the fluctuating hydrodynamics equations of a binary mixture, where both stochastic viscous stresses and diffusion fluxes are introduced. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 642069.

Differential Rotation within the Earth's Outer Core

Science.gov (United States)

Hide, R.; Boggs, D. H.; Dickey, J. O.

1998-01-01

Non-steady differential rotation drive by bouyancy forces within the Earth's liquid outer core (OC) plays a key role not only in the generation of the main geomagnetic field by the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) dynamo process but also in the excitation of irregular fluctuations in the angular speed of rotation of the overlying solid mantle, as evidenced by changes in the length of the day (LOD) on decadal and longer timescales (1-8).

Planktonic foraminifera from a quaternary deep sea core from the southern Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naidu, P.D.; Rao, P.S.; Pattan, J.N.

An investigation on planktonic foraminifera and calcium carbonate content of a box core collected at a depth of 2556 m from the southern part of the Arabian sea indicates faunal changes depicting Quaternary climatic fluctuations. Based on the study...

Some activities at CEA related to behaviour of core internals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrequin, P.

1998-01-01

Eighteen transparencies where presented, elaborating some activities at CEA related to behaviour of core internals. After some introduction, ten of the transparencies are essentially a copy of the table of contents of the AMES report no. 11 (report no: EUR 17694 EN). The remaining 6 foils concerned themselves with irradiation experiments in test reactors, namely the IDAHO, CASIMIR and ALEXANDRA experiments

INNOVATIONn#8211; AN INFLUENCE FACTOR OF CYCLICAL FLUCTUATIONS. STUDY CASE FOR ROMANIA, BETWEEN 1995 AND 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cismaº Laura Mariana

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The study of influence factors of cyclical fluctuations is of major importance for a countryn#8217;s economy. In the present context, of the new economy, where the emphasis is on new technologies, and information is the main product and resource of the economy, innovation is one of the most important factors among the ones which influence the economic activity fluctuations. As part of a larger paper, this study is set to emphasize and explain the influence of innovation on the cyclical fluctuations in Romania between 1995 and 2009. The following analysis indicators were used: the n#8216;innovationn#8217; factor is represented by Research n Development expenses and by the number of people with internet access, whereas the economic activity fluctuations are represented by the fluctuations in the real GDP. The research starts with the conceptual boundaries regarding innovation, with an emphasis on Joseph Schumpetern#8217;s theory, then, the influence of innovation on economic activity fluctuations is underlined through a quantitative analysis of the three indicators mentioned above and through an econometric model. The results of the research underline Romanian#8217;s economic status, the scale on which new technologies have entered the Romanian market and the way in which the fluctuations of the economic activity are closely linked to innovation.

Sampling rare fluctuations of discrete-time Markov chains

Science.gov (United States)

Whitelam, Stephen

2018-03-01

We describe a simple method that can be used to sample the rare fluctuations of discrete-time Markov chains. We focus on the case of Markov chains with well-defined steady-state measures, and derive expressions for the large-deviation rate functions (and upper bounds on such functions) for dynamical quantities extensive in the length of the Markov chain. We illustrate the method using a series of simple examples, and use it to study the fluctuations of a lattice-based model of active matter that can undergo motility-induced phase separation.

Facile Synthesis of Au Nanocube-CdS Core-Shell Nanocomposites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao-Li; Liang, Shan; Li, Min; Yu, Xue-Feng; Zhou, Li; Wang, Qu-Qua

2014-06-01

Au nanocube-CdS core-shell nanocomposites are prepared by using a one-pot method in aqueous phase with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the surfactant. The extinction properties and photocatalytic activity of Au-CdS nanocomposites are investigated. Compared with the pure Au nanocubes, the Au-CdS nanocomposites exhibit enhanced extinction intensity. Compared with CdS nanoparticles, the Au-CdS nanocomposites exhibit improved photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the photocatalytic efficiency is even better with the increase in the core size of the Au-CdS nanocomposites. Typically, the photocatalytic efficiency of the Au-CdS with 62 nm sized Au nanocubes is about two times higher than that of the pure CdS. It is believed that the Au-CdS nanocomposites may find potential applications in environmental fields, and this synthesis method can be extended to prepare a wide variety of functional composites with Au cores.

Relations between chemical species distribution and the fluctuating activity of Vulcano (Italy)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martini, M.; Legittimo, P.C.

1984-09-01

Five years of systematic observation of the fumaroles of Vulcano have permitted the detection of some compositional trends coincident with a fluctuation in temperature. A gradual decrease of CO/sub 2/, H/sub 2/S+SO/sup 2/, HF was observed with the lowering of temperature, while HCl slightly increased. These physical-chemical characteristics of the system are not readily explained as simply produced by different stages in magma degassing, and the previous hypothesis of the insignificant influence of a brackish aquifer on the fumaroles still appears a reliable working model. R-mode factor analysis allowed the differentiated role of chemical species to be distinguished for which different genetic processes can be derived. The ratios HF/HCl and SO/sub 2//H/sub 2/S are taken as indicators of the changing activity of the system, and also the available data for Usu (Japan) and Mount St. Helens (USA) are considered.

The status of HEU to LEU core conversion activities at the Jamaica SLOWPOKE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preston, J.; Grant, C., E-mail: john.preston@uwimona.edu.jm [Univ. of the West Indies, Mona Campus, International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, Mona (Jamaica)

2012-12-15

The SLOWPOKE reactor in Jamaica has been operated by the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, University of the West Indies since 1984, mainly for the purpose of Neutron Activation Analysis. The HEU core with current utilization has another 14 years of operation, before the addition of a large beryllium annulus would be required to further extend the life-time by 15 years. However, in keeping with the spirit of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program, the decision was taken in 2003 to convert the core from HEU to LEU, in line with those at the Ecole Polytechnic and RMC SLOWPOKE facilities. This paper reports on the current status of the conversion activities, including key fuel manufacture and regulatory issues, which have seen substantial progress during the last year. A timetable for the complete process is given, and provided that the fuel fabrication can be completed in the estimated 18 months, the core conversion should be accomplished by the end of 2014. (author)

Fluctuating Thermodynamics for Biological Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Ham, Sihyun

Because biomolecular processes are largely under thermodynamic control, dynamic extension of thermodynamics is necessary to uncover the mechanisms and driving factors of fluctuating processes. The fluctuating thermodynamics technology presented in this talk offers a practical means for the thermodynamic characterization of conformational dynamics in biomolecules. The use of fluctuating thermodynamics has the potential to provide a comprehensive picture of fluctuating phenomena in diverse biological processes. Through the application of fluctuating thermodynamics, we provide a thermodynamic perspective on the misfolding and aggregation of the various proteins associated with human diseases. In this talk, I will present the detailed concepts and applications of the fluctuating thermodynamics technology for elucidating biological processes. This work was supported by Samsung Science and Technology Foundation under Project Number SSTF-BA1401-13.

A Common Definition of the System Operators' Core Activities[Electric Power Transmission System Operator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-02-15

In this report a common definition of the system operator's core activities in the Nordic countries is identified and also a list of non-core activities is introduced. As a starting point the common tasks for system responsibility as identified by Nordel has been used for the work. The term TSO (Transmission System Operator) is employed as a common denominator in the report. It is found out that the TSOs carry out common core activities in the roles as a transmission operator, a system operator and a balance settlement responsible. The core activities for the TSO as a transmission network operator are: Maintain the adequate transmission system in the long run and network development plan on the national as well as on the Nordic level using sophisticated analysis and planning methods and tools. Plan the transmission network on the national as well as on the Nordic level utilising new investments, renewal and maintenance of existing network components so that the network is secure to operate and adequate transmission capacity is guaranteed. Aim at timely network expansions using enhanced information exchange between the Nordic TSOs, and on the national level between the TSO and distribution and regional network operators, large consumers and large producers. Secure the technical compatibility with networks across the border and within a country by establishing connection requirements on the national level and ensuring that the national requirements are compatible across the Nordic power system. The core activities for the TSO as a system operator are: Define common technical requirements for the secure system operation using common planning, operation, connection and data exchange procedures. Secure the system operation with the operational planning for the following year by using information exchange between TSOs enabling the TSOs to make the best possible forecast of the global grid situation in order to assess the flows in their network and the available

Inverse scattering problem in turbulent magnetic fluctuations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. A. Treumann

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We apply a particular form of the inverse scattering theory to turbulent magnetic fluctuations in a plasma. In the present note we develop the theory, formulate the magnetic fluctuation problem in terms of its electrodynamic turbulent response function, and reduce it to the solution of a special form of the famous Gelfand–Levitan–Marchenko equation of quantum mechanical scattering theory. The last of these applies to transmission and reflection in an active medium. The theory of turbulent magnetic fluctuations does not refer to such quantities. It requires a somewhat different formulation. We reduce the theory to the measurement of the low-frequency electromagnetic fluctuation spectrum, which is not the turbulent spectral energy density. The inverse theory in this form enables obtaining information about the turbulent response function of the medium. The dynamic causes of the electromagnetic fluctuations are implicit to it. Thus, it is of vital interest in low-frequency magnetic turbulence. The theory is developed until presentation of the equations in applicable form to observations of turbulent electromagnetic fluctuations as input from measurements. Solution of the final integral equation should be done by standard numerical methods based on iteration. We point to the possibility of treating power law fluctuation spectra as an example. Formulation of the problem to include observations of spectral power densities in turbulence is not attempted. This leads to severe mathematical problems and requires a reformulation of inverse scattering theory. One particular aspect of the present inverse theory of turbulent fluctuations is that its structure naturally leads to spatial information which is obtained from the temporal information that is inherent to the observation of time series. The Taylor assumption is not needed here. This is a consequence of Maxwell's equations, which couple space and time evolution. The inversion procedure takes

Thermodynamic theory of equilibrium fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishin, Y.

2015-01-01

The postulational basis of classical thermodynamics has been expanded to incorporate equilibrium fluctuations. The main additional elements of the proposed thermodynamic theory are the concept of quasi-equilibrium states, a definition of non-equilibrium entropy, a fundamental equation of state in the entropy representation, and a fluctuation postulate describing the probability distribution of macroscopic parameters of an isolated system. Although these elements introduce a statistical component that does not exist in classical thermodynamics, the logical structure of the theory is different from that of statistical mechanics and represents an expanded version of thermodynamics. Based on this theory, we present a regular procedure for calculations of equilibrium fluctuations of extensive parameters, intensive parameters and densities in systems with any number of fluctuating parameters. The proposed fluctuation formalism is demonstrated by four applications: (1) derivation of the complete set of fluctuation relations for a simple fluid in three different ensembles; (2) fluctuations in finite-reservoir systems interpolating between the canonical and micro-canonical ensembles; (3) derivation of fluctuation relations for excess properties of grain boundaries in binary solid solutions, and (4) derivation of the grain boundary width distribution for pre-melted grain boundaries in alloys. The last two applications offer an efficient fluctuation-based approach to calculations of interface excess properties and extraction of the disjoining potential in pre-melted grain boundaries. Possible future extensions of the theory are outlined.

Synthesis of N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles and their enhanced antibacterial activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Alideertu; Wang Tao; Xiao Linghan; Wang Weiwei; Zhao Tianyi; Zheng Xin; Liu Fengqi; Gao Ge; Huang Jinfeng; Chen Yuxin; Lan Shi

2011-01-01

N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial activity were synthesized through the encapsulation of silica nanoparticles as support with polymeric N-halamine. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). These N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles displayed powerful antibacterial performance against both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria, and their antibacterial activities have been greatly improved compared with their bulk counterparts. Therefore, these N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles have the potential for various significant applications such as in medical devices, healthcare products, water purification systems, hospitals, dental office equipment, food packaging, food storage, household sanitation, etc.

Synthesis of N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles and their enhanced antibacterial activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Alideertu; Wang Tao; Xiao Linghan; Wang Weiwei; Zhao Tianyi; Zheng Xin; Liu Fengqi; Gao Ge [College of Chemistry, Jilin University and MacDiarmid Laboratory, Changchun 130021 (China); Huang Jinfeng; Chen Yuxin [Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Lan Shi, E-mail: gaoge@jlu.edu.cn [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Tongliao 028000 (China)

2011-07-22

N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial activity were synthesized through the encapsulation of silica nanoparticles as support with polymeric N-halamine. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). These N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles displayed powerful antibacterial performance against both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria, and their antibacterial activities have been greatly improved compared with their bulk counterparts. Therefore, these N-halamine-functionalized silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles have the potential for various significant applications such as in medical devices, healthcare products, water purification systems, hospitals, dental office equipment, food packaging, food storage, household sanitation, etc.

Superconductivity and spin fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scalapino, D.J.

1999-01-01

The organizers of the Memorial Session for Herman Rietschel asked that the author review some of the history of the interplay of superconductivity and spin fluctuations. Initially, Berk and Schrieffer showed how paramagnon spin fluctuations could suppress superconductivity in nearly-ferromagnetic materials. Following this, Rietschel and various co-workers wrote a number of papers in which they investigated the role of spin fluctuations in reducing the Tc of various electron-phonon superconductors. Paramagnon spin fluctuations are also believed to provide the p-wave pairing mechanism responsible for the superfluid phases of 3 He. More recently, antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations have been proposed as the mechanism for d-wave pairing in the heavy-fermion superconductors and in some organic materials as well as possibly the high-Tc cuprates. Here the author will review some of this early history and discuss some of the things he has learned more recently from numerical simulations

Recreational stimulants, herbal, and spice cannabis: The core psychobiological processes that underlie their damaging effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrott, Andrew C; Hayley, Amie C; Downey, Luke A

2017-05-01

Recreational drugs are taken for their positive mood effects, yet their regular usage damages well-being. The psychobiological mechanisms underlying these damaging effects will be debated. The empirical literature on recreational cannabinoids and stimulant drugs is reviewed. A theoretical explanation for how they cause similar types of damage is outlined. All psychoactive drugs cause moods and psychological states to fluctuate. The acute mood gains underlie their recreational usage, while the mood deficits on withdrawal explain their addictiveness. Cyclical mood changes are found with every central nervous system stimulant and also occur with cannabis. These mood state changes provide a surface index for more profound psychobiological fluctuations. Homeostatic balance is altered, with repetitive disturbances of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disrupted cortisol-neurohormonal secretions. Hence, these drugs cause increased stress, disturbed sleep, neurocognitive impairments, altered brain activity, and psychiatric vulnerability. Equivalent deficits occur with novel psychoactive stimulants such as mephedrone and artificial "spice" cannabinoids. These psychobiological fluctuations underlie drug dependency and make cessation difficult. Psychobiological stability and homeostatic balance are optimally restored by quitting psychoactive drugs. Recreational stimulants such as cocaine or MDMA (3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and sedative drugs such as cannabis damage human homeostasis and well-being through similar core psychobiological mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigation of magnetic active core sizes and hydrodynamic diameters of a magnetically fractionated ferrofluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Büttner, Markus; Weber, Peter; Schmidl, Frank; Seidel, Paul; Röder, Michael; Schnabelrauch, Matthias; Wagner, Kerstin; Görnert, Peter; Glöckl, Gunnar; Weitschies, Werner

2011-01-01

In this work we address the question which relates between the size of the magnetically active core of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and the size of the overall particle in the solution (the so-called hydrodynamic diameter d hyd ) exists. For this purpose we use two methods of examination that can deliver conclusions about the properties of MNP which are not accessible with normal microscopy. On the one hand, we use temperature dependent magnetorelaxation (TMRX) method, which enables direct access to the energy barrier distribution and by using additional hysteresis loop measurements can provide details about the size of the magnetically active cores. On the other hand, to determine the size of the overall particle in the solution, we use the magnetooptical relaxation of ferrofluids (MORFF) method, where the stimulation is done magnetically while the reading of the relaxation signal, however, is done optically. As a basis for the examinations in this work we use a ferrofluid that was developed for medicinal purposes and which has been fractioned magnetically to obtain differently sized fractions of MNPs. The two values obtained through these methods for each fraction shows the success in fractioning the original solution. Therefore, one can conclude a direct correlation between the size of the magnetically active core and the size of the complete particle in the solution from the experimental results. To calculate the size of the magnetically active core we found a temperature dependent anisotropy constant which was taken into account for the calculations. Furthermore, we found relaxation signals at 18 K for all fractions in these TMRX measurements, which have their origin in other magnetic effects than the Néel relaxation.

Prediction of propeller-induced hull-pressure fluctuations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Wijngaarden, H.C.J.

2011-01-01

The cavitating propeller often forms the primary source of noise and vibration on board ships. The propeller induces hydroacoustic pressure fluctuations due to the passing blades and, more importantly, the dynamic activity of cavities in the propeller’s immediate vicinity. The accurate prediction of

The role of statistical fluctuations on the stability of shockwaves through gases with activated inelastic collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Sirmas, Nick; Radulescu, Matei

2016-11-01

The present study addresses the stability of piston driven shock waves through a system of hard particles subject to activated inelastic collisions. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations have previously revealed an unstable structure for such a system in the form of high density non-uniformities and convective rolls within the shock structure. The work has now been extended to the continuum level by considering the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations for granular gases with a modified cooling rate to include an impact threshold necessary for inelastic collisions. We find that the pattern formations produced in MD can be reproduced at the continuum level by continually perturbing the incoming density field. By varying the perturbation amplitude and wavelength, we find that fluctuations consistent with the statistical fluctuations seen in MD yield similar instabilities to those previously observed. While the inviscid model predicts a highly chaotic structure from these perturbations, the inclusion of viscosity and heat conductivity yields equivalent wavelengths of pattern formations to those seen in MD, which is equal to the relaxation length scale of the dissipative shock structure. The authors acknowledged funding through the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (NSERC) and Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Edge fluctuation measurements by phase contrast imaging on DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coda, S.; Porkolab, M.

1994-05-01

A novel CO 2 laser phase contrast imaging diagnostic has been developed for the DIII-D tokamak, where it is being employed to investigate density fluctuations at the outer edge of the plasma. This system generates 16-point, 1-D images of a 7.6 cm wide region in the radial direction, and is characterized by long wavelength (7.6 cm) and high frequency (100 MHz) capability, as well as excellent sensitivity (rvec n approx-gt 10 9 cm -3 ). The effects of vertical line integration have been studied in detail, both analytically and numerically with actual flux surface geometries generated by the EFITD magnetic equilibrium code. It is shown that in the present configuration the measurement is mostly sensitive to radial wave vectors. Experimental results on fluctuation suppression at the L- to H-mode transition and on the L-mode wave number spectrum are discussed briefly. Finally, future plans for extending the measurement to the core of the plasma and for investigating externally launched fast waves are presented

Fabrication of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rajabi, S.K. [Department of Chemistry, University of Guilan, University Campus 2, Rasht (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sohrabnezhad, Sh., E-mail: sohrabnezhad@guilan.ac.ir [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, P.O. Box 1914, Rasht (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghafourian, S. [Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-12-15

Magnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core and a CuO shell. The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CuO core-shell was investigated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent. - Graphical abstract: Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell release of copper ions. These Cu{sup 2+} ions were responsible for the exhibited antibacterial activity. - Highlights: • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell was prepared by MOF method. • This is the first study of antibacterial activity of core-shell consist of CuO and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}. • The core-shell can be reused effectively. • Core-shell was separated from the reaction solution by external magnetic field.

Alterations in task-induced activity and resting-state fluctuations in visual and DMN areas revealed in long-term meditators.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkovich-Ohana, Aviva; Harel, Michal; Hahamy, Avital; Arieli, Amos; Malach, Rafael

2016-07-15

Recently we proposed that the information contained in spontaneously emerging (resting-state) fluctuations may reflect individually unique neuro-cognitive traits. One prediction of this conjecture, termed the "spontaneous trait reactivation" (STR) hypothesis, is that resting-state activity patterns could be diagnostic of unique personalities, talents and life-styles of individuals. Long-term meditators could provide a unique experimental group to test this hypothesis. Using fMRI we found that, during resting-state, the amplitude of spontaneous fluctuations in long-term mindfulness meditation (MM) practitioners was enhanced in the visual cortex and significantly reduced in the DMN compared to naïve controls. Importantly, during a visual recognition memory task, the MM group showed heightened visual cortex responsivity, concomitant with weaker negative responses in Default Mode Network (DMN) areas. This effect was also reflected in the behavioral performance, where MM practitioners performed significantly faster than the control group. Thus, our results uncover opposite changes in the visual and default mode systems in long-term meditators which are revealed during both rest and task. The results support the STR hypothesis and extend it to the domain of local changes in the magnitude of the spontaneous fluctuations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-Gaussian conductivity fluctuations in semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melkonyan, S.V.

2010-01-01

A theoretical study is presented on the statistical properties of conductivity fluctuations caused by concentration and mobility fluctuations of the current carriers. It is established that mobility fluctuations result from random deviations in the thermal equilibrium distribution of the carriers. It is shown that mobility fluctuations have generation-recombination and shot components which do not satisfy the requirements of the central limit theorem, in contrast to the current carrier's concentration fluctuation and intraband component of the mobility fluctuation. It is shown that in general the mobility fluctuation consist of thermal (or intraband) Gaussian and non-thermal (or generation-recombination, shot, etc.) non-Gaussian components. The analyses of theoretical results and experimental data from literature show that the statistical properties of mobility fluctuation and of 1/f-noise fully coincide. The deviation from Gaussian statistics of the mobility or 1/f fluctuations goes hand in hand with the magnitude of non-thermal noise (generation-recombination, shot, burst, pulse noises, etc.).

Fluctuations in quantum chaos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casati, G.; Chirikov, B.V.

1996-01-01

Various fluctuations in quantum systems with discrete spectrum are discussed, including recent unpublished results. Open questions and unexplained peculiarities of quantum fluctuations are formulated [ru

A tangential CO{sub 2} laser collective scattering system for measuring short-scale turbulent fluctuations in the EAST superconducting tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, G.M., E-mail: gmcao@ipp.ac.cn [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 1126, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China); Li, Y.D. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 1126, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China); Li, Q. [School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zhang, X.D.; Sun, P.J.; Wu, G.J.; Hu, L.Q. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 1126, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China)

2014-12-15

Highlights: • A tangential CO{sub 2} laser collective scattering system was first installed on EAST. • It can measure the short-scale fluctuations in different regions simultaneously. • It can study the broadband fluctuations, QC fluctuations, MHD phenomenon, etc. - Abstract: A tangential CO{sub 2} laser collective scattering system has been first installed on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to measure short-scale turbulent fluctuations in EAST plasmas. The system can measure fluctuations with up to four distinct wavenumbers simultaneously ranging from 10 cm{sup −1} to 26 cm{sup −1}, and correspondingly k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub s}∼1.5−4.3. The system is designed based on the oblique propagation of the probe beam with respect to the magnetic field, and thus the enhanced spatial localization can be achieved by taking full advantage of turbulence anisotropy and magnetic field inhomogeneity. The simultaneous measurements of turbulent fluctuations in different regions can be taken by special optical setup. Initial measurements indicate rich short-scale turbulent dynamics in both core and outer regions of EAST plasmas. The system will be a powerful tool for investigating the features of short-scale turbulent fluctuations in EAST plasmas.

Pt monolayer shell on hollow Pd core electrocatalysts: Scale up synthesis, structure, and activity for the oxygen reduction reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vukmirovic Miomir B.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We report on synthesis, characterization and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR kinetics of Pt monolayer shell on Pd(hollow, or Pd-Au(hollow core electrocatalysts. Comparison between the ORR catalytic activity of the electrocatalysts with hollow cores and those of Pt solid and Pt hollow nanoparticles has been obtained using the rotating disk electrode technique. Hollow nanoparticles were made using Ni or Cu nanoparticles as sacrificial templates. The Pt ORR specific and mass activities of the electrocatalysts with hollow cores were found considerably higher than those of the electrocatalysts with the solid cores. We attribute this enhanced Pt activity to the smooth surface morphology and hollow-induced lattice contraction, in addition to the mass-saving geometry of hollow particles.

Neutron fluctuations a treatise on the physics of branching processes

CERN Document Server

Pazsit, Imre; Pzsit, Imre

2007-01-01

The transport of neutrons in a multiplying system is an area of branching processes with a clear formalism. This book presents an account of the mathematical tools used in describing branching processes, which are then used to derive a large number of properties of the neutron distribution in multiplying systems with or without an external source. In the second part of the book, the theory is applied to the description of the neutron fluctuations in nuclear reactor cores as well as in small samples of fissile material. The question of how to extract information about the system under study is discussed. In particular the measurement of the reactivity of subcritical cores, driven with various Poisson and non-Poisson (pulsed) sources, and the identification of fissile material samples, is illustrated. The book gives pragmatic information for those planning and executing and evaluating experiments on such systems. - Gives a complete treatise of the mathematics of branching particle processes, and in particular n...

Fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy (FFS)

CERN Document Server

Tetin, Sergey

2012-01-01

This new volume of Methods in Enzymology continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field. This volume covers fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and includes chapters on such topics as Förster resonance energy transfer (fret) with fluctuation algorithms, protein corona on nanoparticles by FCS, and FFS approaches to the study of receptors in live cells. Continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field Covers fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy Contains chapters on such topics as Förster resonance energy transfer (fret) with fluctuation algorithms, protein corona on nanoparticles by FCS, and FFS approaches to the study of receptors in live cells.

Creation of Magnetic Fields by Electrostatic and Thermal Fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleem, Hamid

2009-01-01

It is pointed out that the electrostatic and thermal fluctuations are the main source of magnetic fields in unmagnetized inhomogeneous plasmas. The unmagnetized inhomogeneous plasmas can support a low frequency electromagnetic ion wave as a normal mode like Alfven wave of magnetized plasmas. But this is a coupled mode produced by the mixing of longitudinal and transverse components of perturbed electric field due to density inhomogeneity. The ion acoustic wave does not remain electrostatic in non-uniform plasmas. On the other hand, a low frequency electrostatic wave can also exist in the pure electron plasmas and it couples with ion acoustic wave when ions are dynamic. These waves can become unstable when density and temperature gradients are parallel to each other as can be the case of laser plasmas and is the common situation in stellar cores. The main instability condition for the electrostatic and electromagnetic modes is the same (2/3)κ n T (where κ n and κ T are inverse of the scale lengths of gradients of density and electron temperature, respectively). This indicates that the electrostatic and magnetic field fluctuations are strongly coupled in unmagnetized nonuniform plasmas.

Selection on female behaviour fluctuates with offspring environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, R W; Boutin, S; Humphries, M M; McAdam, A G

2014-11-01

Temporal variation in selection has long been proposed as a mechanism by which genetic variation could be maintained despite short-term strong directional selection and has been invoked to explain the maintenance of consistent individual differences in behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that ecological changes through time lead to fluctuating selection, which could promote the maintenance of variation in female behavioural traits in a wild population of North American red squirrels. As predicted, linear selection gradients on female aggression and activity significantly fluctuated across years depending on the level of competition among juveniles for vacant territories. This selection acted primarily through juvenile overwinter survival rather than maternal fecundity. Incorporating uncertainty in individual measures of behaviour reduced the magnitude of annual selection gradients and increased uncertainty in these estimates, but did not affect the overall pattern of temporal fluctuations in natural selection that coincided with the intensity of competition for vacant territories. These temporal fluctuations in selection might, therefore, promote the maintenance of heritable individual differences in behaviour in this wild red squirrel population. © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Fluctuation dynamics in geoelectrical data: an investigation by using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telesca, Luciano; Colangelo, Gerardo; Lapenna, Vincenzo; Macchiato, Maria

2004-01-01

We analyzed fluctuations in the time dynamics of nonstationary geoelectrical data, recorded in a seismic area of southern Italy, by means of the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). The multifractal character of the signal depends mostly on the different long-range properties for small and large fluctuations. The time variation of indices, denoting the departure from monofractal behaviour, reveals an enhancement of the multifractality of the signal prior seismic occurrences

Fluctuations of radio occultation signals in sounding the Earth's atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Kan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We discuss the relationships that link the observed fluctuation spectra of the amplitude and phase of signals used for the radio occultation sounding of the Earth's atmosphere, with the spectra of atmospheric inhomogeneities. Our analysis employs the approximation of the phase screen and of weak fluctuations. We make our estimates for the following characteristic inhomogeneity types: (1 the isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence and (2 the anisotropic saturated internal gravity waves. We obtain the expressions for the variances of the amplitude and phase fluctuations of radio occultation signals as well as their estimates for the typical parameters of inhomogeneity models. From the GPS/MET observations, we evaluate the spectra of the amplitude and phase fluctuations in the altitude interval from 4 to 25 km in the middle and polar latitudes. As indicated by theoretical and experimental estimates, the main contribution into the radio signal fluctuations comes from the internal gravity waves. The influence of the Kolmogorov turbulence is negligible. We derive simple relationships that link the parameters of internal gravity waves and the statistical characteristics of the radio signal fluctuations. These results may serve as the basis for the global monitoring of the wave activity in the stratosphere and upper troposphere.

State Public Health Enabling Authorities: Results of a Fundamental Activities Assessment Examining Core and Essential Services

Science.gov (United States)

Hoss, Aila; Menon, Akshara; Corso, Liza

2016-01-01

Context Public health enabling authorities establish the legal foundation for financing, organizing, and delivering public health services. State laws vary in terms of the content, depth, and breadth of these fundamental public health activities. Given this variance, the Institute of Medicine has identified state public health laws as an area that requires further examination. To respond to this call for further examination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Law Program conducted a fundamental activities legal assessment on state public health laws. Objective The goal of the legal assessment was to examine state laws referencing frameworks representing public health department fundamental activities (ie, core and essential services) in an effort to identify, catalog, and describe enabling authorities of state governmental public health systems. Design In 2013, Public Health Law Program staff compiled a list of state statutes and regulations referencing different commonly-recognized public health frameworks of fundamental activities. The legal assessment included state fundamental activities laws available on WestlawNext as of July 2013. The results related to the 10 essential public health services and the 3 core public health functions were confirmed and updated in June 2016. Results Eighteen states reference commonly-recognized frameworks of fundamental activities in their laws. Thirteen states have listed the 10 essential public health services in their laws. Eight of these states have also referenced the 3 core public health functions in their laws. Five states reference only the core public health functions. Conclusions Several states reference fundamental activities in their state laws, particularly through use of the essential services framework. Further work is needed to capture the public health laws and practices of states that may be performing fundamental activities but without reference to a common framework. PMID

State Public Health Enabling Authorities: Results of a Fundamental Activities Assessment Examining Core and Essential Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoss, Aila; Menon, Akshara; Corso, Liza

2016-01-01

Public health enabling authorities establish the legal foundation for financing, organizing, and delivering public health services. State laws vary in terms of the content, depth, and breadth of these fundamental public health activities. Given this variance, the Institute of Medicine has identified state public health laws as an area that requires further examination. To respond to this call for further examination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Law Program conducted a fundamental activities legal assessment on state public health laws. The goal of the legal assessment was to examine state laws referencing frameworks representing public health department fundamental activities (ie, core and essential services) in an effort to identify, catalog, and describe enabling authorities of state governmental public health systems. In 2013, Public Health Law Program staff compiled a list of state statutes and regulations referencing different commonly-recognized public health frameworks of fundamental activities. The legal assessment included state fundamental activities laws available on WestlawNext as of July 2013. The results related to the 10 essential public health services and the 3 core public health functions were confirmed and updated in June 2016. Eighteen states reference commonly-recognized frameworks of fundamental activities in their laws. Thirteen states have listed the 10 essential public health services in their laws. Eight of these states have also referenced the 3 core public health functions in their laws. Five states reference only the core public health functions. Several states reference fundamental activities in their state laws, particularly through use of the essential services framework. Further work is needed to capture the public health laws and practices of states that may be performing fundamental activities but without reference to a common framework.

Seven-core active fibre for application in telecommunication satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Filipowicz, Marta; Napierała, Marek; Murawski, Michał; Ostrowski, Łukasz; Szostkiewicz, Łukasz; Szymański, Michał; Tenderenda, Tadeusz; Anders, Krzysztof; Piramidowicz, Ryszard; Wójcik, Grzegorz; Makara, Mariusz; Poturaj, Krzysztof; Mergo, Paweł; Nasiłowski, Tomasz

2015-12-01

The use of optical elements and other photonic components makes it possible to overcome telecommunication satellite's bottleneck problems such as size and weight reduction. Despite the unquestionable potential of such elements, nowadays they are not widely used in systems operating in space. This is due to many factors, including the fact that space radiation has disruptive influence on optical fibre. Namely it introduces additional radiation induced attenuation (RIA) that significantly lowers efficiency of optical fibre based systems. However, there is a possibility to produce radiation-hardened (rad-hard) components. One of them is seven core erbium-doped active fibre (MC-EDF) for fibre amplifiers in satellites that we have been developing. In this paper we present a detailed description of seven core structure design as well as experimental results. We report that average gain of 20 dB in C-band with noise figure of 5.8 dB was obtained. We also confirmed that low crosstalk value for a multicore fibre amplifier based on our fibre can be achieved.

Strain fluctuations and elastic constants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrinello, M.; Rahman, A.

1982-03-01

It is shown that the elastic strain fluctuations are a direct measure of elastic compliances in a general anisotropic medium; depending on the ensemble in which the fluctuation is measured either the isothermal or the adiabatic compliances are obtained. These fluctuations can now be calculated in a constant enthalpy and pressure, and hence, constant entropy, ensemble due to recent develpments in the molecular dynamics techniques. A calculation for a Ni single crystal under uniform uniaxial 100 tensile or compressive load is presented as an illustration of the relationships derived between various strain fluctuations and the elastic modulii. The Born stability criteria and the behavior of strain fluctuations are shown to be related.

Plasma fluctuation measurements in tokamaks using beam-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonck, R.J.; Duperrex, P.A.; Paul, S.F.

1990-01-01

High-frequency observations of light emitted from the interactions between plasma ions and injected neutral beam atoms allow the measurement of moderate-wavelength fluctuations in plasma and impurity ion densities. To detect turbulence in the local plasma ion density, the collisionally excited fluorescence from a neutral beam is measured either separately at several spatial points or with a multichannel imaging detector. Similarly, the role of impurity ion density fluctuations is measured using charge exchange recombination excited transitions emitted by the ion species of interest. This technique can access the relatively unexplored region of long-wavelength plasma turbulence with k perpendicular ρ i much-lt 1, and hence complements measurements from scattering experiments. Optimization of neutral beam geometry and optical sightlines can result in very good localization and resolution (Δx≤1 cm) in the hot plasma core region. The detectable fluctuation level is determined by photon statistics, atomic excitation processes, and beam stability, but can be as low as 0.2% in a 100 kHz bandwidth over the 0--1 MHz frequency range. The choices of beam species (e.g., H 0 , He 0 , etc.), observed transition (e.g., H α , L α , He I singlet or triplet transitions, C VI Δn=1, etc.) are dictated by experiment-specific factors such as optical access, flexibility of beam operation, plasma conditions, and detailed experimental goals. Initial tests on the PBX-M tokamak using the H α emissions from a heating neutral beam show low-frequency turbulence in the edge plasma region

Effects of salinity fluctuation frequency on the osmolarity, Na+-K+-ATPase activity and HSP70 expression in juvenile chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Sen; Wang, Fang; Sun, Hao; Guo, Biao; Dong, Shuanglin

2009-03-01

Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of salinity fluctuation frequency on the osmolarity, Na+-K+-ATPase activity and HSP70 of Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis with initial wet body weight of 1.460 g ± 0.091 g. The salinity in the control group (D0) was 28 throughout the experiment, whereas treatments D2, D4, D6 and D8 were subjected to different salinity fluctuation frequencies of 2, 4, 6 and 8 d, respectively. The salinity in treatments D2, D4, D6 and D8 was kept at 28 for 2, 4, 6 and 8 d, respectively, decreased abruptly to salinity 24, lasted for another 2 d, and then was raised to its initial value 28. This was a complete salinity fluctuation cycle that afterwards repeated itself. After 32 days, the osmolarity in treatments D2, D4, D6 and D8 was significantly lower than that in treatment D0 ( P<0.05). There were significant differences in both muscle and eyestalks HSP70 expression among groups. The HSP70 expressions in muscle and eyestalks in group D4 were 61.4% and 57.0% higher, respectively, than that in the control group D0 ( P<0.05). There were, however, no significant differences in gill or hepatopancreas Na+-K+-ATPase activity between the treatments and the control.

Calculation of the neutron noise induced by periodic deformations of a large sodium-cooled fast reactor core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zylbersztejn, F.; Tran, H.N.; Pazsit, I.; Filliatre, P.; Jammes, C.

2014-01-01

The subject of this paper is the calculation of the neutron noise induced by small-amplitude stationary radial variations of the core size (core expansion/compaction, also called core flowering) of a large sodium-cooled fast reactor. The calculations were performed on a realistic model of the European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) core with a thermal output of 3600 MW(thermal), using a multigroup neutron noise simulator. The multigroup cross sections and their fluctuations that represent the core geometry changes for the neutron noise calculations were generated by the code ERANOS. The space and energy dependences of the noise source represented by the core expansion/compaction and the induced neutron noise are calculated and discussed. (authors)

Activity of corrosion products in pool type reactors with ascending flow in the core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade e Silva, Graciete S. de; Queiroz Bogado Leite, Sergio de

1995-01-01

A model for the activity of corrosion products in the water of a pool type reactor with ascending flow is presented. The problem is described by a set of coupled differential equations relating the radioisotope concentrations in the core and pool circuits and taking into account two types of radioactive sources: i) those from radioactive species formed in the fuel cladding, control elements, reflector, etc, and afterwards released to the primary stream by corrosion (named reactor sources) and ii) those formed from non radioactive isotopes entering the primary stream by corrosion of the circuit components and being activated when passing through the core (named circuit sources). (author). 6 refs, 3 figs, 4 tabs

Little Ice Age Fluctuations of Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Stroup, J. S.; Kelly, M. A.; Lowell, T.

2009-12-01

A record of the past extents of Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC) provides valuable information about tropical climate change from late glacial to recent time. Here, we examine the timing and regional significance of fluctuations of QIC during the Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1300-1850 AD). One prominent set of moraines, known as the Huancane I moraines, is located ~1 km from the present-day western ice cap margin and provides a near-continuous outline of the most recent advance of QIC. This moraine set was radiocarbon dated (~298 ± 134 and 831 ± 87 yr BP) by Mercer and Palacios (1977) and presented as some of the first evidence for cooling in the tropics during the Little Ice Age. Recent field investigations in the QIC region focused on refining the chronology of the Huancane I moraines. In 2008, new stratigraphic sections exposed by local lake-flooding events revealed multiple layers of peat within the Huancane I moraines. In both 2008 and 2009, samples were obtained for 10Be dating of boulders on Huancane I moraines. A combination of radiocarbon and 10Be ages indicate that the Huancane I moraines were deposited by ice cap expansion after ~3800 yr BP and likely by multiple advances at approximately 1000, 600, 400, and 200 yr BP. Radiocarbon and 10Be chronologies of the Huancane I moraines are compared with the Quelccaya ice core records (Thompson et al., 1985; 1986; 2006). Accumulation data from the ice core records are interpreted to indicate a significant wet period at ~1500-1700 AD followed by a significant drought at ~1720-1860 AD. We examine ice marginal fluctuations during these times to determine influence of such events on the ice cap extent.

Nonequilibrium fluctuations in a resistor.

Science.gov (United States)

Garnier, N; Ciliberto, S

2005-06-01

In small systems where relevant energies are comparable to thermal agitation, fluctuations are of the order of average values. In systems in thermodynamical equilibrium, the variance of these fluctuations can be related to the dissipation constant in the system, exploiting the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. In nonequilibrium steady systems, fluctuations theorems (FT) additionally describe symmetry properties of the probability density functions (PDFs) of the fluctuations of injected and dissipated energies. We experimentally probe a model system: an electrical dipole driven out of equilibrium by a small constant current I, and show that FT are experimentally accessible and valid. Furthermore, we stress that FT can be used to measure the dissipated power P = R I2 in the system by just studying the PDFs' symmetries.

Critical fluctuations in cortical models near instability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J. Aburn

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Computational studies often proceed from the premise that cortical dynamics operate in a linearly stable domain, where fluctuations dissipate quickly and show only short memory. Studies of human EEG, however, have shown significant autocorrelation at time lags on the scale of minutes, indicating the need to consider regimes where nonlinearities influence the dynamics. Statistical properties such as increased autocorrelation length, increased variance, power-law scaling and bistable switching have been suggested as generic indicators of the approach to bifurcation in nonlinear dynamical systems. We study temporal fluctuations in a widely-employed computational model (the Jansen-Rit model of cortical activity, examining the statistical signatures that accompany bifurcations. Approaching supercritical Hopf bifurcations through tuning of the background excitatory input, we find a dramatic increase in the autocorrelation length that depends sensitively on the direction in phase space of the input fluctuations and hence on which neuronal subpopulation is stochastically perturbed. Similar dependence on the input direction is found in the distribution of fluctuation size and duration, which show power law scaling that extends over four orders of magnitude at the Hopf bifurcation. We conjecture that the alignment in phase space between the input noise vector and the center manifold of the Hopf bifurcation is directly linked to these changes. These results are consistent with the possibility of statistical indicators of linear instability being detectable in real EEG time series. However, even in a simple cortical model, we find that these indicators may not necessarily be visible even when bifurcations are present because their expression can depend sensitively on the neuronal pathway of incoming fluctuations.

Coupled core criticality calculations with control rods located in the central reflector region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sobhy, M [Reactor depatrment, nuclear research center, Inshaas (Egypt)

1995-10-01

The reactivity of a coupled core is controlled by a set of control rods distributed in the central reflector region. The reactor contains two compact cores cooled and moderated by light water. Control rods are designed to have reactivity worths sufficient to start, control and shutdown the coupled system. Each core in a coupled system is in subcritical conditions without any absorber then each core needs to the other core to fulfill nuclear chain reaction and to approach the criticality. In this case, each core is considered clean which is suitable for research reactor with low flux disturbance and better neutron economy, in addition to the advantage of disappearing the cut corner fuel baskets. This facilitate the in core fuel management with identical fuel baskets. Hot spots will disappear. This leads to a good heat transfer process. the excess reactivity and the shutdown margin are calculated for some of reflector as coupling region gives sufficient area for coupled core are calculated cost. The fluctuations of reactivity for coupled core are calculated by noise analysis technique and compared with that for rode core. The results show low reactivity perturbation associated with coupled core.

Redistribution of phase fluctuations in a periodically driven cuprate superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoeppner, Robert; Zhu, Beilei; Rexin, Tobias [Zentrum fuer Optische Quantentechnologien und Institut fuer Laserphysik, Hamburg (Germany); Mathey, Ludwig [Zentrum fuer Optische Quantentechnologien und Institut fuer Laserphysik, Hamburg (Germany); The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Hamburg (Germany); Cavalleri, Andrea [Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg (Germany); Department of Physics, Oxford University, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2015-07-01

We study the thermally fluctuating state of a bi-layer cuprate superconductor under the periodic action of a staggered field oscillating at optical frequencies. This analysis distills essential elements of the recently discovered phenomenon of light enhanced coherence in YBCO, which was achieved by periodically driving infrared active apical oxygen distortions. The effect of a staggered periodic perturbation is studied using a Langevin description of driven, coupled Josephson junctions, which represent two neighboring pairs of layers and their two plasmons. We demonstrate that the external driving leads to a suppression of phase fluctuations of the low-energy plasmon, an effect which is amplified via the resonance of the high energy plasmon, with a striking suppression of the low-energy fluctuations, as visible in the power spectrum. We also find that this effect acts onto the in-plane fluctuations, which are reduced on long length scales and we discuss the behavior of vortices in the ab-planes and across the weakly coupled junctions.

Hydrodynamical fluctuations in smooth shear flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chagelishvili, G.D.; Khujadze, G.R.; Lominadze, J.G.

1999-11-01

Background of hydrodynamical fluctuations in a intrinsically/stochastically forced, laminar, uniform shear flow is studied. The employment of so-called nonmodal mathematical analysis makes it possible to represent the background of fluctuations in a new light and to get more insight into the physics of its formation. The basic physical processes responsible for the formation of vortex and acoustic wave fluctuation backgrounds are analyzed. Interplay of the processes at low and moderate shear rates is described. Three-dimensional vortex fluctuations around a given macroscopic state are numerically calculated. The correlation functions of the fluctuations of physical quantities are analyzed. It is shown that there exists subspace D k in the wave-number space (k-space) that is limited externally by spherical surface with radius k ν ≡ A/ν (where A is the velocity shear parameter, ν - the kinematic viscosity) in the nonequilibrium open system under study. The spatial Fourier harmonics of vortex as well as acoustic wave fluctuations are strongly subjected by flow shear (by the open character of the system) at wave-numbers satisfying the condition k ν . Specifically it is shown that in D k : The fluctuations are non-Markovian; the spatial spectral density of energy of the vortex fluctuations by far exceeds the white-noise; the term of a new type associated to the hydrodynamical fluctuation of velocity appears in the correlation function of pressure; the fluctuation background of the acoustic waves is completely different at low and moderate shear rates (at low shear rates it is reduced in D k in comparison to the uniform (non-shear) flow; at moderate shear rates it it comparable to the background of the vortex fluctuations). The fluctuation background of both the vortex and the acoustic wave modes is anisotropic. The possible significance of the fluctuation background of vortices for the subcritical transition to turbulence and Brownian motion of small macroscopic

On Maximal Hard-Core Thinnings of Stationary Particle Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Christian; Last, Günter

2018-02-01

The present paper studies existence and distributional uniqueness of subclasses of stationary hard-core particle systems arising as thinnings of stationary particle processes. These subclasses are defined by natural maximality criteria. We investigate two specific criteria, one related to the intensity of the hard-core particle process, the other one being a local optimality criterion on the level of realizations. In fact, the criteria are equivalent under suitable moment conditions. We show that stationary hard-core thinnings satisfying such criteria exist and are frequently distributionally unique. More precisely, distributional uniqueness holds in subcritical and barely supercritical regimes of continuum percolation. Additionally, based on the analysis of a specific example, we argue that fluctuations in grain sizes can play an important role for establishing distributional uniqueness at high intensities. Finally, we provide a family of algorithmically constructible approximations whose volume fractions are arbitrarily close to the maximum.

MULTIFRACTAL SOLAR EUV INTENSITY FLUCTUATIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR CORONAL HEATING MODELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadavid, A. C.; Lawrence, J. K.; Christian, D. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States); Rivera, Y. J. [Department of Climate and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2143 (United States); Jennings, P. J. [5174 S. Slauson Avenue, Culver City, CA 90230 (United States); Rappazzo, A. F., E-mail: ana.cadavid@csun.edu [Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

2016-11-10

We investigate the scaling properties of the long-range temporal evolution and intermittency of Atmospheric Imaging Assembly/ Solar Dynamics Observatory intensity observations in four solar environments: an active region core, a weak emission region, and two core loops. We use two approaches: the probability distribution function (PDF) of time series increments and multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). Noise taints the results, so we focus on the 171 Å waveband, which has the highest signal-to-noise ratio. The lags between pairs of wavebands distinguish between coronal versus transition region (TR) emission. In all physical regions studied, scaling in the range of 15–45 minutes is multifractal, and the time series are anti-persistent on average. The degree of anti-correlation in the TR time series is greater than that for coronal emission. The multifractality stems from long-term correlations in the data rather than the wide distribution of intensities. Observations in the 335 Å waveband can be described in terms of a multifractal with added noise. The multiscaling of the extreme-ultraviolet data agrees qualitatively with the radiance from a phenomenological model of impulsive bursts plus noise, and also from ohmic dissipation in a reduced magnetohydrodynamic model for coronal loop heating. The parameter space must be further explored to seek quantitative agreement. Thus, the observational “signatures” obtained by the combined tests of the PDF of increments and the MF-DFA offer strong constraints that can systematically discriminate among models for coronal heating.

[Amplitude Changes of Low Frequency Fluctuation in Brain Spontaneous Nervous Activities Induced by Needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, You-long; Su, Cheng-guo; Liu, Shou-fang; Jin, Xiang-yu; Duan, Yan-li; Chen, Xiao-yan; Zhao, Shu-hua; Wang, Quan-liang; Dang, Chang-lin

2016-05-01

To observe amplitude changes of low frequency fluctuation in brain spontaneous nervous activities induced by needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel, and to preliminarily explore the possible brain function network of Hand Taiyin Lung Channel. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 healthy volunteers underwent resting-state scanning (R1) and scanning with retained acupuncture at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel (acupuncture, AP). Data of fMRI collected were statistically calculated using amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF). Under R1 significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus. Under AP significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, and so on. Compared with R1, needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly enhance ALFF in right gyrus subcallosum and right inferior frontal gyrus. Significant decreased ALFF appeared in right postcentral gyrus, left precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and so on. Needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly change fixed activities of cerebral cortex, especially in right subcallosal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, and so on.

Self powered neutron detectors as in-core detectors for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verma, V., E-mail: vasudha.verma@physics.uu.se [Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); CEA, DEN, DER, Instrumentation Sensors and Dosimetry Laboratory, Cadarache, F-13108 St-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Barbot, L.; Filliatre, P. [CEA, DEN, DER, Instrumentation Sensors and Dosimetry Laboratory, Cadarache, F-13108 St-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Hellesen, C. [Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Jammes, C. [CEA, DEN, DER, Instrumentation Sensors and Dosimetry Laboratory, Cadarache, F-13108 St-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Svärd, S. Jacobsson [Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden)

2017-07-11

Neutron flux monitoring system forms an integral part of the design of a Generation IV sodium cooled fast reactor. Diverse possibilities of detector system installation must be studied for various locations in the reactor vessel in order to detect any perturbations in the core. Results from a previous paper indicated that it is possible to detect changes in neutron source distribution initiated by an inadvertent withdrawal of outer control rod with in-vessel fission chambers located azimuthally around the core. It is, however, not possible to follow inner control rod withdrawal and precisely know the location of the perturbation in the core. Hence the use of complimentary in-core detectors coupled with the peripheral fission chambers is proposed to enable robust core monitoring across the radial direction. In this paper, we assess the feasibility of using self-powered neutron detectors (SPNDs) as in-core detectors in fast reactors for detecting local changes in the power distribution when the reactor is operated at nominal power. We study the neutron and gamma contributions to the total output current of the detector modelled with Platinum as the emitter material. It is shown that this SPND placed in an SFR-like environment would give a sufficiently measurable prompt neutron induced current of the order of 600 nA/m. The corresponding induced current in the connecting cable is two orders of magnitude lower and can be neglected. This means that the SPND can follow in-core power fluctuations. This validates the operability of an SPND in an SFR-like environment. - Highlights: • Studied possibility of using SPNDs as in-core detectors in SFRs. • Study done to detect local power profile changes when reactor is at nominal power. • SPND with a Pt-emitter gives measurable prompt current of the order of 600 nA/m. • Dominant proportion of prompt response is maintained throughout the operation. • Detector signal gives dynamic information on the power fluctuations.

Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis of the Nyírlugos obsidian core depot find

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsolt Kasztovszky

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The Nyírlugos obsidian core depot find is one of the most important lithic assemblages in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum (HNM. The original set comprised 12 giant obsidian cores, of which 11 are currently on the permanent archaeological exhibition of the HNM. One of the cores is known to be inDebrecen. The first publication attributed the hoard, on the strength of giant (flint blades known from the Early and Middle Copper Age Tiszapolgár and Bodrogkeresztúr cultures, to the Copper Age. In the light of recent finds it is more likely to belong to the Middle Neolithic period. The source area was defined as Tokaj Mts., about100 kmto the NW from Nyírlugos. The size and beauty of the exceptional pieces exclude any invasive analysis. Using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA, we can measure major chemical components and some key trace elements of stone artefacts with adequate accuracy to successfully determine provenance of obsidian. Recent methodological development also facilitated the study of relatively large objects like the Nyírlugos cores. The cores were individually measured by PGAA. The results show that the cores originate from the Carpathian 1 sources, most probably the Viničky variety (C1b. The study of the hoard as a batch is an important contribution to the assessment of prehistoric trade and allows us to reconsider the so-called Carpathian, especially Carpathian 1 (Slovakian sources.

Fabrication of Fe3O4@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

Science.gov (United States)

Rajabi, S. K.; Sohrabnezhad, Sh.; Ghafourian, S.

2016-12-01

Magnetic Fe3O4@CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe3O4@HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe3O4 core and a CuO shell. The Fe3O4@CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe3O4-CuO core-shell was investigated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent.

Hadronic Correlations and Fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koch, Volker

2008-10-09

We will provide a review of some of the physics which can be addressed by studying fluctuations and correlations in heavy ion collisions. We will discuss Lattice QCD results on fluctuations and correlations and will put them into context with observables which have been measured in heavy-ion collisions. Special attention will be given to the QCD critical point and the first order co-existence region, and we will discuss how the measurement of fluctuations and correlations can help in an experimental search for non-trivial structures in the QCD phase diagram.

40 CFR 35.6225 - Activities eligible for funding under Core Program Cooperative Agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... under a Core Program Cooperative Agreement, activities must develop and maintain a recipient's abilities... safety plans, quality assurance project plans, and community relation plans); (2) Provisions for... staff to manage publicly-funded cleanups, oversee responsible party-lead cleanups, and provide clerical...

Active control on high-order coherence and statistic characterization on random phase fluctuation of two classical point sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Peilong; Li, Liming; Liu, Jianji; Zhang, Guoquan

2016-03-29

Young's double-slit or two-beam interference is of fundamental importance to understand various interference effects, in which the stationary phase difference between two beams plays the key role in the first-order coherence. Different from the case of first-order coherence, in the high-order optical coherence the statistic behavior of the optical phase will play the key role. In this article, by employing a fundamental interfering configuration with two classical point sources, we showed that the high- order optical coherence between two classical point sources can be actively designed by controlling the statistic behavior of the relative phase difference between two point sources. Synchronous position Nth-order subwavelength interference with an effective wavelength of λ/M was demonstrated, in which λ is the wavelength of point sources and M is an integer not larger than N. Interestingly, we found that the synchronous position Nth-order interference fringe fingerprints the statistic trace of random phase fluctuation of two classical point sources, therefore, it provides an effective way to characterize the statistic properties of phase fluctuation for incoherent light sources.

Rearrangement of a polar core provides a conserved mechanism for constitutive activation of class B G protein-coupled receptors

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Yanting; de Waal, Parker W.; He, Yuanzheng; Zhao, Li-Hua; Yang, Dehua; Cai, Xiaoqing; Jiang, Yi; Melcher, Karsten; Wang, Ming-Wei; Xu, H. Eric

2017-01-01

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) belongs to the secretin-like (class B) family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and is activated by the peptide hormone glucagon. The structures of an activated class B GPCR have remained unsolved, preventing a mechanistic understanding of how these receptors are activated. Using a combination of structural modeling and mutagenesis studies, we present here two modes of ligand-independent activation of GCGR. First, we identified a GCGR-specific hydrophobic lock comprising Met-338 and Phe-345 within the IC3 loop and transmembrane helix 6 (TM6) and found that this lock stabilizes the TM6 helix in the inactive conformation. Disruption of this hydrophobic lock led to constitutive G protein and arrestin signaling. Second, we discovered a polar core comprising conserved residues in TM2, TM3, TM6, and TM7, and mutations that disrupt this polar core led to constitutive GCGR activity. On the basis of these results, we propose a mechanistic model of GCGR activation in which TM6 is held in an inactive conformation by the conserved polar core and the hydrophobic lock. Mutations that disrupt these inhibitory elements allow TM6 to swing outward to adopt an active TM6 conformation similar to that of the canonical β2-adrenergic receptor complexed with G protein and to that of rhodopsin complexed with arrestin. Importantly, mutations in the corresponding polar core of several other members of class B GPCRs, including PTH1R, PAC1R, VIP1R, and CRFR1, also induce constitutive G protein signaling, suggesting that the rearrangement of the polar core is a conserved mechanism for class B GPCR activation. PMID:28356352

Characteristics of the co-fluctuation matrix transmission network based on financial multi-time series

OpenAIRE

Huajiao Li; Haizhong An; Xiangyun Gao; Wei Fang

2015-01-01

The co-fluctuation of two time series has often been studied by analysing the correlation coefficient over a selected period. However, in both domestic and global financial markets, there are more than two active time series that fluctuate constantly as a result of various factors, including geographic locations, information communications and so on. In addition to correlation relationships over longer periods, daily co-fluctuation relationships and their transmission features are also import...

CORE MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING THE CLEAN AND JERK LIFT WITH BARBELL VERSUS SANDBAGS AND WATER BAGS.

Science.gov (United States)

Calatayud, Joaquin; Colado, Juan C; Martin, Fernando; Casaña, José; Jakobsen, Markus D; Andersen, Lars L

2015-11-01

While the traditional clean and jerk maneuver implies simultaneous participation of a large number of muscle groups, the use of this exercise with some variations to enhance core muscle activity remains uninvestigated. The purpose of this study was to compare the muscle activity during clean and jerk lift when performed with a barbell, sandbag and a water bag at same absolute load. Descriptive, repeated-measures study. Twenty-one young fit male university students (age: 25 ± 2.66 years; height: 180.71 ± 5.42 cm; body mass: 80.32 ± 9.8 kg; body fat percentage: 12.41 ± 3.56 %) participated. Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from the anterior deltoid (AD), external oblique (OBLIQ), lumbar erector spinae (LUMB), and gluteus medius (GM) and were expressed as a percentage of the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). There were no significantly significant differences for AD muscle activity between conditions, whereas muscle activation values for OBLIQ (60%MVIC), GM (29%MVIC) and LUMB (85%MVIC) were significantly higher during the water bag power clean and jerk maneuver when compared with the other conditions. The clean and jerk is an exercise that may be used to enhance core muscle activity. Performing the maneuver with water bags resulted in higher core muscle activity compared with sandbag and standard barbell versions. 3.

The Lifetimes and Evolution of Molecular Cloud Cores

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Semadeni, Enrique; Kim, Jongsoo; Shadmehri, Mohsen; Ballesteros-Paredes, Javier

2005-01-01

We discuss the lifetimes and evolution of clumps and cores formed as turbulent density fluctuations in nearly isothermal molecular clouds. In order to maintain a broad perspective, we consider both the magnetic and nonmagnetic cases. In the latter, we argue that clumps are unlikely to reach a hydrostatic state if molecular clouds can in general be described as single-phase media with an effective polytropic exponent γecriticality of their ``parent clouds'' (the numerical boxes). In subcritical boxes, magnetostatic clumps do not form. A minority of moderately gravitationally bound clumps form, which however are dispersed by the turbulence in ~1.3 Myr, suggesting that these few longer lived cores can marginally be ``captured'' by AD to increase their mass-to-flux ratio and eventually collapse, although on timescales not significantly longer than the dynamical ones. In supercritical boxes, some cores manage to become locally supercritical and collapse in typical timescales of 2 tfc (~1 Myr). In the most supercritical simulation, a few longer lived cores are observed, which last for up to ~3 Myr, but these end up re-expanding rather than collapsing, because they are sub-Jeans in spite of being supercritical. Fewer clumps and cores form in these simulations than in their nonmagnetic counterpart. Our results suggest the following: (1) not all cores observed in molecular clouds will necessarily form stars and that a class of ``failed cores'' should exist, which will eventually redisperse and which may be related to the observed starless cores; (2) cores may be out-of-equilibrium, transient structures, rather than quasi-magnetostatic configurations; (3) the magnetic field may help reduce the star formation efficiency by reducing the probability of core formation, rather than by significantly delaying the collapse of individual cores, even in magnetically supercritical clouds.

Monitoring of core barrel vibrations in WWER type reactor using out-of-reactor ionization chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dach, K.

1982-01-01

Vibration of the core barrel is least desirable for safe operation of the PWR reactor. These mechanical vibrations are in correlation with the fluctuations of neutron flux density whose time and frequency analysis serves failure diagnosis. The mathematical model is described of the transfer of mechanical vibrations of the core barrel to neutron noise. Other steps are indicated indispensable for the application of the method of neutron noise analysis for in-service diagnostics of nuclear power plants. (Z.M.)

Fluctuating ideal-gas lattice Boltzmann method with fluctuation dissipation theorem for nonvanishing velocities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaehler, G; Wagner, A J

2013-06-01

Current implementations of fluctuating ideal-gas descriptions with the lattice Boltzmann methods are based on a fluctuation dissipation theorem, which, while greatly simplifying the implementation, strictly holds only for zero mean velocity and small fluctuations. We show how to derive the fluctuation dissipation theorem for all k, which was done only for k=0 in previous derivations. The consistent derivation requires, in principle, locally velocity-dependent multirelaxation time transforms. Such an implementation is computationally prohibitively expensive but, with a small computational trick, it is feasible to reproduce the correct FDT without overhead in computation time. It is then shown that the previous standard implementations perform poorly for non vanishing mean velocity as indicated by violations of Galilean invariance of measured structure factors. Results obtained with the method introduced here show a significant reduction of the Galilean invariance violations.

Fluctuations in Schottky barrier heights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahan, G.D.

1984-01-01

A double Schottky barrier is often formed at the grain boundary in polycrystalline semiconductors. The barrier height is shown to fluctuate in value due to the random nature of the impurity positions. The magnitude of the fluctuations is 0.1 eV, and the fluctuations cause the barrier height measured by capacitance to differ from the one measured by electrical conductivity

Measurement of the internal magnetic fluctuation by the transport of runaways on J-TEXT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Z. Y., E-mail: zychen@hust.edu.cn; Huang, D. W.; Tong, R. H.; Yan, W.; Wei, Y. N.; Ma, T. K.; Jiang, Z. H.; Zhang, X. Q.; Chen, Z. P.; Yang, Z. J.; Zhuang, G. [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

2016-11-15

The measurement of internal magnetic fluctuation is important for the study of transport in tokamak plasmas. The runaway electron transport induced by the sawtooth crash can be used to obtain the internal magnetic fluctuation. Inversed sawtooth-like activities on hard x-ray (HXR) fluxes following sawtooth activities were observed after the application of electrode biasing on J-TEXT tokamak. The runaway diffusion coefficient D{sub r} is deduced to be about 30 m{sup 2}/s according to the time delay of HXR flux peaks to the sawtooth crashes. The averaged value of normalized magnetic fluctuation in the discharges with electrode biasing was increased to the order of 1 × 10{sup −4}.

Fully Quantum Fluctuation Theorems

Science.gov (United States)

Åberg, Johan

2018-02-01

Systems that are driven out of thermal equilibrium typically dissipate random quantities of energy on microscopic scales. Crooks fluctuation theorem relates the distribution of these random work costs to the corresponding distribution for the reverse process. By an analysis that explicitly incorporates the energy reservoir that donates the energy and the control system that implements the dynamic, we obtain a quantum generalization of Crooks theorem that not only includes the energy changes in the reservoir but also the full description of its evolution, including coherences. Moreover, this approach opens up the possibility for generalizations of the concept of fluctuation relations. Here, we introduce "conditional" fluctuation relations that are applicable to nonequilibrium systems, as well as approximate fluctuation relations that allow for the analysis of autonomous evolution generated by global time-independent Hamiltonians. We furthermore extend these notions to Markovian master equations, implicitly modeling the influence of the heat bath.

Curvature of fluctuation geometry and its implications on Riemannian fluctuation theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velazquez, L

2013-01-01

Fluctuation geometry was recently proposed as a counterpart approach of the Riemannian geometry of inference theory (widely known as information geometry). This theory describes the geometric features of the statistical manifold M of random events that are described by a family of continuous distributions dp(x|θ). A main goal of this work is to clarify the statistical relevance of the Levi-Civita curvature tensor R ijkl (x|θ) of the statistical manifold M. For this purpose, the notion of irreducible statistical correlations is introduced. Specifically, a distribution dp(x|θ) exhibits irreducible statistical correlations if every distribution dp(x-check|θ) obtained from dp(x|θ) by considering a coordinate change x-check = φ(x) cannot be factorized into independent distributions as dp(x-check|θ) = prod i dp (i) (x-check i |θ). It is shown that the curvature tensor R ijkl (x|θ) arises as a direct indicator about the existence of irreducible statistical correlations. Moreover, the curvature scalar R(x|θ) allows us to introduce a criterium for the applicability of the Gaussian approximation of a given distribution function. This type of asymptotic result is obtained in the framework of the second-order geometric expansion of the distribution family dp(x|θ), which appears as a counterpart development of the high-order asymptotic theory of statistical estimation. In physics, fluctuation geometry represents the mathematical apparatus of a Riemannian extension for Einstein’s fluctuation theory of statistical mechanics. Some exact results of fluctuation geometry are now employed to derive the invariant fluctuation theorems. Moreover, the curvature scalar allows us to express some asymptotic formulae that account for the system fluctuating behavior beyond the Gaussian approximation, e.g.: it appears as a second-order correction of the Legendre transformation between thermodynamic potentials, P(θ)=θ i x-bar i -s( x-bar |θ)+k 2 R(x|θ)/6. (paper)

Net charge fluctuations and local charge compensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Jinghua

2006-01-01

We propose net charge fluctuation as a measure of local charge correlation length. It is demonstrated that, in terms of a schematic multiperipheral model, net charge fluctuation satisfies the same Quigg-Thomas relation as satisfied by charge transfer fluctuation. Net charge fluctuations measured in finite rapidity windows depend on both the local charge correlation length and the size of the observation window. When the observation window is larger than the local charge correlation length, the net charge fluctuation only depends on the local charge correlation length, while forward-backward charge fluctuations always have strong dependence on the observation window size. Net charge fluctuations and forward-backward charge fluctuations measured in the present heavy ion experiments show characteristic features similar to those from multiperipheral models. But the data cannot all be understood within this simple model

α-Glucosidase inhibitor miglitol attenuates glucose fluctuation, heart rate variability and sympathetic activity in patients with type 2 diabetes and acute coronary syndrome: a multicenter randomized controlled (MACS) study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimabukuro, Michio; Tanaka, Atsushi; Sata, Masataka; Dai, Kazuoki; Shibata, Yoshisato; Inoue, Yohei; Ikenaga, Hiroki; Kishimoto, Shinji; Ogasawara, Kozue; Takashima, Akira; Niki, Toshiyuki; Arasaki, Osamu; Oshiro, Koichi; Mori, Yutaka; Ishihara, Masaharu; Node, Koichi

2017-07-06

Little is known about clinical associations between glucose fluctuations including hypoglycemia, heart rate variability (HRV), and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in patients with acute phase of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This pilot study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of glucose fluctuations on HRV and SNS activity in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with recent ACS. We also examined the effect of suppressing glucose fluctuations with miglitol on these variables. This prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint, multicenter, parallel-group comparative study included 39 T2DM patients with recent ACS, who were randomly assigned to either a miglitol group (n = 19) or a control group (n = 20). After initial 24-h Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) (Day 1), miglitol was commenced and another 24-h Holter ECG (Day 2) was recorded. In addition, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) was performed throughout the Holter ECG. Although frequent episodes of subclinical hypoglycemia (≤4.44 mmo/L) during CGM were observed on Day 1 in the both groups (35% of patients in the control group and 31% in the miglitol group), glucose fluctuations were decreased and the minimum glucose level was increased with substantial reduction in the episodes of subclinical hypoglycemia to 7.7% in the miglitol group on Day 2. Holter ECG showed that the mean and maximum heart rate and mean LF/HF were increased on Day 2 in the control group, and these increases were attenuated by miglitol. When divided 24-h time periods into day-time (0700-1800 h), night-time (1800-0000 h), and bed-time (0000-0700 h), we found increased SNS activity during day-time, increased maximum heart rate during night-time, and glucose fluctuations during bed-time, which were attenuated by miglitol treatment. In T2DM patients with recent ACS, glucose fluctuations with subclinical hypoglycemia were associated with alterations of HRV and SNS activity, which were mitigated by

[Concentrations and Distribution of Metals in the Core Sediments from Estuary and City Section of Liaohe River].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei-jie; Zhou, Jun-li; Pei, Shu-wei; Liu, Zheng-tao

2016-01-15

The particle size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratio and metal concentrations as well as activities of 210Pb were determined in Liaohe River estuary area (LN-2) and Shenyang area (LN-5), and the organic matter resources were discussed in two core sediments. Also the index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) and enrichment factors (EFs) methods were applied to evaluate the state of heavy metal contamination in the studied sties. The study showed that both sediment cores LN-2 and LN-5 were dominated by silts, and the vertical variations of grain-size composition and organic matter were well distributed in LN- 2 while fluctuated in LN-5. According to the organic matter source analysis through C/N ratio, C/N ratio varied in the scale of 5. 24-7.93 in LN-2 which was dominated by river source, and 9.94-14.21 in LN-5 which was dominated by terrestrial input. Al, Ca, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr in two sediment cores had different vertical changing rules, Ni and Zn in LN-2 as well as Pb and Zn in LN-5 were affected by both natural and human factors, other elements had similar distributions to those of organic matters, which showed that these elements were mainly affected by the natural activities. Based on Igeo and EFs, both sediment cores were more severely polluted with Ni, Zn and Pb than other metals. The effects of human activities on the environment were also discussed in this study, combined with the economical development of Liaoning Province and the studied sites in the past 20 years.

Does stress affect the joints? Daily stressors, stress vulnerability, immune and HPA axis activity, and short-term disease and symptom fluctuations in rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evers, A.W.M.; Verhoeven, E.W.M.; Middendorp, H. van; Sweep, F.C.; Kraaimaat, F.W.; Donders, A.R.T.; Eijsbouts, A.E.; Laarhoven, A.I.M. van; Brouwer, S.J.M. de; Wirken, L.; Radstake, T.R.D.J.; Riel, P.L.C.M. van

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Both stressors and stress vulnerability factors together with immune and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity components have been considered to contribute to disease fluctuations of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present

Quantum fluctuations and inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bardeen, J.M.; Bublik, G.J.

1986-05-01

We study the effect of quantum fluctuations on the roll-down rate of the inflation field in a semiclassical approximation; this is done by treating the inflation field as a classical random field. The quantum fluctuations are simulated by a noise term in the equation of motion. We consider two different inflationary scenarios (new and chaotic inflation) and find that the roll-down rate of the median value of the inflation field is increased by the quantum fluctuations. Non-linear effects may become important in the later stages of the inflationary regime. 8 refs., 2 figs

Quantum fluctuations and inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bardeen, J.M.; Bublik, G.J.

1987-01-01

The authors study the effect of quantum fluctuations on the roll-down rate of the inflation field in a semiclassical approximation; this is done by treating the inflation field as a classical random field. The quantum fluctuations are simulated by a noise term in the equation of motion. Two different inflationary scenarios (new and chaotic inflation) are considered and it is found that the roll-down rate of the median value of the inflation field is increased by the quantum fluctuations. Non-linear effects may become important in the later stages of the inflationary regime. (author)

Current density fluctuations and ambipolarity of transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, W.; Dexter, R.N.; Prager, S.C.

1991-10-01

The fluctuation in the plasma current density is measured in the MIST reversed field pinch experiment. Such fluctuations, and the measured radial profile of the k spectrum of magnetic fluctuations, supports the view and that low frequency fluctuations (f r >) demonstrates that radial particle transport from particle motion parallel to a fluctuating magnetic field is ambipolar over the full frequency range

Plasma fluctuation measurements in tokamaks using beam-plasma interactions (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonck, R.J.; Duperrex, P.A.; Paul, S.F.

1990-01-01

High-frequency observations of light emitted from the interactions between plasma ions and injected neutral beam atoms allow the measurement of moderate-wavelength fluctuations in plasma and impurity ion densities. To detect turbulence in the local plasma ion density, the collisionally excited fluorescence from a neutral beam is measured either separately at several spatial points or with a multichannel imaging detector. Similarly, the role of impurity ion density fluctuations is measured using charge exchange recombination excited transitions emitted by the ion species of interest. This technique can access the relatively unexplored region of long-wavelength plasma turbulence with k perpendicular ρ i much-lt 1, and hence complements measurements from scattering experiments. Optimization of neutral beam geometry and optical sightlines can result in very good localization and resolution (Δx≤1 cm) in the hot plasma core region. The detectable fluctuation level is determined by photon statistics, atomic excitation processes, and beam stability, but can be as low as 0.2% in a 100 kHz bandwidth over the 0--1 MHz frequency range. The choices of beam species (e.g., H 0 , He 0 , etc.), observed transition (e.g., H α , L α , He I singlet or triplet transitions, C VI Δn=1, etc.) are dictated by experiment-specific factors such as optical access, flexibility of beam operation, plasma conditions, and detailed experimental goals. Initial tests on the PBX-M tokamak using the H α emissions from a heating neutral beam show low-frequency turbulence in the edge plasma region

The Spectrum of Wind Power Fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Bandi, Mahesh

2016-11-01

Wind is a variable energy source whose fluctuations threaten electrical grid stability and complicate dynamical load balancing. The power generated by a wind turbine fluctuates due to the variable wind speed that blows past the turbine. Indeed, the spectrum of wind power fluctuations is widely believed to reflect the Kolmogorov spectrum; both vary with frequency f as f - 5 / 3. This variability decreases when aggregate power fluctuations from geographically distributed wind farms are averaged at the grid via a mechanism known as geographic smoothing. Neither the f - 5 / 3 wind power fluctuation spectrum nor the mechanism of geographic smoothing are understood. In this work, we explain the wind power fluctuation spectrum from the turbine through grid scales. The f - 5 / 3 wind power fluctuation spectrum results from the largest length scales of atmospheric turbulence of order 200 km influencing the small scales where individual turbines operate. This long-range influence spatially couples geographically distributed wind farms and synchronizes farm outputs over a range of frequencies and decreases with increasing inter-farm distance. Consequently, aggregate grid-scale power fluctuations remain correlated, and are smoothed until they reach a limiting f - 7 / 3 spectrum. This work was funded by the Collective Interactions Unit, OIST Graduate University, Japan.

Rearrangement of a polar core provides a conserved mechanism for constitutive activation of class B G protein-coupled receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Yanting; de Waal, Parker W; He, Yuanzheng; Zhao, Li-Hua; Yang, Dehua; Cai, Xiaoqing; Jiang, Yi; Melcher, Karsten; Wang, Ming-Wei; Xu, H Eric

2017-06-16

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) belongs to the secretin-like (class B) family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and is activated by the peptide hormone glucagon. The structures of an activated class B GPCR have remained unsolved, preventing a mechanistic understanding of how these receptors are activated. Using a combination of structural modeling and mutagenesis studies, we present here two modes of ligand-independent activation of GCGR. First, we identified a GCGR-specific hydrophobic lock comprising Met-338 and Phe-345 within the IC3 loop and transmembrane helix 6 (TM6) and found that this lock stabilizes the TM6 helix in the inactive conformation. Disruption of this hydrophobic lock led to constitutive G protein and arrestin signaling. Second, we discovered a polar core comprising conserved residues in TM2, TM3, TM6, and TM7, and mutations that disrupt this polar core led to constitutive GCGR activity. On the basis of these results, we propose a mechanistic model of GCGR activation in which TM6 is held in an inactive conformation by the conserved polar core and the hydrophobic lock. Mutations that disrupt these inhibitory elements allow TM6 to swing outward to adopt an active TM6 conformation similar to that of the canonical β 2 -adrenergic receptor complexed with G protein and to that of rhodopsin complexed with arrestin. Importantly, mutations in the corresponding polar core of several other members of class B GPCRs, including PTH1R, PAC1R, VIP1R, and CRFR1, also induce constitutive G protein signaling, suggesting that the rearrangement of the polar core is a conserved mechanism for class B GPCR activation. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Interplanetary Alfvenic fluctuations: A stochastic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, A.

1981-01-01

The strong alignment of the average directions of minimum magnetic variance and mean magnetic field in interplanetary Alfvenic fluctuations is inconsistent with the usual wave-propagation models. We investigate the concept of minimum variance for nonplanar Alfvenic fluctuations in which the field direction varies stochastically. It is found that the tendency of the minimum variance and mean field directions to be aligned may be purely a consequence of the randomness of the field direction. In particular, a well-defined direction of minimum variance does not imply that the fluctuations are necessarily planar. The fluctuation power spectrum is a power law for frequencies much higher than the inverse of the correlation time. The probability distribution of directions a randomly fluctuating field of constant magnitude is calculated. A new approach for observational studies of interplanetary fluctuations is suggested

Core localized toroidal Alfven eigenmodes destabilized by energetic ions in the CHS heliotron/torsatron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takechi, M.; Matsunaga, G.; Takagi, S.

1999-09-01

Toroidal Alfven eigenmodes (TAE) destabilized by the pressure gradient of energetic alpha particles may expel the alpha particles before thermalization. TAE is important for tokamaks, and for helical systems (stellarators) as well. In CHS (compact helical system) TAE localized in the plasma core are destabilized when the plasma current is induced by co-injection of neutral beams. The observed TAE exhibits a ballooning nature. The internal structure of TAE was measured with a soft X-ray detector. The soft X-ray fluctuations level for TAE is too low to obtain the radial profiles of fluctuation intensities. (Tanaka, M.)

Long time-scale fluctuations in the evolution of the Earth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCrea, W.H.

1981-01-01

Current knowledge about certain terrestrial phenomena is reviewed: (a) to discover the extent to which the behaviour of the Earth may be influenced by fluctuations in its astronomical environment and (b) to see if new knowledge of that environment may be gained from its influence on the Earth. Fluctuations in geomagnetism, climate, glaciation, biological extinctions etc. are surveyed with special regard to datings and characteristic time-intervals; correlations between such fluctuations are discussed. Astronomical phenomena, within the Solar System and elsewhere in the Galaxy, that might cause terrestrial effects are reviewed. Fluctuations of glaciation within an ice-epoch may result from changes of insolation accompanying fluctuations of the Earth's motion relative to the Sun. Some evidence suggests that an ice-epoch may be triggered by variations of the astronomical environment encountered in the Sun's motion relative to the Galaxy; but tectonic changes on Earth may be the main trigger. Impacts of planetesimals may be more important than hitherto recognized. Although the intensity of solar 'activity' is variable, terrestrial effects provide no confirmation that the Sun is a 'variable star'. As for the Galaxy, impacting planetesimals may originate in interstellar clouds, and so provide on Earth samples of interstellar matter. Some unsolved problems emphasized by the review are listed. (U.K.)

A theory of power-law distributions in financial market fluctuations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabaix, Xavier; Gopikrishnan, Parameswaran; Plerou, Vasiliki; Stanley, H Eugene

2003-05-15

Insights into the dynamics of a complex system are often gained by focusing on large fluctuations. For the financial system, huge databases now exist that facilitate the analysis of large fluctuations and the characterization of their statistical behaviour. Power laws appear to describe histograms of relevant financial fluctuations, such as fluctuations in stock price, trading volume and the number of trades. Surprisingly, the exponents that characterize these power laws are similar for different types and sizes of markets, for different market trends and even for different countries--suggesting that a generic theoretical basis may underlie these phenomena. Here we propose a model, based on a plausible set of assumptions, which provides an explanation for these empirical power laws. Our model is based on the hypothesis that large movements in stock market activity arise from the trades of large participants. Starting from an empirical characterization of the size distribution of those large market participants (mutual funds), we show that the power laws observed in financial data arise when the trading behaviour is performed in an optimal way. Our model additionally explains certain striking empirical regularities that describe the relationship between large fluctuations in prices, trading volume and the number of trades.

Long time-scale fluctuations in the evolution of the Earth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCrea, W H [Sussex Univ., Brighton (UK). Astronomy Centre

1981-02-18

Current knowledge about certain terrestrial phenomena is reviewed: (a) to discover the extent to which the behaviour of the Earth may be influenced by fluctuations in its astronomical environment and (b) to see if new knowledge of that environment may be gained from its influence on the Earth. Fluctuations in geomagnetism, climate, glaciation, biological extinctions etc. are surveyed with special regard to datings and characteristic time-intervals; correlations between such fluctuations are discussed. Astronomical phenomena, within the Solar System and elsewhere in the Galaxy, that might cause terrestrial effects are reviewed. Fluctuations of glaciation within an ice-epoch may result from changes of insolation accompanying fluctuations of the Earth's motion relative to the Sun. Some evidence suggests that an ice-epoch may be triggered by variations of the astronomical environment encountered in the Sun's motion relative to the Galaxy; but tectonic changes on Earth may be the main trigger. Impacts of planetesimals may be more important than hitherto recognized. Although the intensity of solar 'activity' is variable, terrestrial effects provide no confirmation that the Sun is a 'variable star'. As for the Galaxy, impacting planetesimals may originate in interstellar clouds, and so provide on Earth samples of interstellar matter. Some unsolved problems emphasized by the review are listed.

Measurement of two-phase flow variables in a BWR by analysis of in-core neutron detector noise signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stekelenburg, A.J.C.; Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der

1996-01-01

In this paper, the state of the art of the measurement of two-phase flow variables in a boiling water reactor (BWR) by analysis of in-core neutron detector noise signals is given. It is concluded that the neutronic processes involved in neutron noise are quite well understood, but that little is known about the density fluctuations in two-phase flow which are the main cause of the neutron noise. For this reason, the neutron noise measurements, like the well known two-detector velocity measurements, are still difficult to interpret. By analyzing neutron noise measurements in a natural circulation cooled BWR, it is illustrated that, once a theory on the density fluctuations is developed, two-phase flow can be monitored with a single in-core detector. (author). 70 refs, 4 figs

Topics in fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milner, S.T.

1986-01-01

Models of fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamics have enjoyed much success in explaining the effect of long-wavelength fluctuations in diverse hydrodynamic systems. This thesis explores two such problems; in both, the body of hydrodynamic assumptions powerfully constrains the predictions of a well-posed theory. The effects of layer fluctuations in smectic-A liquid crystals are first examined. The static theory (introduced by Grinstein and Pelcovits) is reviewed. Ward identities, resulting from the arbitrariness of the layering direction, are derived and exploited. The static results motivate an examination of dynamic fluctuation effects. A new sound-damping experiment is proposed that would probe singular dependence of viscosities on applied stress. A theory of Procaccia and Gitterman that reaction rates of chemically reacting binary mixtures are drastically reduced near their thermodynamic critical points is analyzed. Hydrodynamic arguments and Van Hove theory are applied, concluding that the PG idea is drastically slowed, and spatially varying composition fluctuations are at best slowed down over a narrow range of wavenumbers

BWR core response to fluctuations in coolant flow and pressure, with implications on noise diagnosis and stability monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomstrand, J.H.; Andersson, S.A.

1982-01-01

Reactor dynamic tests, utilizing sinuosidal oscillations in pressure and recirculation flow, have been conducted in operating BWRs in Sweden and Finland. Test data recorded, as well as recordings of process noise, have been analyzed in terms of dynamic core properties. The results obtained show good qualitative agreement with model predictions of BWR core dynamics. Model studies can often support interpretation of dynamic information obtained from operating plants. Comparisons between model studies, dynamic tests and process noise may also provide improved understanding of test results and noise patterns; in this way it can be demonstrated that some neutron flux noise is caused by noise in coolant flow and steam flow. From reactor test data nd noise recordings, core stability parameters have been evaluated by a number of methods. These have been found to provide essentially the same results. The cores investigated were found to be very stable under normal operating conditions. In special operating points, outside the normal operating range, higher decay ratios may occur. The experience indicates that for BWR cores, operated at decay ratios above quarter damping, the stability parameters may be identified from the oscillatory behavior of the autocorrelation in the time domain of the neutron flux noise

Principle of minimal work fluctuations.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Gaoyang; Gong, Jiangbin

2015-08-01

Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, in considering the Jarzynski equality 〈e-βW〉=e-βΔF, a change in the fluctuations of e-βW may impact how rapidly the statistical average of e-βW converges towards the theoretical value e-βΔF, where W is the work, β is the inverse temperature, and ΔF is the free energy difference between two equilibrium states. Motivated by our previous study aiming at the suppression of work fluctuations, here we obtain a principle of minimal work fluctuations. In brief, adiabatic processes as treated in quantum and classical adiabatic theorems yield the minimal fluctuations in e-βW. In the quantum domain, if a system initially prepared at thermal equilibrium is subjected to a work protocol but isolated from a bath during the time evolution, then a quantum adiabatic process without energy level crossing (or an assisted adiabatic process reaching the same final states as in a conventional adiabatic process) yields the minimal fluctuations in e-βW, where W is the quantum work defined by two energy measurements at the beginning and at the end of the process. In the classical domain where the classical work protocol is realizable by an adiabatic process, then the classical adiabatic process also yields the minimal fluctuations in e-βW. Numerical experiments based on a Landau-Zener process confirm our theory in the quantum domain, and our theory in the classical domain explains our previous numerical findings regarding the suppression of classical work fluctuations [G. Y. Xiao and J. B. Gong, Phys. Rev. E 90, 052132 (2014)].

Antimicrobial active silver nanoparticles and silver/polystyrene core-shell nanoparticles prepared in room-temperature ionic liquid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An Jing; Wang Desong; Luo Qingzhi; Yuan Xiaoyan

2009-01-01

Uniform silver nanoparticles and silver/polystyrene core-shell nanoparticles were successfully synthesized in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM].BF 4 ). [BMIM].BF 4 plays a protective role to prevent the nanoparticles from aggregation during the preparation process. Transmission electron micrographs confirm that both silver nanoparticles and core-shell nanoparticles are regular spheres with the sizes in the range of 5-15 nm and 15-25 nm, respectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the face-centered cubic geometry of silver nanoparticles. The as-prepared nanoparticles were also characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, antimicrobial activities against E. coli and S. aureus were studied and the results show that both silver nanoparticles and core-shell nanoparticles possess excellent antimicrobial activities. The antimicrobial mechanism of the as-prepared nanoparticles was discussed.

Fluctuations in work motivation: tasks do not matter!

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Jose; Curioso, Fernando; Gomes, Duarte; Arrieta, Carlos; Cortes, Mauricio

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown that work motivation fluctuates considerably and in a nonlinear way over time. In the present research, we are interested in studying if the task at hand does or does not influence the presence of these fluctuations. We gathered daily registers from 69 workers during 21 consecutive working days (7036 registers) of task developed and levels of motivation, self-efficacy beliefs and instrumentalities perception. These registers were then categorized into a list of labor activities in main tasks and subtasks by means of three judges with a high level of agreement (97.47% for tasks, and 98.64% for subtasks). Taking the MSSD statistic (mean squared successive difference) of the average of motivation, self-efficacy and instrumentality, and using hierarchical regression analysis we have found that tasks (beta = .03; p = .188) and subtasks (beta = .10; p = .268) do not affect the presence of fluctuations in motivation. These results reveal instability in work motivation independently from the tasks and subtasks that the workers do. We proceed to find that fluctuations in work motivation show a fractal structure across the different tasks we do in a working day. Implications of these results to motivational theory will be discussed as well as possible explanations (e.g. the influence of affect in work motivation) and directions for future research are provided.

One-pot synthesis of Pd-Pt@Pd core-shell nanocrystals with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Qiang

2014-01-01

Well-defined Pd-Pt@Pd core-shell nanocrystals with a Pd-Pt alloy core and a conformal Pd shell of ~2-3 nm were directly synthesized through a one-pot, aqueous solution approach without any preformed Pd or Pt seeds. These Pd-Pt@Pd core-shell nanocrystals show an enhanced electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation compared with commercial Pd black. This journal is © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

RF current drive and plasma fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peysson, Yves; Decker, Joan; Morini, L; Coda, S

2011-01-01

The role played by electron density fluctuations near the plasma edge on rf current drive in tokamaks is assessed quantitatively. For this purpose, a general framework for incorporating density fluctuations in existing modelling tools has been developed. It is valid when rf power absorption takes place far from the fluctuating region of the plasma. The ray-tracing formalism is modified in order to take into account time-dependent perturbations of the density, while the Fokker–Planck solver remains unchanged. The evolution of the electron distribution function in time and space under the competing effects of collisions and quasilinear diffusion by rf waves is determined consistently with the time scale of fluctuations described as a statistical process. Using the ray-tracing code C3PO and the 3D linearized relativistic bounce-averaged Fokker–Planck solver LUKE, the effect of electron density fluctuations on the current driven by the lower hybrid (LH) and the electron cyclotron (EC) waves is estimated quantitatively. A thin fluctuating layer characterized by electron drift wave turbulence at the plasma edge is considered. The effect of fluctuations on the LH wave propagation is equivalent to a random scattering process with a broadening of the poloidal mode spectrum proportional to the level of the perturbation. However, in the multipass regime, the LH current density profile remains sensitive to the ray chaotic behaviour, which is not averaged by fluctuations. The effect of large amplitude fluctuations on the EC driven current is found to be similar to an anomalous radial transport of the fast electrons. The resulting lower current drive efficiency and broader current profile are in better agreement with experimental observations. Finally, applied to the ITER ELMy H-mode regime, the model predicts a significant broadening of the EC driven current density profile with the fluctuation level, which can make the stabilization of neoclassical tearing mode potentially

Initial state fluctuations and final state correlations: status and open questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adare, Andrew; Luzum, Matthew; Petersen, Hannah

2013-01-01

The recent appreciation of the importance of event-by-event fluctuations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions has lead to a large amount of diverse theoretical and experimental activity. In particular, there is significant interest in understanding the fluctuations in the initial stage of a collision, how exactly these fluctuations are propagated through the system evolution, and how they are manifested in correlations between measured particles. In order to address these questions a workshop was organized on ‘initial state fluctuations and final state correlations’, held at ECT* in Trento, Italy during the week of 2–6 July 2012. The goal was to collect recent work in order to provide a coherent picture of the current status of our understanding, to identify important questions that remain open, and to set a course for future research. Here we report the outcome of the presentations and discussions, focusing on the most important conclusions. (comment)

Neutrino propagation in a fluctuating sun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, C.P.; Michaud, D.

1997-01-01

We adapt to neutrino physics a general formulation for particle propagation in fluctuating media, initially developed for applications to electromagnetism and neutron optics. In leading approximation this formalism leads to the usual MSW effective Hamiltonian governing neutrino propagation through a medium. Next-to-leading contributions describe deviations from this description, which arise due to neutrino interactions with fluctuations in the medium. We compute these corrections for two types of fluctuations: (i) microscopic thermal fluctuations and (ii) macroscopic fluctuations in the medium s density. While the first of these reproduces standard estimates, which are negligible for applications to solar neutrinos, we find that the second can be quite large, since it grows in size with the correlation length of the fluctuation. We consider two models in some detail. For fluctuations whose correlations extend only over a local region in space of length l, appreciable effects for MSW oscillations arise if (δn/n) 2 l approx-gt 100m or so. Alternatively, a crude model of helioseismic p-waves gives appreciable effects only when (δn/n)approx-gt 1%. In general the dominant effect is to diminish the quality of the resonance, making the suppression of the 7 Be neutrinos a good experimental probe of fluctuations deep within the sun. Fluctuations can also provide a new mechanism for reducing the solar neutrino flux, giving an energy-independent suppression factor of 1/2 away from the resonant region, even for small vacuum mixing angles. copyright 1997 Academic Press, Inc

Thermal interaction of the core and the mantle and long-term behavior of the geomagnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, G. M.

1977-01-01

The effects of temperature changes at the earth's core-mantle boundary on the velocity field of the core are analyzed. It is assumed that the geomagnetic field is maintained by thermal convection in the outer core. A model for the thermal interaction of the core and the mantle is presented which is consistent with current views on the presence of heat sources in the core and the properties of the lower mantle. Significant long-term variations in the frequency of geomagnetic reversals may be the result of fluctuating temperatures at the core-mantle boundary, caused by intermittent convection in the lower mantle. The thermal structure of the lower mantle region D double prime, extending from 2700 to 2900 km in depth, constitutes an important test of this hypothesis and offers a means of deciding whether the geomagnetic dynamo is thermally driven.

Electrostatic fluctuation and fluctuation-induced particle flux during formation of the edge transport barrier in the JFT-2M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ido, T.; Hamada, Y.; Nagashima, Y.; Nishizawa, A.; Kawasumi, Y.; Miura, Y.; Hoshino, K.; Ogawa, H.; Shinohara, K.; Kamiya, K.; Kusama, Y.

2005-01-01

The electrostatic fluctuation with Geodesic-Acoustic-Mode (GAM) frequency is observed in L-mode plasmas. The fluctuation has the poloidal wave number (k θ ) of (-2 ± 24) x 10 -3 (cm -1 ), that corresponds to the poloidal mode number of 1.5 or less, and the radial wave number (k r ) of 0.94 ± 0.05 (cm -1 ), that is corresponds to k r ρ i = 0.26 < 1. The amplitude of the fluctuation changes in the radial direction; it is small near the separatrix and it has maximum at 3 cm inside the separatrix. The relation between the amplitude of potential fluctuation and that of density fluctuation is the same as that of the predicted GAM. The fluctuation is probably GAM. The envelope of ambient density fluctuation and the potential fluctuation have a significant coherence at the GAM frequency. Thus, it is clearly verified that the fluctuation with the GAM frequency correlates with the ambient density fluctuation. The fluctuation with the GAM frequency affects the particle transport through the modulation of the ambient fluctuation. But the effect is not large, and it is not a sufficient condition to form the edge transport barrier and to drive the intermittent particle flux. (author)

Electrostatic fluctuation and fluctuation-induced particle flux during formation of the edge transport barrier in the JFT-2M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ido, T.; Miura, K.; Hoshino, K.

2005-01-01

The electrostatic fluctuation with Geodesic-Acoustic-Mode (GAM) frequency is observed in L-mode plasmas. The fluctuation has the poloidal wave number (k θ ) of (-2 ± 24) x 10 -3 (cm -1 ), that corresponds to the poloidal mode number of 1.5 or less, and the radial wave number (k γ ) of 0.94±0.05 (cm -1 ), that is corresponds to k γ ρ i =0.26 < 1. The amplitude of the fluctuation changes in the radial direction; it is small near the separatrix and it has maximum at 3 cm inside the separatrix. The relation between the amplitude of potential fluctuation and that of density fluctuation is the same as that of the predicted GAM. The fluctuation is probably GAM. The envelope of ambient density fluctuation and the potential fluctuation have a significant coherence at the GAM frequency. Thus, it is clearly verified that the fluctuation with the GAM frequency correlates with the ambient density fluctuation. The fluctuation with the GAM frequency affects the particle transport through the modulation of the ambient fluctuation. But the effect is not large, and it is not a sufficient condition to form the edge transport barrier and to drive the intermittent particle flux. (author)

Fluctuation analysis of rotational spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doessing, T.; Bracco, A.; Broglia, R.A.; Matsuo, M.

1996-01-01

The compound state rotational degree of freedom is ''damped'' in the sense that the electric quadrupole decay of a single quantum state with angular momentum I exhibits a spectrum of final states all having spin I-2. In actual experiments, the cascade of γ-rays associated with each of the members of the ensemble of compound nuclei uses each of the ''discrete'' transitions many more times than the ''continuum'' transitions. Relatively large and small fluctuations in the recorded coincidence spectrum ensue, respectively. The analysis of the fluctuations will be shown to be instrumental to gain insight into the phenomenon of rotational damping. For this purpose, two- and higher-fold coincidence spectra emitted from rotating nuclei are analyzed with respect to the count fluctuations. The coincidences from consecutive γ-rays emitted from discrete rotational bands generate ridges in the E γ1 .E γ2 spectrum, and the fluctuation analysis of the ridges is based upon the ansatz of a random selection of transition energies from band to band. This ansatz is supported by a cranked mean-field calculation for the nucleus 168 Yb, as well as by analyzing resolved bands in 168 Yb and its neighbors. The fluctuation analysis of the central valley (E γ1 =E γ2 ) is based upon the ansatz of fluctuations in the intensity of the transitions of Porter-Thomas type superposed on a smooth spectrum of transition energies. This ansatz is again supported by a mixed-band calculation. The mathematical treatment of count fluctuations is formulated in general (orig.)

Ni@Ru and NiCo@Ru Core-Shell Hexagonal Nanosandwiches with a Compositionally Tunable Core and a Regioselectively Grown Shell.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Hyeyoun; Kwon, Taehyun; Kim, Ho Young; Park, Jongsik; Oh, Aram; Kim, Byeongyoon; Baik, Hionsuck; Joo, Sang Hoon; Lee, Kwangyeol

2018-01-01

The development of highly active electrocatalysts is crucial for the advancement of renewable energy conversion devices. The design of core-shell nanoparticle catalysts represents a promising approach to boost catalytic activity as well as save the use of expensive precious metals. Here, a simple, one-step synthetic route is reported to prepare hexagonal nanosandwich-shaped Ni@Ru core-shell nanoparticles (Ni@Ru HNS), in which Ru shell layers are overgrown in a regioselective manner on the top and bottom, and around the center section of a hexagonal Ni nanoplate core. Notably, the synthesis can be extended to NiCo@Ru core-shell nanoparticles with tunable core compositions (Ni 3 Co x @Ru HNS). Core-shell HNS structures show superior electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to a commercial RuO 2 black catalyst, with their OER activity being dependent on their core compositions. The observed trend in OER activity is correlated to the population of Ru oxide (Ru 4+ ) species, which can be modulated by the core compositions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fluctuations and structure of amphiphilic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gourier, CH.

1996-01-01

This thesis is divided in three parts.The first part exposes in a theoretical point of view, how the fluctuations spectrum of an amphiphilic film is governed by its properties and its bidimensional characteristics.The measurements of fluctuations spectra of an interface are accessible with the measurement of intensity that interface diffuses out of the specular angle, we present in the second chapter the principles of the X rays diffusion by a real interface and see how the diffuse diffusion experiments allow to determine the fluctuations spectrum of an amphiphilic film. The second part is devoted to the different experimental techniques that have allowed to realize the study of fluctuation as well as the structural study.The third part is devoted to experimental results concerning the measurements of fluctuations spectra and to the study of the structure of amphiphilic films. We show that it is possible by using an intense source of X rays (ESRF: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) to measure the water and amphiphilic films fluctuations spectra until molecular scales. The last chapter is devoted to the structural study and film fluctuations made of di-acetylenic molecules. (N.C.)

Fluctuating hydrodynamics and microrheology of a dilute suspension of swimming bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, A W C; Lubensky, T C

2009-07-01

A bacterial bath is a model active system consisting of a population of rodlike motile or self-propelled bacteria suspended in a fluid environment. This system can be viewed as an active, nonequilibrium version of a lyotropic liquid crystal or as a generalization of a driven diffusive system. We derive a set of phenomenological equations, which include the effects of internal force generators in the bacteria, describing the hydrodynamic flow, orientational dynamics of the bacteria, and fluctuations induced by both thermal and nonthermal noises. These equations violate the fluctuation dissipation theorem and the Onsager reciprocity relations. We use them to provide a quantitative account of results from recent microrheological experiments on bacterial baths.

The Fluctuation Niche in Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaume Terradas

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Classical approaches to niche in coexisting plants have undervalued temporal fluctuations. We propose that fluctuation niche is an important dimension of the total niche and interacts with habitat and life-history niches to provide a better understanding of the multidimensional niche space where ecological interactions occur. To scale a fluctuation niche, it is necessary to relate environmental constrictions or species performance not only to the absolute values of the usual environmental and ecophysiological variables but also to their variances or other measures of variability. We use Mediterranean plant communities as examples, because they present characteristic large seasonal and interannual fluctuations in water and nutrient availabilities, along an episodic-constant gradient, and because the plant responses include a number of syndromes coupled to this gradient.

The Fluctuation Niche in Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terradas, J.; Penuelas, J.; Lloret, F.; Penuelas, J.

2009-01-01

Classical approaches to niche in coexisting plants have undervalued temporal fluctuations. We propose that fluctuation niche is an important dimension of the total niche and interacts with habitat and life-history niches to provide a better understanding of the multidimensional niche space where ecological interactions occur. To scale a fluctuation niche, it is necessary to relate environmental constrictions or species performance not only to the absolute values of the usual environmental and eco physiological variables but also to their variances or other measures of variability. We use Mediterranean plant communities as examples, because they present characteristic large seasonal and inter annual fluctuations in water and nutrient availabilities, along an episodic-constant gradient, and because the plant responses include a number of syndromes coupled to this gradient.

ISOTROPIC HEATING OF GALAXY CLUSTER CORES VIA RAPIDLY REORIENTING ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS JETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babul, Arif; Sharma, Prateek; Reynolds, Christopher S.

2013-01-01

Active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets carry more than sufficient energy to stave off catastrophic cooling of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the cores of cool-core clusters. However, in order to prevent catastrophic cooling, the ICM must be heated in a near-isotropic fashion and narrow bipolar jets with P jet = 10 44–45 erg s –1 , typical of radio AGNs at cluster centers, are inefficient in heating the gas in the transverse direction to the jets. We argue that due to existent conditions in cluster cores, the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) will, in addition to accreting gas via radiatively inefficient flows, experience short stochastic episodes of enhanced accretion via thin disks. In general, the orientation of these accretion disks will be misaligned with the spin axis of the black holes (BHs) and the ensuing torques will cause the BH's spin axis (and therefore the jet axis) to slew and rapidly change direction. This model not only explains recent observations showing successive generations of jet-lobes-bubbles in individual cool-core clusters that are offset from each other in the angular direction with respect to the cluster center, but also shows that AGN jets can heat the cluster core nearly isotropically on the gas cooling timescale. Our model does require that the SMBHs at the centers of cool-core clusters be spinning relatively slowly. Torques from individual misaligned disks are ineffective at tilting rapidly spinning BHs by more than a few degrees. Additionally, since SMBHs that host thin accretion disks will manifest as quasars, we predict that roughly 1-2 rich clusters within z < 0.5 should have quasars at their centers.

Climatic Changes on Tibetan Plateau Based on Ice Core Records

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, T.

2008-12-01

Climatic changes have been reconstructed for the Tibetan Plateau based on ice core records. The Guliya ice core on the Tibetan Plateau presents climatic changes in the past 100,000 years, thus is comparative with that from Vostok ice core in Antarctica and GISP2 record in Arctic. These three records share an important common feature, i.e., our climate is not stable. It is also evident that the major patterns of climatic changes are similar on the earth. Why does climatic change over the earth follow a same pattern? It might be attributed to solar radiation. We found that the cold periods correspond to low insolation periods, and warm periods to high insolation periods. We found abrupt climatic change in the ice core climatic records, which presented dramatic temperature variation of as much as 10 °C in 50 or 60 years. Our major challenge in the study of both climate and environment is that greenhouse gases such as CO2, CH4 are possibly amplifying global warming, though at what degree remains unclear. One of the ways to understand the role of greenhouse gases is to reconstruct the past greenhouse gases recorded in ice. In 1997, we drilled an ice core from 7100 m a.s.l. in the Himalayas to reconstruct methane record. Based on the record, we found seasonal cycles in methane variation. In particular, the methane concentration is high in summer, suggestiing active methane emission from wet land in summer. Based on the seasonal cycle, we can reconstruct the methane fluctuation history in the past 500 years. The most prominent feature of the methane record in the Himalayan ice core is the abrupt increase since 1850 A.D.. This is closely related to the industrial revolution worldwide. We can also observe sudden decrease in methane concentration during the World War I and World War II. It implies that the industrial revolution has dominated the atmospheric greenhouse gas emission for about 100 years. Besides, the average methane concentration in the Himalayan ice core is

Big Bang or vacuum fluctuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zel'dovich, Ya.B.

1980-01-01

Some general properties of vacuum fluctuations in quantum field theory are described. The connection between the ''energy dominance'' of the energy density of vacuum fluctuations in curved space-time and the presence of singularity is discussed. It is pointed out that a de-Sitter space-time (with the energy density of the vacuum fluctuations in the Einstein equations) that matches the expanding Friedman solution may describe the history of the Universe before the Big Bang. (P.L.)

Fabrication of SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-array films for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Hsyi-En, E-mail: sean@mail.stust.edu.tw; Lin, Chun-Yuan; Hsu, Ching-Ming

2017-02-28

Highlights: • SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-arrays on ITO glass were successfully fabricated. • The 3D heterojunction solves the problem of low photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} films. • SnO{sub 2} is more suitable than ITO for the core layer to separate electron-hole pairs. - Abstract: Immobilized or deposited thin film TiO{sub 2} photocatalysts are suffering from a low photocatalytic activity due to either a low photon absorption efficiency or a high carrier recombination rate. Here we demonstrate that the photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} can be effectively improved by the SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-array structure which combines the benefits of SnO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} heterojunction and high reaction surface area. The SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-array films were fabricated using atomic layer deposition and dry etching techniques via barrier-free porous anodic alumina templates. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared films was evaluated by methylene blue (MB) bleaching under 352 nm UV light irradiation. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} film was 45% improved by introducing a SnO{sub 2} film between TiO{sub 2} and ITO glass substrate and was 300% improved by using the SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-array structure. The 45% improvement by the SnO{sub 2} interlayer is attributed to the SnO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} heterojunction which separates the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in TiO{sub 2} for MB degradation, and the high photocatalytic activity of the SnO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} core-shell nanopillar-array films is attributed to the three dimensional SnO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} heterojunction which owns both the carrier separation ability and the high photocatalytic reaction surface area.

The core proteome and pan proteome of Salmonella Paratyphi A epidemic strains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Zhang

Full Text Available Comparative proteomics of the multiple strains within the same species can reveal the genetic variation and relationships among strains without the need to assess the genomic data. Similar to comparative genomics, core proteome and pan proteome can also be obtained within multiple strains under the same culture conditions. In this study we present the core proteome and pan proteome of four epidemic Salmonella Paratyphi A strains cultured under laboratory culture conditions. The proteomic information was obtained using a Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE technique. The expression profiles of these strains were conservative, similar to the monomorphic genome of S. Paratyphi A. Few strain-specific proteins were found in these strains. Interestingly, non-core proteins were found in similar categories as core proteins. However, significant fluctuations in the abundance of some core proteins were also observed, suggesting that there is elaborate regulation of core proteins in the different strains even when they are cultured in the same environment. Therefore, core proteome and pan proteome analysis of the multiple strains can demonstrate the core pathways of metabolism of the species under specific culture conditions, and further the specific responses and adaptations of the strains to the growth environment.

Spin fluctuations and the

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.M. Loktev

2008-09-01

Full Text Available We analyze the spectral properties of a phenomenological model for a weakly doped two-dimensional antiferromagnet, in which the carriers move within one of the two sublattices where they were introduced. Such a constraint results in the free carrier spectra with the maxima at k=(± π/2 , ± π/2 observed in some cuprates. We consider the spectral properties of the model by taking into account fluctuations of the spins in the antiferromagnetic background. We show that such fluctuations lead to a non-pole-like structure of the single-hole Green's function and these fluctuations can be responsible for some anomalous "strange metal" properties of underdoped cuprates in the nonsuperconducting regime.

Power-law neuronal fluctuations in a recurrent network model of parametric working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Paul; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2006-02-01

In a working memory system, persistent activity maintains information in the absence of external stimulation, therefore the time scale and structure of correlated neural fluctuations reflect the intrinsic microcircuit dynamics rather than direct responses to sensory inputs. Here we show that a parametric working memory model capable of graded persistent activity is characterized by arbitrarily long correlation times, with Fano factors and power spectra of neural activity described by the power laws of a random walk. Collective drifts of the mnemonic firing pattern induce long-term noise correlations between pairs of cells, with the sign (positive or negative) and amplitude proportional to the product of the gradients of their tuning curves. None of the power-law behavior was observed in a variant of the model endowed with discrete bistable neural groups, where noise fluctuations were unable to cause long-term changes in rate. Therefore such behavior can serve as a probe for a quasi-continuous attractor. We propose that the unusual correlated fluctuations have important implications for neural coding in parametric working memory circuits.

Fluctuations and Instability in Sedimentation

KAUST Repository

Guazzelli, É lisabeth; Hinch, John

2011-01-01

This review concentrates on the fluctuations of the velocities of sedimenting spheres, and on the structural instability of a suspension of settling fibers. For many years, theoretical estimates and numerical simulations predicted the fluctuations

Enhancement of curcumin water dispersibility and antioxidant activity using core-shell protein-polysaccharide nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiaoxia; Huang, Xulin; Gong, Yushi; Xiao, Hang; McClements, David Julian; Hu, Kun

2016-09-01

Curcumin has strong antioxidant activity, but poor water-solubility and chemical stability, which limits its utilization as a nutraceutical in many applications. Previously, we developed a core-shell (zein-pectin) nanoparticle delivery system with high curcumin loading efficiency, high particle yield, and good water dispersibility. However, this system was unstable to aggregation around neutral pH and moderate ionic strengths due to weakening of electrostatic repulsion between nanoparticles. In the current study, we used a combination of alginate (high charge density) and pectin (low charge density) to form the shell around zein nanoparticles. Replacement of 30% of pectin with alginate greatly improved aggregation stability at pH 5 to 7 and at high ionic strengths (2000mM NaCl). Curcumin encapsulated within these core-shell nanoparticles exhibited higher antioxidant and radical scavenging activities than curcumin solubilized in ethanol solutions as determined by Fe (III) reducing power, 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH·), and 2, 2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid radical cation (ABTS· + ) scavenging analysis. These core-shell nanoparticles may be useful for incorporating chemically unstable hydrophobic nutraceuticals such as curcumin into functional foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Localized description of valence fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alascio, B.; Allub, R.; Aligia, A.

1979-07-01

The authors set up a model for intermediate valence equivalent to the ''atomic'' limit of the Anderson Hamiltonian. Detailed analysis of this model shows that most of the essential characteristics of valence fluctuators are already present in this crudely simplified Hamiltonian. The spin-spin and the 4f charge-charge correlation functions are studied and it is shown that it is possible to define a spin fluctuation frequency ωsub(s.f.) and a charge fluctuation frequency ωsub(ch.f.).ωsub(s.f.) and ωsub(ch.f.) can differ considerably for some values of the parameters of the model. The magnetic susceptibility and the specific heat are calculated as functions of temperature and it is shown how the results simulate the behaviour found in valence fluctuators. (author)

Quantum fluctuations in insulating ferroelectrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riseborough, Peter S.

2010-01-01

Graphical abstract: It has been proposed that in a ferroelectric insulator, an applied magnetic field may couple the transverse phonon modes and produce left and right circularly polarized phonon modes which are no longer degenerate. We quantize the theory and examine the effects of quantal fluctuations. In particular, we show that the zero point fluctuations result in a large diamagnetic contribution to the magnetic susceptibility. - Abstract: It has been proposed that in a ferroelectric insulator, an applied magnetic field may couple the transverse phonon modes and produce left and right circularly polarized phonon modes which are no longer degenerate. We quantize the theory and examine the effects of quantal fluctuations. In particular, we show that the zero-point fluctuations result in a large diamagnetic contribution to the magnetic susceptibility.

The fluctuating gap model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, Xiaobin

2011-01-15

The quasi-one-dimensional systems exhibit some unusual phenomenon, such as the Peierls instability, the pseudogap phenomena and the absence of a Fermi-Dirac distribution function line shape in the photoemission spectroscopy. Ever since the discovery of materials with highly anisotropic properties, it has been recognized that fluctuations play an important role above the three-dimensional phase transition. This regime where the precursor fluctuations are presented can be described by the so called fluctuating gap model (FGM) which was derived from the Froehlich Hamiltonian to study the low energy physics of the one-dimensional electron-phonon system. Not only is the FGM of great interest in the context of quasi-one-dimensional materials, liquid metal and spin waves above T{sub c} in ferromagnets, but also in the semiclassical approximation of superconductivity, it is possible to replace the original three-dimensional problem by a directional average over effectively one-dimensional problem which in the weak coupling limit is described by the FGM. In this work, we investigate the FGM in a wide temperature range with different statistics of the order parameter fluctuations. We derive a formally exact solution to this problem and calculate the density of states, the spectral function and the optical conductivity. In our calculation, we show that a Dyson singularity appears in the low energy density of states for Gaussian fluctuations in the commensurate case. In the incommensurate case, there is no such kind of singularity, and the zero frequency density of states varies differently as a function of the correlation lengths for different statistics of the order parameter fluctuations. Using the density of states we calculated with non-Gaussian order parameter fluctuations, we are able to calculate the static spin susceptibility which agrees with the experimental data very well. In the calculation of the spectral functions, we show that as the correlation increases, the

The fluctuating gap model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Xiaobin

2011-01-01

The quasi-one-dimensional systems exhibit some unusual phenomenon, such as the Peierls instability, the pseudogap phenomena and the absence of a Fermi-Dirac distribution function line shape in the photoemission spectroscopy. Ever since the discovery of materials with highly anisotropic properties, it has been recognized that fluctuations play an important role above the three-dimensional phase transition. This regime where the precursor fluctuations are presented can be described by the so called fluctuating gap model (FGM) which was derived from the Froehlich Hamiltonian to study the low energy physics of the one-dimensional electron-phonon system. Not only is the FGM of great interest in the context of quasi-one-dimensional materials, liquid metal and spin waves above T c in ferromagnets, but also in the semiclassical approximation of superconductivity, it is possible to replace the original three-dimensional problem by a directional average over effectively one-dimensional problem which in the weak coupling limit is described by the FGM. In this work, we investigate the FGM in a wide temperature range with different statistics of the order parameter fluctuations. We derive a formally exact solution to this problem and calculate the density of states, the spectral function and the optical conductivity. In our calculation, we show that a Dyson singularity appears in the low energy density of states for Gaussian fluctuations in the commensurate case. In the incommensurate case, there is no such kind of singularity, and the zero frequency density of states varies differently as a function of the correlation lengths for different statistics of the order parameter fluctuations. Using the density of states we calculated with non-Gaussian order parameter fluctuations, we are able to calculate the static spin susceptibility which agrees with the experimental data very well. In the calculation of the spectral functions, we show that as the correlation increases, the quasi

Fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamics of flocking

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Sunil Kumar; Das, Shankar P.

2018-03-01

Starting from a microscopic model, the continuum field theoretic description of the dynamics of a system of active ingredients or "particles" is presented. The equations of motion for the respective collective densities of mass and momentum follow exactly from that of a single element in the flock. The single-particle dynamics has noise and anomalous momentum dependence in its frictional terms. The equations for the collective densities are averaged over a local equilibrium distribution to obtain the corresponding coarse grained equations of fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamics (FNH). The latter are the equations used frequently for describing active systems on the basis of intuitive arguments. The transport coefficients which appear in the macroscopic FNH equations are determined in terms of the parameters of the microscopic dynamics.

The effect of core and lanthanide ion dopants in sodium fluoride-based nanocrystals on phagocytic activity of human blood leukocytes

Science.gov (United States)

Sojka, Bartlomiej; Liskova, Aurelia; Kuricova, Miroslava; Banski, Mateusz; Misiewicz, Jan; Dusinska, Maria; Horvathova, Mira; Ilavska, Silvia; Szabova, Michaela; Rollerova, Eva; Podhorodecki, Artur; Tulinska, Jana

2017-02-01

Sodium fluoride-based β-NaLnF4 nanoparticles (NPs) doped with lanthanide ions are promising materials for application as luminescent markers in bio-imaging. In this work, the effect of NPs doped with yttrium (Y), gadolinium (Gd), europium (Eu), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and terbium (Tb) ions on phagocytic activity of monocytes and granulocytes and the respiratory burst was examined. The surface functionalization of toxic with respect to conducted test; however, some cause toxic effects (they have statistically significant deviations compared to reference) in some selected doses tested. Both core types of NPs (Y-core and Gd-core) impaired the phagocytic activity of monocytes the strongest, having minimal or none whatsoever influence on granulocytes and respiratory burst of phagocytic cells. The lowest toxicity was observed in Gd-core, Yb, Tm dopants and near-infrared nanoparticles. Clear dose-dependent effect of NPs on phagocytic activity of leukocytes and respiratory burst of cells was observed for limited number of samples.

Analysis of fluctuations in semiconductor devices

Science.gov (United States)

Andrei, Petru

The random nature of ion implantation and diffusion processes as well as inevitable tolerances in fabrication result in random fluctuations of doping concentrations and oxide thickness in semiconductor devices. These fluctuations are especially pronounced in ultrasmall (nanoscale) semiconductor devices when the spatial scale of doping and oxide thickness variations become comparable with the geometric dimensions of devices. In the dissertation, the effects of these fluctuations on device characteristics are analyzed by using a new technique for the analysis of random doping and oxide thickness induced fluctuations. This technique is universal in nature in the sense that it is applicable to any transport model (drift-diffusion, semiclassical transport, quantum transport etc.) and it can be naturally extended to take into account random fluctuations of the oxide (trapped) charges and channel length. The technique is based on linearization of the transport equations with respect to the fluctuating quantities. It is computationally much (a few orders of magnitude) more efficient than the traditional Monte-Carlo approach and it yields information on the sensitivity of fluctuations of parameters of interest (e.g. threshold voltage, small-signal parameters, cut-off frequencies, etc.) to the locations of doping and oxide thickness fluctuations. For this reason, it can be very instrumental in the design of fluctuation-resistant structures of semiconductor devices. Quantum mechanical effects are taken into account by using the density-gradient model as well as through self-consistent Poisson-Schrodinger computations. Special attention is paid to the presenting of the technique in a form that is suitable for implementation on commercial device simulators. The numerical implementation of the technique is discussed in detail and numerous computational results are presented and compared with those previously published in literature.

Temperature fluctuation caused by coaxial-jet flow: Experiments on the effect of the velocity ratio R ⩾ 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Qiong; Li, Hongyuan; Lu, Daogang; Chang, Mu

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The effect on temperature fluctuation from velocity ratio was studied by experiment. • The distribution of time-averaged temperatures is the axial-symmetry in R ⩾ 1. • The region of intense temperature fluctuation in R = 1 is different from that of R > 1. • The intensity of temperature fluctuation under R > 1 is weaker than that of R = 1. - Abstract: The temperature fluctuation appears in the core outlet region due to the different of the temperature and velocity of the coolant, which can cause thermal stresses and the high-cycle thermal fatigue on solid boundaries. So, it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of the temperature fluctuation. In the present study, a comparative experiment was performed to analyze the effect on the temperature fluctuation caused by the coaxial-jet flow from the inlet cold and hot fluid velocity ratios (R ⩾ 1). In the condition of R ⩾ 1, the distribution of the time-averaged temperature is the axial-symmetry. In the cold fluid field, the temperature field is divided into four parts, including the first steady region, linear region, nonlinear region and the second steady region along the axial direction, while that is lack of the first steady state region in the hot fluid field. In the condition of R = 1, due to the velocity of the cold fluid is equivalent to that of the hot fluid, the cold fluid flow can be severely disturbed by the hot flow. The intense temperature fluctuation mainly distributed in the annular region at bottom region and the circular region in the upper region. While, in the condition of R > 1, the inertia of the cold fluid is larger than that of the hot fluid. The hot fluid will attach itself to the periphery of the cold fluid. The intense temperature fluctuation distributed in the annular region between the cold and hot fluid and the periphery of the hot fluid. However, the intensity of temperature fluctuation under R > 1 is weaker than that of R = 1.

Temperature fluctuation caused by coaxial-jet flow: Experiments on the effect of the velocity ratio R ⩾ 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, Qiong, E-mail: lian24111@163.com [Beijing Key Laboratory of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Li, Hongyuan, E-mail: lihongyuan@ncepu.edu.cn [School of Control and Computer Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Lu, Daogang, E-mail: ludaogang@ncepu.edu.cn [Beijing Key Laboratory of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Chang, Mu, E-mail: changmu123@163.com [Beijing Key Laboratory of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China)

2017-04-01

Highlights: • The effect on temperature fluctuation from velocity ratio was studied by experiment. • The distribution of time-averaged temperatures is the axial-symmetry in R ⩾ 1. • The region of intense temperature fluctuation in R = 1 is different from that of R > 1. • The intensity of temperature fluctuation under R > 1 is weaker than that of R = 1. - Abstract: The temperature fluctuation appears in the core outlet region due to the different of the temperature and velocity of the coolant, which can cause thermal stresses and the high-cycle thermal fatigue on solid boundaries. So, it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of the temperature fluctuation. In the present study, a comparative experiment was performed to analyze the effect on the temperature fluctuation caused by the coaxial-jet flow from the inlet cold and hot fluid velocity ratios (R ⩾ 1). In the condition of R ⩾ 1, the distribution of the time-averaged temperature is the axial-symmetry. In the cold fluid field, the temperature field is divided into four parts, including the first steady region, linear region, nonlinear region and the second steady region along the axial direction, while that is lack of the first steady state region in the hot fluid field. In the condition of R = 1, due to the velocity of the cold fluid is equivalent to that of the hot fluid, the cold fluid flow can be severely disturbed by the hot flow. The intense temperature fluctuation mainly distributed in the annular region at bottom region and the circular region in the upper region. While, in the condition of R > 1, the inertia of the cold fluid is larger than that of the hot fluid. The hot fluid will attach itself to the periphery of the cold fluid. The intense temperature fluctuation distributed in the annular region between the cold and hot fluid and the periphery of the hot fluid. However, the intensity of temperature fluctuation under R > 1 is weaker than that of R = 1.

Analysis of dynamic multiplicity fluctuations at PHOBOS

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Zhengwei; PHOBOS Collaboration; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Chai, Z.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Holynski, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J. L.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Wozniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wyslouch, B.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the analysis of the dynamic fluctuations in the inclusive charged particle multiplicity measured by PHOBOS for Au+Au collisions at surdsNN = 200GeV within the pseudo-rapidity range of -3 < η < 3. First the definition of the fluctuations observables used in this analysis is presented, together with the discussion of their physics meaning. Then the procedure for the extraction of dynamic fluctuations is described. Some preliminary results are included to illustrate the correlation features of the fluctuation observable. New dynamic fluctuations results will be available in a later publication.

Study of the fluctuations in neutrons density in a homogeneous plutonium pile; Etude de la fluctuation de la population de neutrons sur une pile homogene au plutonium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clouet d' Orval, C; Deilgat, E; Labbe, J; Molbert, M; Tachon, J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1962-07-01

The variations in neutron density in the centre of a reactor core are subjected to a statistical fluctuation phenomenon. Because of the correlations existing between the neutrons, their distribution does not follow Poisson's law. It diverges from it by a quantity depending on various parameter such as the lifetime and the effective fraction of the slowed-down neutrons. Experiments have been carried out designed to demonstrate this divergence and also, more particularly, the correlation between unaffected and slowed-down neutrons; these have been carried out with the help of the reactor 'Proserpine', a critical homogeneous plutonium assembly. (author) [French] L'evolution de la population neutronique au sein d'un milieu multiplicateur est soumise a un phenomene de fluctuations statistiques. En raison des correlations qui existent entre les neutrons, leur distribution ne suit pas une loi de Poisson. Elle s'en ecarte d'une quantite qui depend de divers parametres tels que le temps de vie, la proportion effective des neutrons retardes. Des experiences, destinees a mettre en evidence cet ecart, et plus particulierement les correlations entre neutrons prompts et neutrons retardes, ont ete realisees a l'aide de la pile 'Proserpine', experience critique homogene au plutonium. (auteur)

A Tutorial on Basic Principles of Microwave Reflectometry Applied to Fluctuation Measurements in Fusion Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazikian, R.; Kramer, G.J.; Valeo, E.

2001-01-01

Microwave reflectometry is now routinely used for probing the structure of magnetohydrodynamic and turbulent fluctuations in fusion plasmas. Conditions specific to the core of tokamak plasmas, such as small amplitude of density irregularities and the uniformity of the background plasma, have enabled progress in the quantitative interpretation of reflectometer signals. In particular, the extent of applicability of the 1-D [one-dimensional] geometric optics description of the reflected field is investigated by direct comparison to 1-D full wave analysis. Significant advances in laboratory experiments are discussed which are paving the way towards a thorough understanding of this important measurement technique. Data is presented from the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor [R. Hawryluk, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 33 (1991) 1509] identifying the validity of the geometric optics description of the scattered field and demonstrating the feasibility of imaging turbulent fluctuations in fusion scale devices

Standardization of 32P activity determination method in soil-root cores for root distribution studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, R.B.; Ghildyal, B.P.

1976-01-01

The root distribution of wheat variety UP 301 was obtained by determining the 32 P activity in soil-root cores by two methods, viz., ignition and triacid digestion. Root distribution obtained by these two methods was compared with that by standard root core washing procedure. The percent error in root distribution as determined by triacid digestion method was within +- 2.1 to +- 9.0 as against +- 5.5 to +- 21.2 by ignition method. Thus triacid digestion method proved better over the ignition method. (author)

Lithologic Coring in the Lower Anacostia Tidal Watershed, Washington, D.C., July 2002

Science.gov (United States)

Tenbus, Frederick J.

2003-01-01

Little is known about the volumetric flux of ground water to the lower tidal Anacostia River, or whether ground-water flow is an important component of the contaminant load in this part of the Anacostia River. The watershed is in the eastern part of Washington, D.C., and has been subjected to over 200 years of urbanization and modifications of the river channel and nearby land areas. These anthropogenic factors, along with tidal fluctuations in the river, make ground-water data collection and interpretations difficult. The U.S. Geological Survey is cooperating with the District of Columbia Department of Health, Environmental Health Administration, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, in a study to assess nonpoint-source pollution from ground water into the lower tidal Anacostia River. Lithologic cores from drilling activities conducted during July 2002 in the study area have been interpreted in the context of geologic and hydrogeologic information from previous studies in the lower Anacostia tidal watershed. These interpretations can help achieve the overall project goals of characterizing ground-water flow and contaminant load in the study area. Hydrostratigraphic units encountered during drilling generally consisted of late Pleistocene to Holocene fluvial deposits overlying Cretaceous fluvial/deltaic deposits. Cores collected in Beaverdam Creek and the Anacostia River indicated high- and low-energy environments of deposition, respectively. Two cores collected near the river showed different types of anthropogenic fill underlain by low-energy deposits, which were in turn underlain by sand and gravel. A third core collected near the river consisted primarily of sand and gravel with no artificial fill.

Universal mesoscopic conductance fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evangelou, S.N.

1992-01-01

The theory of conductance fluctuations in disordered metallic systems with size large compared to the mean free path of the electron but small compared to localization length is considered. It is demonstrates that fluctuations have an universal character and are due to repulsion between levels and spectral rigidity. The basic fluctuation measures for the energy spectrum in the mesoscopic regime of disordered systems are consistent with the Gaussian random matrix ensemble predictions. Although our disordered electron random matrix ensemble does not belong to the Gaussian ensemble the two ensembles turn out to be essentially similar. The level repulsion and the spectral rigidity found in nuclear spectra should also be observed in the metallic regime of Anderson localization. 7 refs. (orig.)

Human migration activities drive the fluctuation of ARGs : Case study of landfills in Nanjing, eastern China

OpenAIRE

Sun, Mingming; Ye, Mao; Schwab, Arthur P; Li, Xu; Wan, Jinzhong; Wei, Zhong; Wu, Jun; Friman, Ville-Petri; Liu, Kuan; Tian, Da; Liu, Manqiang; Li, Huixin; Hu, Feng; Jiang, Xin

2016-01-01

Landfills are perfect sites to study the effect of human migration on fluctuation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) as they are the final destination of municipal waste. For example, large-scale human migration during the holidays is often accompanied by changes in waste dumping having potential effects on ARG abundance. Three landfills were selected to examine fluctuation in the abundance of fifteen ARGs and Intl1 genes for 14 months in Nanjing, eastern China. Mass human migration, the a...

Langmuir probe measurements in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized non-equilibrium cutting arc: Analysis of the electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prevosto, L.; Mancinelli, B. [Grupo de Descargas Eléctricas, Departamento Ing. Electromecánica, Facultad Regional Venado Tuerto (UTN), Laprida 651, Venado Tuerto (2600) Santa Fe (Argentina); Kelly, H. [Grupo de Descargas Eléctricas, Departamento Ing. Electromecánica, Facultad Regional Venado Tuerto (UTN), Laprida 651, Venado Tuerto (2600) Santa Fe (Argentina); Instituto de Física del Plasma (CONICET), Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) Ciudad Universitaria Pab. I, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2013-12-15

This work describes the application of Langmuir probe diagnostics to the measurement of the electron temperature in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized, non-equilibrium cutting arc. The electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe was analysed, assuming that the standard exponential expression describing the electron current to the probe in collision-free plasmas can be applied under the investigated conditions. A procedure is described which allows the determination of the errors introduced in time-averaged probe data due to small-amplitude plasma fluctuations. It was found that the experimental points can be gathered into two well defined groups allowing defining two quite different averaged electron temperature values. In the low-current region the averaged characteristic was not significantly disturbed by the fluctuations and can reliably be used to obtain the actual value of the averaged electron temperature. In particular, an averaged electron temperature of 0.98 ± 0.07 eV (= 11400 ± 800 K) was found for the central core of the arc (30 A) at 3.5 mm downstream from the nozzle exit. This average included not only a time-average over the time fluctuations but also a spatial-average along the probe collecting length. The fitting of the high-current region of the characteristic using such electron temperature value together with the corrections given by the fluctuation analysis showed a relevant departure of local thermal equilibrium in the arc core.

Langmuir probe measurements in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized non-equilibrium cutting arc: Analysis of the electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prevosto, L.; Mancinelli, B.; Kelly, H.

2013-01-01

This work describes the application of Langmuir probe diagnostics to the measurement of the electron temperature in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized, non-equilibrium cutting arc. The electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe was analysed, assuming that the standard exponential expression describing the electron current to the probe in collision-free plasmas can be applied under the investigated conditions. A procedure is described which allows the determination of the errors introduced in time-averaged probe data due to small-amplitude plasma fluctuations. It was found that the experimental points can be gathered into two well defined groups allowing defining two quite different averaged electron temperature values. In the low-current region the averaged characteristic was not significantly disturbed by the fluctuations and can reliably be used to obtain the actual value of the averaged electron temperature. In particular, an averaged electron temperature of 0.98 ± 0.07 eV (= 11400 ± 800 K) was found for the central core of the arc (30 A) at 3.5 mm downstream from the nozzle exit. This average included not only a time-average over the time fluctuations but also a spatial-average along the probe collecting length. The fitting of the high-current region of the characteristic using such electron temperature value together with the corrections given by the fluctuation analysis showed a relevant departure of local thermal equilibrium in the arc core

Langmuir probe measurements in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized non-equilibrium cutting arc: analysis of the electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Prevosto, L; Kelly, H; Mancinelli, B

2013-12-01

This work describes the application of Langmuir probe diagnostics to the measurement of the electron temperature in a time-fluctuating-highly ionized, non-equilibrium cutting arc. The electron retarding part of the time-averaged current-voltage characteristic of the probe was analysed, assuming that the standard exponential expression describing the electron current to the probe in collision-free plasmas can be applied under the investigated conditions. A procedure is described which allows the determination of the errors introduced in time-averaged probe data due to small-amplitude plasma fluctuations. It was found that the experimental points can be gathered into two well defined groups allowing defining two quite different averaged electron temperature values. In the low-current region the averaged characteristic was not significantly disturbed by the fluctuations and can reliably be used to obtain the actual value of the averaged electron temperature. In particular, an averaged electron temperature of 0.98 ± 0.07 eV (= 11400 ± 800 K) was found for the central core of the arc (30 A) at 3.5 mm downstream from the nozzle exit. This average included not only a time-average over the time fluctuations but also a spatial-average along the probe collecting length. The fitting of the high-current region of the characteristic using such electron temperature value together with the corrections given by the fluctuation analysis showed a relevant departure of local thermal equilibrium in the arc core.

Construction of CdS@UIO-66-NH2 core-shell nanorods for enhanced photocatalytic activity with excellent photostability.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Qian; Cui, Sainan; Liu, Changhai; Xu, Song; Yao, Chao; Li, Zhongyu

2018-08-15

A novel class of CdS@UIO-66-NH 2 core shell heterojunction was fabricated by the facile in-situ solvothermal method. Characterizations show that porous UIO-66-NH 2 shell not only allows the visible light to be absorbed on CdS nanorod core, but also provides abundant catalytic active sites as well as an intimate heterojunction interface between UIO-66-NH 2 shell and CdS nanorod core. By taking advantage of this property, the core-shell composite presents highly solar-driven photocatalytic performance compared with pristine UIO-66-NH 2 and CdS nanorod for the degradation of organic dyes including malachite green (MG) and methyl orange (MO), and displays superior photostability after four recycles. Furthermore, the photoelectrochemical performance of CdS@UIO-66-NH 2 can be measured by the UV-vis spectra, Mott-Schottky plots and photocurrent. The remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity of CdS@UIO-66-NH 2 can be ascribed to high surface areas, intimate interaction on molecular scale and the formation of one-dimensional heterojunction with n-n type. What's more, the core-shell heterostructural CdS@UIO-66-NH 2 can facilitate the effective separation and transfer of the photoinduced interfacial electron-hole pairs and protect CdS nanorod core from photocorrosion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic ordering in tetragonal FeS: Evidence for strong itinerant spin fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, K.D.; Refson, K.; Bone, S.; Qiao, R.; Yang, W.; Liu, Z.; Sposito, G.

2010-11-01

Mackinawite is a naturally occurring layer-type FeS mineral important in biogeochemical cycles and, more recently, in the development of microbial fuel cells. Conflicting results have been published as to the magnetic properties of this mineral, with Moessbauer spectroscopy indicating no magnetic ordering down to 4.2 K but density functional theory (DFT) predicting an antiferromagnetic ground state, similar to the Fe-based high-temperature superconductors with which it is isostructural and for which it is known that magnetism is suppressed by strong itinerant spin fluctuations. We investigated this latter possibility for mackinawite using photoemission spectroscopy, near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and DFT computations. Our Fe 3{sub s} core-level photoemission spectrum of mackinawite showed a clear exchange-energy splitting (2.9 eV) consistent with a 1 {micro}{sub B} magnetic moment on the Fe ions, while the Fe L-edge x-ray absorption spectrum indicated rather delocalized Fe 3{sub d} electrons in mackinawite similar to those in Fe metal. Our DFT computations demonstrated that the ground state of mackinawite is single-stripe antiferromagnetic, with an Fe magnetic moment (2.7 {micro}{sub B}) that is significantly larger than the experimental estimate and has a strong dependence on the S height and lattice parameters. All of these trends signal the existence of strong itinerant spin fluctuations. If spin fluctuations prove to be mediators of electron pairing, we conjecture that mackinawite may be one of the simplest Fe-based superconductors.

Wind fluctuations over the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vincent, Claire Louise; Pinson, Pierre; Giebel, Gregor

2011-01-01

Climatological patterns in wind speed fluctuations with periods of 1 min to 10 h are analysed using data from a meteorological mast in the Danish North Sea. Fluctuations on these time scales are of particular relevance to the effective management of the power supply from large wind farms. The Hil......Climatological patterns in wind speed fluctuations with periods of 1 min to 10 h are analysed using data from a meteorological mast in the Danish North Sea. Fluctuations on these time scales are of particular relevance to the effective management of the power supply from large wind farms...

Electric Field Fluctuations in Water

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, Dayton; Limmer, David; Chandler, David

2013-03-01

Charge transfer in solution, such as autoionization and ion pair dissociation in water, is governed by rare electric field fluctuations of the solvent. Knowing the statistics of such fluctuations can help explain the dynamics of these rare events. Trajectories short enough to be tractable by computer simulation are virtually certain not to sample the large fluctuations that promote rare events. Here, we employ importance sampling techniques with classical molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water to study statistics of electric field fluctuations far from their means. We find that the distributions of electric fields located on individual water molecules are not in general gaussian. Near the mean this non-gaussianity is due to the internal charge distribution of the water molecule. Further from the mean, however, there is a previously unreported Bjerrum-like defect that stabilizes certain large fluctuations out of equilibrium. As expected, differences in electric fields acting between molecules are gaussian to a remarkable degree. By studying these differences, though, we are able to determine what configurations result not only in large electric fields, but also in electric fields with long spatial correlations that may be needed to promote charge separation.

Method for a reliable activation calculation of core components; Methode zur zuverlaessigen Berechnung von Aktivierungen in Kernbauteilen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mispagel, T.; Phlippen, P.W.; Rose, J. [Wissenschaftlich-Technische Ingenieurberatung GmbH (WTI), Juelich (Germany)

2013-07-01

During nuclear power plant operation components and materials are exposed to the neutron flux from the reactor core and radionuclides are produced. After removal of the fuel elements the radioactivity of these radionuclides in the reactor pressure vessel and the core internals provide more than 99% of the activity of the power plant. For the transport, the interim storage and the final disposal of these radioactive components the radioactive inventories have to be decoded with respect to radiation and nuclides. The declaration of the nuclide and activity inventories requires a reliable calculation of neutron induced activation of reactor components. These activation calculations describe the pile-up of nuclides due to irradiation and due to the decay of nuclides. For an optimum usage of the activity capacities of the repository Konrad it is necessary to have a qualified calculation procedure that keeps the conservatism as low as possible.

Global fluctuations of cerebral blood flow indicate a global brain network independent of systemic factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Li; Alsop, David C; Detre, John A; Dai, Weiying

2017-01-01

Global synchronization across specialized brain networks is a common feature of network models and in-vivo electrical measurements. Although the imaging of specialized brain networks with blood oxygenation sensitive resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) has enabled detailed study of regional networks, the study of globally correlated fluctuations with rsfMRI is confounded by spurious contributions to the global signal from systemic physiologic factors and other noise sources. Here we use an alternative rsfMRI method, arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI, to characterize global correlations and their relationship to correlations and anti-correlations between regional networks. Global fluctuations that cannot be explained by systemic factors dominate the fluctuations in cerebral blood flow. Power spectra of these fluctuations are band limited to below 0.05 Hz, similar to prior measurements of regional network fluctuations in the brain. Removal of these global fluctuations prior to measurement of regional networks reduces all regional network fluctuation amplitudes to below the global fluctuation amplitude and changes the strength and sign of inter network correlations. Our findings support large amplitude, globally synchronized activity across networks that require a reassessment of regional network amplitude and correlation measures.

Insects in fluctuating thermal environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Colinet, Hervé; Sinclair, Brent J; Vernon, Philippe; Renault, David

2015-01-07

All climate change scenarios predict an increase in both global temperature means and the magnitude of seasonal and diel temperature variation. The nonlinear relationship between temperature and biological processes means that fluctuating temperatures lead to physiological, life history, and ecological consequences for ectothermic insects that diverge from those predicted from constant temperatures. Fluctuating temperatures that remain within permissive temperature ranges generally improve performance. By contrast, those which extend to stressful temperatures may have either positive impacts, allowing repair of damage accrued during exposure to thermal extremes, or negative impacts from cumulative damage during successive exposures. We discuss the mechanisms underlying these differing effects. Fluctuating temperatures could be used to enhance or weaken insects in applied rearing programs, and any prediction of insect performance in the field-including models of climate change or population performance-must account for the effect of fluctuating temperatures.

Nonequilibrium quantum fluctuations of work.

Science.gov (United States)

Allahverdyan, A E

2014-09-01

The concept of work is basic for statistical thermodynamics. To gain a fuller understanding of work and its (quantum) features, it needs to be represented as an average of a fluctuating quantity. Here I focus on the work done between two moments of time for a thermally isolated quantum system driven by a time-dependent Hamiltonian. I formulate two natural conditions needed for the fluctuating work to be physically meaningful for a system that starts its evolution from a nonequilibrium state. The existing definitions do not satisfy these conditions due to issues that are traced back to noncommutativity. I propose a definition of fluctuating work that is free of previous drawbacks and that applies for a wide class of nonequilibrium initial states. It allows the deduction of a generalized work-fluctuation theorem that applies for an arbitrary (out-of-equilibrium) initial state.

Coupled Quantum Fluctuations and Quantum Annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Hormozi, Layla; Kerman, Jamie

We study the relative effectiveness of coupled quantum fluctuations, compared to single spin fluctuations, in the performance of quantum annealing. We focus on problem Hamiltonians resembling the the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model of Ising spin glass and compare the effectiveness of different types of fluctuations by numerically calculating the relative success probabilities and residual energies in fully-connected spin systems. We find that for a small class of instances coupled fluctuations can provide improvement over single spin fluctuations and analyze the properties of the corresponding class. Disclaimer: This research was funded by ODNI, IARPA via MIT Lincoln Laboratory under Air Force Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0002. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of ODNI, IARPA, or the US Government.

Holocene glacial fluctuations in southern South America

Science.gov (United States)

Reynhout, S.; Sagredo, E. A.; Kaplan, M. R.; Aravena, J. C.; Martini, M. A.; Strelin, J. A.; Schaefer, J. M.

2016-12-01

Understanding the timing and magnitude of former glacier fluctuations is critical to decipher long-term climatic trends and to unravel both natural cycles and human impact on the current glacial behavior. Despite more than seven decades of research efforts, a unifying model of Holocene glacial fluctuations in Southern South America remains elusive. Here, we present the state-of-the-art regarding the timing of Holocene glacial fluctuation in southern Patagonia-Tierra del Fuego, with a focus on a new generation of high-resolution radiocarbon and 10Be surface exposure dating chronologies. Recently acquired evidence suggest that after receding from advanced Late Glacial positions, Patagonian glaciers were for the most part close to, or even behind, present ice margins during the Early Holocene. On the other hand, emerging chronologies indicate that in some areas there were extensive expansions (century scale?) that punctuated the warm interval. Subsequently, we have evidence of multiple millennial timescale glacial advances starting in the middle Holocene. Several glacial maxima are defined by moraines and other landforms from 7000 years ago to the 19th century, with a gap sometime between 4,500 and 2,500 years ago. The last set of advances began around 800-600 years ago. Although glacial activity is documented in Patagonia at the same time as the European Little Ice Age, the extent of these glacial events are less prominent than those of the mid-Holocene. The causes that may explain these glacial fluctuations remain elusive. Finally, we discuss ongoing efforts to better define the timing and extent of Holocene glaciations in southern South America, and to establish the basis to test competing hypothesis of regional Holocene climate variability.

Stability and fluctuations in black hole thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruppeiner, George

2007-01-01

I examine thermodynamic fluctuations for a Kerr-Newman black hole in an extensive, infinite environment. This problem is not strictly solvable because full equilibrium with such an environment cannot be achieved by any black hole with mass M, angular momentum J, and charge Q. However, if we consider one (or two) of M, J, or Q to vary so slowly compared with the others that we can regard it as fixed, instances of stability occur, and thermodynamic fluctuation theory could plausibly apply. I examine seven cases with one, two, or three independent fluctuating variables. No knowledge about the thermodynamic behavior of the environment is needed. The thermodynamics of the black hole is sufficient. Let the fluctuation moment for a thermodynamic quantity X be √( 2 >). Fluctuations at fixed M are stable for all thermodynamic states, including that of a nonrotating and uncharged environment, corresponding to average values J=Q=0. Here, the fluctuation moments for J and Q take on maximum values. That for J is proportional to M. For the Planck mass it is 0.3990(ℎ/2π). That for Q is 3.301e, independent of M. In all cases, fluctuation moments for M, J, and Q go to zero at the limit of the physical regime, where the temperature goes to zero. With M fluctuating there are no stable cases for average J=Q=0. But, there are transitions to stability marked by infinite fluctuations. For purely M fluctuations, this coincides with a curve which Davies identified as a phase transition

Charge-imbalance fluctuations in superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemberger, T.R.

1981-01-01

We calculate that the mean-square amplitude of the fluctuations of the condensate chemical potential μ/sub s/ due to charge-imbalance fluctuations in the limit Δ/k/sub B/T 2 > = 2(k/sub B/T) 2 /πdeltaΩN(0) in a volume Ω of superconductor. We relate these fluctuations via Nyquist's theorem to measured values of the contribution of self-injected charge imbalance to the dc resistance of SIN tunnel junctions. In this relation the dynamic charge-imbalance relaxation rate is 1/tau/sub E/, the electron-phonon scattering rate

Human migration activities drive the fluctuation of ARGs: Case study of landfills in Nanjing, eastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Mingming; Ye, Mao; Schwab, Arthur P; Li, Xu; Wan, Jinzhong; Wei, Zhong; Wu, Jun; Friman, Ville-Petri; Liu, Kuan; Tian, Da; Liu, Manqiang; Li, Huixin; Hu, Feng; Jiang, Xin

2016-09-05

Landfills are perfect sites to study the effect of human migration on fluctuation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) as they are the final destination of municipal waste. For example, large-scale human migration during the holidays is often accompanied by changes in waste dumping having potential effects on ARG abundance. Three landfills were selected to examine fluctuation in the abundance of fifteen ARGs and Intl1 genes for 14 months in Nanjing, eastern China. Mass human migration, the amount of dumped waste and temperature exerted the most significant effects on bimonthly fluctuations of ARG levels in landfill sites. As a middle-sized cosmopolitan city in China, millions of college students and workers migrate during holidays, contributing to the dramatic increases in waste production and fluctuation in ARG abundances. In line with this, mass migration explained most of the variation in waste dumping. The waste dumping also affected the bioaccessibility of mixed-compound pollutants that further positively impacted the level of ARGs. The influence of various bioaccessible compounds on ARG abundance followed the order: antibiotics>nutrients>metals>organic pollutants. Concentrations of bioaccessible compounds were more strongly correlated with ARG levels compared to total compound concentrations. Improved waste classification and management strategies could thus help to decrease the amount of bioaccessible pollutants leading to more effective control for urban ARG dissemination. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preservice Secondary Teachers' Conceptions from a Mathematical Modeling Activity and Connections to the Common Core State Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Stohlmann, Micah; Maiorca, Cathrine; Olson, Travis A.

2015-01-01

Mathematical modeling is an essential integrated piece of the Common Core State Standards. However, researchers have shown that mathematical modeling activities can be difficult for teachers to implement. Teachers are more likely to implement mathematical modeling activities if they have their own successful experiences with such activities. This…

Investigation of activity release during light water reactor core meltdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, H.; Matschoss, V.; Wild, H.

1978-01-01

A test facility was developed for the determination of activity release and of aerosol characteristics under realistic light water reactor core melting conditions. It is composed of a high-frequency induction furnace, a ThO 2 crucible system, and a collection apparatus consisting of membrane and particulate filters. Thirty-gram samples of a representative core material mixture (corium) were melted under air, argon, or steam at 0.8 to 2.2 bar. In air at 2700 0 C, for example, the relative release was 0.4 to 0.7% for iron, chromium, and cobalt and 4 to 11% for tin, antimony, and manganese. Higher release values of 20 to 40% at lower temperatures (2150 0 C, air) were found for selenium, cadmium, tellurium, and cesium. The size distribution of the aerosol particles was trimodal with maxima at diameters of 0.17, 0.30, and 0.73 μm. The result of a qualitative x-ray microanalysis was that the main elements of the melt were contained in each aerosol particle. Further investigations will include larger melt masses and the additional influence of concrete on the release and aerosol behavior

Macroalgae may mitigate ocean acidification effects on mussel calcification by increasing pH and its fluctuations

KAUST Repository

Wahl, M.; Schneider Covachã , S.; Saderne, Vincent; Hiebenthal, C.; Mü ller, J. D.; Pansch, C.; Sawall, Y.

2017-01-01

Ocean acidification (OA) is generally assumed to negatively impact calcification rates of marine organisms. At a local scale however, biological activity of macrophytes may generate pH fluctuations with rates of change that are orders of magnitude larger than the long-term trend predicted for the open ocean. These fluctuations may in turn impact benthic calcifiers in the vicinity. Combining laboratory, mesocosm and field studies, such interactions between OA, the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus, the sea grass Zostera marina and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis were investigated at spatial scales from decimetres to 100s of meters in the western Baltic. Macrophytes increased the overall mean pH of the habitat by up to 0.3 units relative to macrophyte-free, but otherwise similar, habitats and imposed diurnal pH fluctuations with amplitudes ranging from 0.3 to more than 1 pH unit. These amplitudes and their impact on mussel calcification tended to increase with increasing macrophyte biomass to bulk water ratio. At the laboratory and mesocosm scales, biogenic pH fluctuations allowed mussels to maintain calcification even under acidified conditions by shifting most of their calcification activity into the daytime when biogenic fluctuations caused by macrophyte activity offered temporal refuge from OA stress. In natural habitats with a low biomass to water body ratio, the impact of biogenic pH fluctuations on mean calcification rates of M. edulis was less pronounced. Thus, in dense algae or seagrass habitats, macrophytes may mitigate OA impact on mussel calcification by raising mean pH and providing temporal refuge from acidification stress.

Macroalgae may mitigate ocean acidification effects on mussel calcification by increasing pH and its fluctuations

KAUST Repository

Wahl, M.

2017-06-26

Ocean acidification (OA) is generally assumed to negatively impact calcification rates of marine organisms. At a local scale however, biological activity of macrophytes may generate pH fluctuations with rates of change that are orders of magnitude larger than the long-term trend predicted for the open ocean. These fluctuations may in turn impact benthic calcifiers in the vicinity. Combining laboratory, mesocosm and field studies, such interactions between OA, the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus, the sea grass Zostera marina and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis were investigated at spatial scales from decimetres to 100s of meters in the western Baltic. Macrophytes increased the overall mean pH of the habitat by up to 0.3 units relative to macrophyte-free, but otherwise similar, habitats and imposed diurnal pH fluctuations with amplitudes ranging from 0.3 to more than 1 pH unit. These amplitudes and their impact on mussel calcification tended to increase with increasing macrophyte biomass to bulk water ratio. At the laboratory and mesocosm scales, biogenic pH fluctuations allowed mussels to maintain calcification even under acidified conditions by shifting most of their calcification activity into the daytime when biogenic fluctuations caused by macrophyte activity offered temporal refuge from OA stress. In natural habitats with a low biomass to water body ratio, the impact of biogenic pH fluctuations on mean calcification rates of M. edulis was less pronounced. Thus, in dense algae or seagrass habitats, macrophytes may mitigate OA impact on mussel calcification by raising mean pH and providing temporal refuge from acidification stress.

High-intensity, long-duration, continuous AE activity events associated with Alfvénic fluctuations in 2003

Science.gov (United States)

Prestes, Alan; Klausner, Virginia; Ojeda-González, Arian

2017-11-01

The interaction between a fast-speed and a low-speed stream causes large-amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations; consequently, the intermittency and the brief intervals of southward magnetic field associated with Alfvén waves may cause high levels of AE activity, the so-called high-intensity, long-duration, continuous AE activity (HILDCAA). In this article, the 4 h windowed Pearson cross-correlation (4WPCC) between the solar wind velocity and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) components is performed in order to confirm that the less strict HILDCAA (HILDCAAs*) events include a larger number of Alfvén waves than the HILDCAA events, once HILDCAAs disregard part of the phenomenon. Actually, a HILDCAA event is entirely contained within a HILDCAA* event. However, the opposite is not necessarily true. This article provides a new insight, since the increase of Alfvén waves results in an increase of auroral electrojet activity; consequently, it can cause HILDCAAs* events. Another important aspect of this article is that the superposed epoch analysis (SEA) results reaffirm that the HILDCAAs* are associated with high-speed solar streams (HSSs), and also the HILDCAAs* present the same physical characteristics of the traditional HILDCAA events.

Release of fission and activation products during LWR core meltdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, H.; Matschoss, V.; Wild, H.

1978-01-01

Experiments are described by which activity release fractions and aerosol characteristics were investigated for various core melting conditions. Samples of corium and fissium were heated by induction to temperatures of 2800 0 C under air, argon and steam. Release values are presented for Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Se, Zr, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Te, J, Cs and U. The deposition behaviour of the released products was found to depend strongly on the volatility and on the gas flow rate. Preliminary results of additional measurements indicate that the size distribution of the aerosol particles is trimodal. (author)

Experimental system model of a primary active fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deseigne, Julien

2010-01-01

Collective motion, such as flocks of birds or shoals of fish, is ubiquitous in nature. Such fundamentally out-of-equilibrium phenomena may be described with the new conceptual background of polar active matter, a system of polar particles which enables to use provided energy in order to move in their own directions. A 2D experimental system of vibrated polar disks that interact only by contact has been set up. These disks behave as random walkers, whose trajectories are characterized by a persistence length greater than their size and controlled by the angular fluctuations of their polarity. The interplay between the hard-core repulsion and the persistence of the motion leads to complex alignment modes. For instance, only 10 pc of the binary collisions correspond to an effective ferromagnetic alignment. Yet, spontaneous collective motion inside the system characterized by giant fluctuations of density have been observed. These results reveal the robustness of the polar order observed in theoretical and numerical models of 2D polar active matter on substrate

Charge Fluctuations in Nanoscale Capacitors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Limmer, D.T.; Merlet, C.; Salanne, M.; Chandler, D.; Madden, P.A.; van Roij, R.H.H.G.; Rotenberg, B.

2013-01-01

The fluctuations of the charge on an electrode contain information on the microscopic correlations within the adjacent fluid and their effect on the electronic properties of the interface. We investigate these fluctuations using molecular dynamics simulations in a constant-potential ensemble with

Fluctuating attention in Parkinson's disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starrfelt, Randi; Aarsland, Dag; Janvin, Carmen

2001-01-01

Lewy body dementia (DLB), which share many clinical and pathological features with Parkinson’s disease (PD), is charac- terised by marked fluctuations in cognition and consciousness. Fluctuating cognition has not been formally studied in PD, although some studies indicate that PD patients show...

Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banday, A.J.; Wolfendale, A.W.

1990-01-01

In view of the importance to contemporary cosmology, and to our understanding of the Universe, of the precise nature of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum, we consider the effects on this spectrum of contamination by other radiation fields of both galactic and extragalactic origin. Particular attention is given to the significance of measurements of the fluctuations in the 'background' radiation detected at 10.46 GHz and we conclude that these fluctuations are of the same magnitude as those expected from galactic cosmic-ray effects. A more detailed study of the cosmic-ray induced fluctuations and measurements at higher frequencies will be needed before genuine CMB fluctuations can be claimed. (author)

Fluctuations and Instability in Sedimentation

KAUST Repository

Guazzelli, Élisabeth

2011-01-21

This review concentrates on the fluctuations of the velocities of sedimenting spheres, and on the structural instability of a suspension of settling fibers. For many years, theoretical estimates and numerical simulations predicted the fluctuations of the velocities of spheres to increase with the size of the container, whereas experiments found no such variation. Two ideas have increased our understanding. First, the correlation length of the velocity fluctuations was found experimentally to be 20 interparticle separations. Second, in dilute suspensions, a vertical variation in the concentration due to the spreading of the front with the clear fluid can inhibit the velocity fluctuations. In a very dilute regime, a homogeneous suspension of fibers suffers a spontaneous instability in which fast descending fiber-rich columns are separated by rising fiber-sparse columns. In a semidilute regime, the settling is hindered, more so than for spheres. © 2011 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.

Fluctuation-enhanced electric conductivity in electrolyte solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Péraud, Jean-Philippe; Nonaka, Andrew J; Bell, John B; Donev, Aleksandar; Garcia, Alejandro L

2017-10-10

We analyze the effects of an externally applied electric field on thermal fluctuations for a binary electrolyte fluid. We show that the fluctuating Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations for charged multispecies diffusion coupled with the fluctuating fluid momentum equation result in enhanced charge transport via a mechanism distinct from the well-known enhancement of mass transport that accompanies giant fluctuations. Although the mass and charge transport occurs by advection by thermal velocity fluctuations, it can macroscopically be represented as electrodiffusion with renormalized electric conductivity and a nonzero cation-anion diffusion coefficient. Specifically, we predict a nonzero cation-anion Maxwell-Stefan coefficient proportional to the square root of the salt concentration, a prediction that agrees quantitatively with experimental measurements. The renormalized or effective macroscopic equations are different from the starting PNP equations, which contain no cross-diffusion terms, even for rather dilute binary electrolytes. At the same time, for infinitely dilute solutions the renormalized electric conductivity and renormalized diffusion coefficients are consistent and the classical PNP equations with renormalized coefficients are recovered, demonstrating the self-consistency of the fluctuating hydrodynamics equations. Our calculations show that the fluctuating hydrodynamics approach recovers the electrophoretic and relaxation corrections obtained by Debye-Huckel-Onsager theory, while elucidating the physical origins of these corrections and generalizing straightforwardly to more complex multispecies electrolytes. Finally, we show that strong applied electric fields result in anisotropically enhanced "giant" velocity fluctuations and reduced fluctuations of salt concentration.

Detrended fluctuation analysis made flexible to detect range of cross-correlated fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Kwapień, Jarosław; Oświecimka, Paweł; DroŻdŻ, Stanisław

2015-11-01

The detrended cross-correlation coefficient ρDCCA has recently been proposed to quantify the strength of cross-correlations on different temporal scales in bivariate, nonstationary time series. It is based on the detrended cross-correlation and detrended fluctuation analyses (DCCA and DFA, respectively) and can be viewed as an analog of the Pearson coefficient in the case of the fluctuation analysis. The coefficient ρDCCA works well in many practical situations but by construction its applicability is limited to detection of whether two signals are generally cross-correlated, without the possibility to obtain information on the amplitude of fluctuations that are responsible for those cross-correlations. In order to introduce some related flexibility, here we propose an extension of ρDCCA that exploits the multifractal versions of DFA and DCCA: multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis, respectively. The resulting new coefficient ρq not only is able to quantify the strength of correlations but also allows one to identify the range of detrended fluctuation amplitudes that are correlated in two signals under study. We show how the coefficient ρq works in practical situations by applying it to stochastic time series representing processes with long memory: autoregressive and multiplicative ones. Such processes are often used to model signals recorded from complex systems and complex physical phenomena like turbulence, so we are convinced that this new measure can successfully be applied in time-series analysis. In particular, we present an example of such application to highly complex empirical data from financial markets. The present formulation can straightforwardly be extended to multivariate data in terms of the q -dependent counterpart of the correlation matrices and then to the network representation.

Core antigen and circulating anti-core antibody in hepatitis B infection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howard, C R; Zuckerman, A J [London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK)

1977-02-01

Core antigen was obtained from the sera of persistent chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus by centrifugation and treatment with Nonidet P40 and 2-mercaptoethanol. The separated core antigen was radiolabelled and identified as a nucleoprotein structure of buoyant density 1.36 g/cm/sup 3/ and possessing an isoelectric point of 4.4. This material was employed in a radioimmnoassay procedure of high sensitivity for the detection of core antibody. In a series of sera from patients with acute type B hepatitis, core antibody was demonstrated 2 to 3 weeks after the onset of jaundice during the period of surface antigenaemia. The presence of core antibody may therefore provide an accurate serological marker for the detection of active or recent virus replication in future epidemiological studies of hepatitis B infection.

Mesoscale wind fluctuations over Danish waters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vincent, C.L.

2010-12-15

Mesoscale wind fluctuations affect the large scale integration of wind power because they undermine the day-ahead predictability of wind speed and power production, and because they can result in large fluctuations in power generation that must be balanced using reserve power. Large fluctuations in generated power are a particular problem for offshore wind farms because the typically high concentration of turbines within a limited geographical area means that fluctuations can be correlated across large numbers of turbines. Furthermore, organised mesoscale structures that often form over water, such as convective rolls and cellular convection, have length scales of tens of kilometers, and can cause large wind fluctuations on a time scale of around an hour. This thesis is an exploration of the predictability of mesoscale wind fluctuations using observations from the world's first two large offshore wind farms - Horns Rev I in the North Sea, and Nysted in the Baltic Sea. The thesis begins with a climatological analysis of wind fluctuations on time scales of 1-10 hours at the two sites. A novel method for calculating conditional climatologies of spectral information is proposed, based on binning and averaging the time axis of the Hilbert spectrum. Results reveal clear patterns between wind fluctuations and locally observed meteorological conditions. The analysis is expanded by classifying wind fluctuations on time scales of 1-3 hours according to synoptic patterns, satellite pictures and wind classes. Results indicate that cold air outbreaks and open cellular convection are a significant contributor to mesoscale wind variability at Horns Rev. The predictability of mesoscale wind fluctuations is tested by implementing standard statistical models that relate local wind variability to parameters based on a large scale weather analysis. The models show some skill, but only achieve a 15% improvement on a persistence forecast. The possibility of explicitly modelling

Identifying the adaptive mechanism in globular proteins: Fluctuations in densely packed regions manipulate flexible parts

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Lutfu Safak; Atilgan, Ali Rana

2000-09-01

A low-resolution structural model based on the packing geometry of α-carbons is utilized to establish a connection between the flexible and rigid parts of a folded protein. The former commonly recognizes a complementing molecule for making a complex, while the latter manipulates the necessary conformational change for binding. We attempt analytically to distinguish this control architecture that intrinsically exists in globular proteins. First with two-dimensional simple models, then for a native protein, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, we explicitly demonstrate that inserting fluctuations in tertiary contacts supported by the stable core, one can regulate the displacement of residues on loop regions. The positional fluctuations of the flexible regions are annihilated by the rest of the protein in conformity with the Le Chatelier-Braun principle. The results indicate that the distortion of the principal nonbonded contacts between highly packed residues is accompanied by that of the slavery fluctuations that are widely distributed over the native structure. These positional arrangements do not appear in a reciprocal relation between a perturbation and the associated response; the effect of a movement of residue i on residue j is not equal to that of the same movement of residue j on residue i.

Fluctuation-dissipation relation and stationary distribution of an exactly solvable many-particle model for active biomatter far from equilibrium.

Science.gov (United States)

Netz, Roland R

2018-05-14

An exactly solvable, Hamiltonian-based model of many massive particles that are coupled by harmonic potentials and driven by stochastic non-equilibrium forces is introduced. The stationary distribution and the fluctuation-dissipation relation are derived in closed form for the general non-equilibrium case. Deviations from equilibrium are on one hand characterized by the difference of the obtained stationary distribution from the Boltzmann distribution; this is possible because the model derives from a particle Hamiltonian. On the other hand, the difference between the obtained non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation relation and the standard equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem allows us to quantify non-equilibrium in an alternative fashion. Both indicators of non-equilibrium behavior, i.e., deviations from the Boltzmann distribution and deviations from the equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem, can be expressed in terms of a single non-equilibrium parameter α that involves the ratio of friction coefficients and random force strengths. The concept of a non-equilibrium effective temperature, which can be defined by the relation between fluctuations and the dissipation, is by comparison with the exactly derived stationary distribution shown not to hold, even if the effective temperature is made frequency dependent. The analysis is not confined to close-to-equilibrium situations but rather is exact and thus holds for arbitrarily large deviations from equilibrium. Also, the suggested harmonic model can be obtained from non-linear mechanical network systems by an expansion in terms of suitably chosen deviatory coordinates; the obtained results should thus be quite general. This is demonstrated by comparison of the derived non-equilibrium fluctuation dissipation relation with experimental data on actin networks that are driven out of equilibrium by energy-consuming protein motors. The comparison is excellent and allows us to extract the non

Fluctuation-dissipation relation and stationary distribution of an exactly solvable many-particle model for active biomatter far from equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Netz, Roland R.

2018-05-01

An exactly solvable, Hamiltonian-based model of many massive particles that are coupled by harmonic potentials and driven by stochastic non-equilibrium forces is introduced. The stationary distribution and the fluctuation-dissipation relation are derived in closed form for the general non-equilibrium case. Deviations from equilibrium are on one hand characterized by the difference of the obtained stationary distribution from the Boltzmann distribution; this is possible because the model derives from a particle Hamiltonian. On the other hand, the difference between the obtained non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation relation and the standard equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem allows us to quantify non-equilibrium in an alternative fashion. Both indicators of non-equilibrium behavior, i.e., deviations from the Boltzmann distribution and deviations from the equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem, can be expressed in terms of a single non-equilibrium parameter α that involves the ratio of friction coefficients and random force strengths. The concept of a non-equilibrium effective temperature, which can be defined by the relation between fluctuations and the dissipation, is by comparison with the exactly derived stationary distribution shown not to hold, even if the effective temperature is made frequency dependent. The analysis is not confined to close-to-equilibrium situations but rather is exact and thus holds for arbitrarily large deviations from equilibrium. Also, the suggested harmonic model can be obtained from non-linear mechanical network systems by an expansion in terms of suitably chosen deviatory coordinates; the obtained results should thus be quite general. This is demonstrated by comparison of the derived non-equilibrium fluctuation dissipation relation with experimental data on actin networks that are driven out of equilibrium by energy-consuming protein motors. The comparison is excellent and allows us to extract the non

Water table fluctuations and soil biogeochemistry: An experimental approach using an automated soil column system

Science.gov (United States)

Rezanezhad, F.; Couture, R.-M.; Kovac, R.; O'Connell, D.; Van Cappellen, P.

2014-02-01

Water table fluctuations significantly affect the biological and geochemical functioning of soils. Here, we introduce an automated soil column system in which the water table regime is imposed using a computer-controlled, multi-channel pump connected to a hydrostatic equilibrium reservoir and a water storage reservoir. The potential of this new system is illustrated by comparing results from two columns filled with 45 cm of the same homogenized riparian soil. In one soil column the water table remained constant at -20 cm below the soil surface, while in the other the water table oscillated between the soil surface and the bottom of the column, at a rate of 4.8 cm d-1. The experiment ran for 75 days at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C). Micro-sensors installed at -10 and -30 cm below the soil surface in the stable water table column recorded constant redox potentials on the order of 600 and -200 mV, respectively. In the fluctuating water table column, redox potentials at the same depths oscillated between oxidizing (∼700 mV) and reducing (∼-100 mV) conditions. Pore waters collected periodically and solid-phase analyses on core material obtained at the end of the experiment highlighted striking geochemical differences between the two columns, especially in the time series and depth distributions of Fe, Mn, K, P and S. Soil CO2 emissions derived from headspace gas analysis exhibited periodic variations in the fluctuating water table column, with peak values during water table drawdown. Transient redox conditions caused by the water table fluctuations enhanced microbial oxidation of soil organic matter, resulting in a pronounced depletion of particulate organic carbon in the midsection of the fluctuating water table column. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed the onset of differentiation of the bacterial communities in the upper (oxidizing) and lower (reducing) soil sections, although no systematic differences in microbial community structure

Rapid fluctuations in extracellular brain glucose levels induced by natural arousing stimuli and intravenous cocaine: fueling the brain during neural activation

Science.gov (United States)

Lenoir, Magalie

2012-01-01

Glucose, a primary energetic substrate for neural activity, is continuously influenced by two opposing forces that tend to either decrease its extracellular levels due to enhanced utilization in neural cells or increase its levels due to entry from peripheral circulation via enhanced cerebral blood flow. How this balance is maintained under physiological conditions and changed during neural activation remains unclear. To clarify this issue, enzyme-based glucose sensors coupled with high-speed amperometry were used in freely moving rats to evaluate fluctuations in extracellular glucose levels induced by brief audio stimulus, tail pinch (TP), social interaction with another rat (SI), and intravenous cocaine (1 mg/kg). Measurements were performed in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), which drastically differ in neuronal activity. In NAcc, where most cells are powerfully excited after salient stimulation, glucose levels rapidly (latency 2–6 s) increased (30–70 μM or 6–14% over baseline) by all stimuli; the increase differed in magnitude and duration for each stimulus. In SNr, where most cells are transiently inhibited by salient stimuli, TP, SI, and cocaine induced a biphasic glucose response, with the initial decrease (−20–40 μM or 5–10% below baseline) followed by a reboundlike increase. The critical role of neuronal activity in mediating the initial glucose response was confirmed by monitoring glucose currents after local microinjections of glutamate (GLU) or procaine (PRO). While intra-NAcc injection of GLU transiently increased glucose levels in this structure, intra-SNr PRO injection resulted in rapid, transient decreases in SNr glucose. Therefore, extracellular glucose levels in the brain change very rapidly after physiological and pharmacological stimulation, the response is structure specific, and the pattern of neuronal activity appears to be a critical factor determining direction and magnitude of physiological

Nonlinear quenching of current fluctuations in a self-exciting homopolar dynamo

Science.gov (United States)

Hide, R.

In the interpretation of geomagnetic polarity reversals with their highly variable frequency over geological time it is necessary, as with other irregularly fluctuating geophysical phenomena, to consider the relative importance of forced contributions associated with changing boundary conditions and of free contributions characteristic of the behaviour of nonlinear systems operating under fixed boundary conditions. New evidence -albeit indirect- in favour of the likely predominance of forced contributions is provided by the discovery reported here of the possibility of complete quenching by nonlineax effects of current fluctuations in a self-exciting homopolar dynamo with its single Faraday disk driven into rotation with angular speed y(τ) (where τ denotes time) by a steady applied couple. The armature of an electric motor connected in series with the coil of the dynamo is driven into rotation' with angular speed z(τ) by a torque xf (x) due to Lorentz forces associated with the electric current x(τ) in the system (just as certain parts of the spectrum of eddies within the liquid outer core are generated largely by Lorentz forces associated with currents generated by the self-exciting magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) geodynamo). The discovery is based on bifurcation analysis supported by computational studies of the following (mathematically novel) autonomous set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations: dx/dt = x(y - 1) - βzf(x), dy/dt = α(1 - x²) - κy, dz/dt = xf (x) -λz, where f (x) = 1 - ɛ + ɛσx, in cases when the dimensionless parameters (α, β, κ, λ, σ) are all positive and 0 ≤ ɛ ≤ 1. Within those regions of (α, β, κ, λ, σ) parameter space where the applied couple, as measured by α, is strong enough for persistent dynamo action (i.e. x ≠ 0) to occur at all, there are in general extensive regions where x(τ) exhibits large amplitude regular or irregular (chaotic) fluctuations. But these fluctuating régimes shrink in size as increases

A survey of core and support activities of communicable disease surveillance systems at operating-level CDCs in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Weiyi; Lv, Jun; Li, Liming

2010-11-17

In recent years, problems like insufficient coordination, low efficiency, and heavy working load in national communicable disease surveillance systems in China have been pointed out by many researchers. To strengthen the national communicable disease surveillance systems becomes an immediate concern. Since the World Health Organization has recommended that a structured approach to strengthen national communicable disease surveillance must include an evaluation to existing systems which usually begins with a systematic description, we conducted the first survey for communicable disease surveillance systems in China, in order to understand the situation of core and support surveillance activities at province-level and county-level centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs). A nationwide survey was conducted by mail between May and October 2006 to investigate the implementation of core and support activities of the Notifiable Disease Reporting System (NDRS) and disease-specific surveillance systems in all of the 31 province-level and selected 14 county-level CDCs in Mainland China The comments on the performance of communicable disease surveillance systems were also collected from the directors of CDCs in this survey. The core activities of NDRS such as confirmation, reporting and analysis and some support activities such as supervision and staff training were found sufficient in both province-level and county-level surveyed CDCs, but other support activities including information feedback, equipment and financial support need to be strengthened in most of the investigated CDCs. A total of 47 communicable diseases or syndromes were under surveillance at province level, and 20 diseases or syndromes at county level. The activities among different disease-specific surveillance systems varied widely. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), measles and tuberculosis (TB) surveillance systems got relatively high recognition both at province level and county level. China has

Experimental identification of nonlinear coupling between (intermediate, small)-scale microturbulence and an MHD mode in the core of a superconducting tokamak

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, P. J.; Li, Y. D.; Ren, Y.; Zhang, X. D.; Wu, G. J.; Xu, L. Q.; Chen, R.; Li, Q.; Zhao, H. L.; Zhang, J. Z.; Shi, T. H.; Wang, Y. M.; Lyu, B.; Hu, L. Q.; Li, J.; The EAST Team

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present clear experimental evidence of core region nonlinear coupling between (intermediate, small)-scale microturbulence and an magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) mode during the current ramp-down phase in a set of L-mode plasma discharges in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST, Wan et al (2006 Plasma Sci. Technol. 8 253)). Density fluctuations of broadband microturbulence (k\\perpρi˜2{-}5.2 ) and the MHD mode (toroidal mode number m = -1 , poloidal mode number n = 1 ) are measured simultaneously, using a four-channel tangential CO2 laser collective scattering diagnostic in core plasmas. The nonlinear coupling between the broadband microturbulence and the MHD mode is directly demonstrated by showing a statistically significant bicoherence and modulation of turbulent density fluctuation amplitude by the MHD mode.

Galvanic replacement-free deposition of Au on Ag for core-shell nanocubes with enhanced chemical stability and SERS activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yin; Liu, Jingyue; Fu, Zheng-Wen; Qin, Dong

2014-06-11

We report a robust synthesis of Ag@Au core-shell nanocubes by directly depositing Au atoms on the surfaces of Ag nanocubes as conformal, ultrathin shells. Our success relies on the introduction of a strong reducing agent to compete with and thereby block the galvanic replacement between Ag and HAuCl4. An ultrathin Au shell of 0.6 nm thick was able to protect the Ag in the core in an oxidative environment. Significantly, the core-shell nanocubes exhibited surface plasmonic properties essentially identical to those of the original Ag nanocubes, while the SERS activity showed a 5.4-fold further enhancement owing to an improvement in chemical enhancement. The combination of excellent SERS activity and chemical stability may enable a variety of new applications.

Planetary gyre, time-dependent eddies, torsional waves, and equatorial jets at the Earth's core surface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gillet, N.; Jault, D.; Finlay, Chris

2015-01-01

between the magnetic field and subdecadal nonzonal motions within the fluid outer core. Both the zonal and the more energetic nonzonal interannual motions were particularly intense close to the equator (below 10∘ latitude) between 1995 and 2010. We revise down the amplitude of the decade fluctuations......We report a calculation of time-dependent quasi-geostrophic core flows for 1940–2010. Inverting recursively for an ensemble of solutions, we evaluate the main source of uncertainties, namely, the model errors arising from interactions between unresolved core surface motions and magnetic fields....... Temporal correlations of these uncertainties are accounted for. The covariance matrix for the flow coefficients is also obtained recursively from the dispersion of an ensemble of solutions. Maps of the flow at the core surface show, upon a planetary-scale gyre, time-dependent large-scale eddies...

Hollow Ag@Pd core-shell nanotubes as highly active catalysts for the electro-oxidation of formic acid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jiang, Yuanyuan; Lu, Yizhong; Han, Dongxue

2012-01-01

by detailed characterizations. The Ag@Pd can significantly improve the electrocatalytic activity towards the electro-oxidation of formic acid and enhance the stability of the Pd component. It is proposed that the enhanced electrochemically active surface area and modulated electron structure of Pd by Ag......Ag nanowires are prepared as templates by a polyol reduction process. Then Ag nanotubes coated with a thin layer of Pd are synthesized through sequential reduction accompanied with the galvanic displacement reaction. The products show a hollow core-shell nanotubular structure, as demonstrated...... are responsible for the improvement of electrocatalytic activity and durability. The results obtained in this work are different from those previous reports, in which alloy walls with hollow interiors are usually formed. This work provides a new and simple method for synthesizing novel bimetallic core...

5th International Conference on Valence Fluctuations

CERN Document Server

Malik, S

1987-01-01

During the Koln meeting (August 28-31, 1984), Irdia was chosen as the venue for the next International Conference on Valence Fluctuations. lhis was in recognition ard appreciation of the work done, both experimental ard theoretical, by the Irdian scientists in this area during the last decade. We decided to hold this Conference in the month of January, 1987 at Bangalore. lhe subject of Valence Fluctuations has kept itself alive ard active as it has provided many shocks ard suprises particularly among the Ce- ard U-based intermetallies. lhe richness of many interesting physical phenomena occurring in mixed valent materials, the flexibility of modifying their physical properties (by alloying, for example) ard the possibility of synthesizing a wide variety of new such materials seem to be the key factors in this regard. Barely six months before this Conference, an International Conference on Anomalous Rare Earths and Actinides (ICAREA) had been held at Grenoble (July, 1986) which also focussed on mixed valence a...

Multichannel detrended fluctuation analysis reveals synchronized patterns of spontaneous spinal activity in anesthetized cats.

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Erika E Rodríguez

Full Text Available The analysis of the interaction and synchronization of relatively large ensembles of neurons is fundamental for the understanding of complex functions of the nervous system. It is known that the temporal synchronization of neural ensembles is involved in the generation of specific motor, sensory or cognitive processes. Also, the intersegmental coherence of spinal spontaneous activity may indicate the existence of synaptic neural pathways between different pairs of lumbar segments. In this study we present a multichannel version of the detrended fluctuation analysis method (mDFA to analyze the correlation dynamics of spontaneous spinal activity (SSA from time series analysis. This method together with the classical detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA were used to find out whether the SSA recorded in one or several segments in the spinal cord of the anesthetized cat occurs either in a random or in an organized manner. Our results are consistent with a non-random organization of the sets of neurons involved in the generation of spontaneous cord dorsum potentials (CDPs recorded either from one lumbar segment (DFA-α mean = 1.04[Formula: see text]0.09 or simultaneously from several lumbar segments (mDFA-α mean = 1.01[Formula: see text]0.06, where α = 0.5 indicates randomness while α = 0.5 indicates long-term correlations. To test the sensitivity of the mDFA method we also examined the effects of small spinal lesions aimed to partially interrupt connectivity between neighboring lumbosacral segments. We found that the synchronization and correlation between the CDPs recorded from the L5 and L6 segments in both sides of the spinal cord were reduced when a lesion comprising the left dorsal quadrant was performed between the segments L5 and L6 (mDFA-[Formula: see text] = 0.992 as compared to initial conditions mDFA-α = 1.186. The synchronization and correlation were reduced even further after a similar additional right spinal lesion (mDFA-α = 0

Magnetic fluctuation measurements in the Tokapole II tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaPointe, M.A.

1990-09-01

Magnetic fluctuation measurements have been made in the Tokapole II tokamak in the frequency range 10 kHz ≤ f ≤ 5 MHz. The fluctuations above 500 kHz varied greatly as the effective edge safety factor, q a , was varied over the range 0.8 ≤ q a ≤ 3.8. As q a was varied from 3.8 to 0.8 the high frequency magnetic fluctuation amplitude increased by over three orders of magnitude. The fluctuation amplitude for 0.5 to 2.0 MHz was a factor of 10 lower than the fluctuation amplitude in the range 100 to 400 kHz for q a of 0.8. When q a was increased to 3.8 the difference between the differing frequency ranges increased to a factor of 10 3 . Comparison of the measured broadband fluctuation amplitudes with those predicted from thermally driven Alfven and magnetosonic waves shows that the amplitudes are at least 1000 times larger than the theoretical predictions. This indicates that there is some other mechanism driving the higher frequency magnetic fluctuations. Estimates show that the contribution by the magnetic fluctuations above 500 kHz to the estimated electron energy loss from stochastic fields is negligible. The profiles of the various components of the magnetic fluctuations indicate the possibility that the shear in the magnetic field may stabilize whatever instabilities drive the magnetic fluctuations

NIR Ratiometric Luminescence Detection of pH Fluctuation in Living Cells with Hemicyanine Derivative-Assembled Upconversion Nanophosphors.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haixia; Dong, Hao; Yu, Mingming; Liu, Chunxia; Li, Zhanxian; Wei, Liuhe; Sun, Ling-Dong; Zhang, Hongyan

2017-09-05

It is crucial for cell physiology to keep the homeostasis of pH, and it is highly demanded yet challenging to develop luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET)-based near-infrared (NIR) ratiometric luminescent sensor for the detection of pH fluctuation with NIR excitation. As promising energy donors for LRET, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been widely used to fabricate nanosensors, but the relatively low LRET efficiency limits their application in bioassay. To improve the LRET efficiency, core/shell/shell structured β-NaGdF 4 @NaYF 4 :Yb,Tm@NaYF 4 UCNPs were prepared and decorated with hemicyanine dyes as an LRET-based NIR ratiometric luminescent pH fluctuation-nanosensor for the first time. The as-developed nanosensor not only exhibits good antidisturbance ability, but it also can reversibly sense pH and linearly sense pH in a range of 6.0-9.0 and 6.8-9.0 from absorption and upconversion emission spectra, respectively. In addition, the nanosensor displays low dark toxicity under physiological temperature, indicating good biocompatibility. Furthermore, live cell imaging results revealed that the sensor can selectively monitor pH fluctuation via ratiometric upconversion luminescence behavior.

Non-linear Membrane Properties in Entorhinal Cortical Stellate Cells Reduce Modulation of Input-Output Responses by Voltage Fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Fernando R.; Malerba, Paola; White, John A.

2015-01-01

The presence of voltage fluctuations arising from synaptic activity is a critical component in models of gain control, neuronal output gating, and spike rate coding. The degree to which individual neuronal input-output functions are modulated by voltage fluctuations, however, is not well established across different cortical areas. Additionally, the extent and mechanisms of input-output modulation through fluctuations have been explored largely in simplified models of spike generation, and with limited consideration for the role of non-linear and voltage-dependent membrane properties. To address these issues, we studied fluctuation-based modulation of input-output responses in medial entorhinal cortical (MEC) stellate cells of rats, which express strong sub-threshold non-linear membrane properties. Using in vitro recordings, dynamic clamp and modeling, we show that the modulation of input-output responses by random voltage fluctuations in stellate cells is significantly limited. In stellate cells, a voltage-dependent increase in membrane resistance at sub-threshold voltages mediated by Na+ conductance activation limits the ability of fluctuations to elicit spikes. Similarly, in exponential leaky integrate-and-fire models using a shallow voltage-dependence for the exponential term that matches stellate cell membrane properties, a low degree of fluctuation-based modulation of input-output responses can be attained. These results demonstrate that fluctuation-based modulation of input-output responses is not a universal feature of neurons and can be significantly limited by subthreshold voltage-gated conductances. PMID:25909971

Fluctuation traits of Litchi wholesale price in China

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, F. F.; Qi, W. E.; Ouyang, X.

2017-07-01

This paper chose the wholesale price of litchi as research object based on the daily data of 11 main sales markets in China -- Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hefei, Jiaxing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Changsha, Zhengzhou and Chongqing from April 1, 2012 to September 30, 2016. After analyzing the fluctuation characteristics with BP filter method and H-P filter method, and the fluctuation trends of litchi wholesale price in China obtained by BP filter are roughly consistent with the trends obtained by H-P filter. The main conclusions are as follows: there is strong cyclicality in the fluctuation of litchi wholesale price; the period of fluctuations of litchi wholesale prices are not repeatable; litchi wholesale price fluctuates asymmetrically in one fluctuation cycle.

Denitrifying Bioreactors Resist Disturbance from Fluctuating Water Levels

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Sarah K. Hathaway

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Nitrate can be removed from wastewater streams, including subsurface agricultural drainage systems, using woodchip bioreactors to promote microbial denitrification. However, the variations in water flow in these systems could make reliable performance from this microbially-mediated process a challenge. In the current work, the effects of fluctuating water levels on nitrate removal, denitrifying activity, and microbial community composition in laboratory-scale bioreactors were investigated. The performance was sensitive to changing water level. An average of 31% nitrate was removed at high water level and 59% at low water level, despite flow adjustments to maintain a constant theoretical hydraulic retention time. The potential activity, as assessed through denitrifying enzyme assays, averaged 0.0008 mg N2O-N/h/dry g woodchip and did not show statistically significant differences between reactors, sampling depths, or operational conditions. In the denitrifying enzyme assays, nitrate removal consistently exceeded nitrous oxide production. The denitrifying bacterial communities were not significantly different from each other, regardless of water level, meaning that the denitrifying bacterial community did not change in response to disturbance. The overall bacterial communities, however, became more distinct between the two reactors when one reactor was operated with periodic disturbances of changing water height, and showed a stronger effect at the most severely disturbed location. The communities were not distinguishable, though, when comparing the same location under high and low water levels, indicating that the communities in the disturbed reactor were adapted to fluctuating conditions rather than to high or low water level. Overall, these results describe a biological treatment process and microbial community that is resistant to disturbance via water level fluctuations.

Thermodynamic properties of fluids from Fluctuation Solution Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connell, J.P.

1990-01-01

Fluctuation Theory develops exact relations between integrals of molecular correlation functions and concentration derivatives of pressure and chemical potential. These quantities can be usefully correlated, particularly for mechanical and thermal properties of pure and mixed dense fluids and for activities of strongly nonideal liquid solutions. The expressions yield unique formulae for the desirable thermodynamic properties of activity and density. The molecular theory origins of the flucuation properties, their behavior for systems of technical interest and some of their successful correlations will be described. Suggestions for fruitful directions will be suggested

Fluctuation characteristics in detached recombining plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohno, Noriyasu; Tanaka, Naoyuki; Takamura, Shuichi; Budaev, Viatcheslav

2002-01-01

Fluctuation in detached recombining plasmas has been investigated experimentally in the linear divertor plasma simulator, NAGDIS-II. As increasing neutral gas pressure, floating potential fluctuation of the target plate installed at the end of the NADIS-II device becomes larger and bursty negative spikes are observed in the signal associated with a transition from attached to detached a plasmas. The fluctuation property has been analyzed by using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), probability distribution function (PDF) and wavelet transform. The PDF of the floating potential fluctuation in the attached plasma condition obeys the Gaussian distribution function, on the other hand, the PDF in detached plasma shows a strong deviation from the Gaussian distribution function, which can be characterized by flatness and skewness. Comparison of the fluctuation properties between the floating potential and the optical emission from the detached plasma has been done based on the wavelet transform to show that a strong correlation between them, which could indicate bursty transport of energetic electrons from upstream to downstream region along the magnetic field. (author)

Engineering Ru@Pt Core-Shell Catalysts for Enhanced Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Mass Activity and Stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Ariel; Strickler, Alaina; Higgins, Drew; Jaramillo, Thomas Francisco

2018-01-12

Improving the performance of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is essential for the commercial efficacy of many renewable energy technologies, including low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Herein, we report highly active and stable carbon-supported Ru@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (Ru@Pt/C) prepared by a wet chemical synthesis technique. Through rotating disc electrode testing, the Ru@Pt/C achieves an ORR Pt mass-based activity of 0.50 A mg Pt -1 at 0.9 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which exceeds the activity of the state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalyst as well as the Department of Energy 2020 PEFC electrocatalyst activity targets for transportation applications. The impact of various synthetic parameters, including Pt to Ru ratios and catalyst pretreatments (i.e., annealing) are thoroughly explored. Pt-based mass activity of all prepared Ru@Pt/C catalysts was found to exceed 0.4 mg Pt -1 across the range of compositions investigated, with the maximum activity catalyst having a Ru:Pt ratio of 1:1. This optimized composition of Ru@Pt/C catalyst demonstrated remarkable stability after 30,000 accelerated durability cycles (0.6 to 1.0 V vs. RHE at 125 mV s -1 ), maintaining 85% of its initial mass activity. Scanning transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) analysis at various stages of electrochemical testing demonstrated that the Pt shell can provide sufficient protection against the dissolution of the otherwise unstable Ru core.

The arginine residue within the C-terminal active core of Bombyx mori pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN is essential for receptor binding and activation

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Takeshi eKawai

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In most lepidopteran insects, the biosynthesis of sex pheromones is regulated by pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN. Bombyx mori PBAN (BomPBAN consists of 33 amino acid residues and contains a C-terminus FSPRLamide motif as the active core. Among neuropeptides containing the FXPRLamide motif, the arginine (Arg, R residue two positions from the C-terminus is highly conserved across several neuropeptides, which can be designated as RXamide peptides. The purpose of this study was to reveal the role of the Arg residue in the BomPBAN active core. We synthesized a ten-residue peptide corresponding to the C-terminal part of BomPBAN with a series of point mutants at the 2nd position (ie, Arg from the C-terminus, termed the C2 position, and measured their efficacy in stimulating Ca2+ influx in insect cells concomitantly expressing a fluorescent PBAN receptor chimera (PBANR-EGFP and loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, Fura Red-AM. PBAN analogs with the C2 position replaced with alanine (Ala, A, aspartic acid (Asp, D, serine (Ser, S or L-2-aminooctanoic acid (Aoc decreased PBAN-like activity. RC2A (SKTRYFSPALamide and RC2D (SKTRYFSPDLamide had the lowest activity and could not inhibit the activity of PBAN C10 (SKTRYFSPRLamide. We also prepared Rhodamine Red-labeled PBAN analogs of the mutants and examined their ability to bind PBANR. In contrast to 100 nM Rhodamine Red-PBAN C10, none of the mutants at the same concentration exhibited PBANR binding. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the C2 Arg residue in BomPBAN is essential for PBANR binding and activation.

Statistical fluctuations of electromagnetic transition intensities in pf-shell nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamoudi, A.; Nazmitdinov, R.G.; Shakhaliev, E.; Alhassid, Y.

2000-01-01

We study the fluctuation properties of ΔT = 0 electromagnetic transition intensities in A ∼ 60 nuclei within the framework of the interacting shell model, using a realistic effective interaction for pf-shell nuclei with a 56 Ni core. It is found that the B(E2) and the ΔJ ≠ 0 distributions are well described by the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble of random matrices (Porter-Thomas distribution) independently of the isobaric quantum number T Z . However, the statistics of the B(M1) transitions with Δ = 0 are sensitive to T Z : T Z = 1 nuclei exhibit a Porter-Thomas distribution, while a significant deviation from the GOE statistics is observed for self-conjugate nuclei (T Z = 0). Similar results are found for A = 22 sd-shell nuclei

Thermal fluctuations in a hyperscaling-violation background

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pourhassan, Behnam [Damghan University, School of Physics, Damghan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Faizal, Mir [University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, Kelowna, BC (Canada); University of Lethbridge, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lethbridge, AB (Canada); Upadhyay, Sudhaker [Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Centre for Theoretical Studies, Kharagpur (India); Al Asfar, Lina [Universite Blaise Pascal, Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire de Clermont-Ferrand, Aubiere (France)

2017-08-15

In this paper, we study the effect of thermal fluctuations on the thermodynamics of a black geometry with hyperscaling violation. These thermal fluctuations in the thermodynamics of this system are produced from quantum corrections of geometry describing this system. We discuss the stability of this system using specific heat and the entire Hessian matrix of the free energy. We will analyze the effects of thermal fluctuations on the stability of this system. We also analyze the effects of thermal fluctuations on the criticality of the hyperscaling-violation background. (orig.)

Fluctuating Asymmetry of Human Populations: A Review

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John H. Graham

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Fluctuating asymmetry, the random deviation from perfect symmetry, is a widely used population-level index of developmental instability, developmental noise, and robustness. It reflects a population’s state of adaptation and genomic coadaptation. Here, we review the literature on fluctuating asymmetry of human populations. The most widely used bilateral traits include skeletal, dental, and facial dimensions; dermatoglyphic patterns and ridge counts; and facial shape. Each trait has its advantages and disadvantages, but results are most robust when multiple traits are combined into a composite index of fluctuating asymmetry (CFA. Both environmental (diet, climate, toxins and genetic (aneuploidy, heterozygosity, inbreeding stressors have been linked to population-level variation in fluctuating asymmetry. In general, these stressors increase average fluctuating asymmetry. Nevertheless, there have been many conflicting results, in part because (1 fluctuating asymmetry is a weak signal in a sea of noise; and (2 studies of human fluctuating asymmetry have not always followed best practices. The most serious concerns are insensitive asymmetry indices (correlation coefficient and coefficient of indetermination, inappropriate size scaling, unrecognized mixture distributions, inappropriate corrections for directional asymmetry, failure to use composite indices, and inattention to measurement error. Consequently, it is often difficult (or impossible to compare results across traits, and across studies.

Fluctuating inhibitory inputs promote reliable spiking at theta frequencies in hippocampal interneurons

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Duluxan eSritharan

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Theta frequency (4-12 Hz rhythms in the hippocampus play important roles in learning and memory. CA1 interneurons located at the stratum lacunosum-moleculare and radiatum junction (LM/RAD are thought to contribute to hippocampal theta population activities by rhythmically pacing pyramidal cells with inhibitory postsynaptic potentials. This implies that LM/RAD cells need to fire reliably at theta frequencies in vivo. To determine whether this could occur, we use biophysically-based LM/RAD model cells and apply different cholinergic and synaptic inputs to simulate in vivo-like network environments. We assess spike reliabilities and spiking frequencies, identifying biophysical properties and network conditions that best promote reliable theta spiking. We find that synaptic background activities that feature large inhibitory, but not excitatory, fluctuations are essential. This suggests that strong inhibitory input to these cells is vital for them to be able to contribute to population theta activities. Furthermore, we find that Type I-like oscillator models produced by augmented persistent sodium currents (INap or diminished A type potassium currents (IA enhance reliable spiking at lower theta frequencies. These Type I-like models are also the most responsive to large inhibitory fluctuations and can fire more reliably under such conditions. In previous work, we showed that INap and IA are largely responsible for establishing LM/RAD cells’ subthreshold activities. Taken together with this study, we see that while both these currents are important for subthreshold theta fluctuations and reliable theta spiking, they contribute in different ways – INap to reliable theta spiking and subthreshold activity generation, and IA to subthreshold activities at theta frequencies. This suggests that linking subthreshold and suprathreshold activities should be done with consideration of both in vivo contexts and biophysical specifics.

Program Director Perceptions of Proficiency in the Core Entrustable Professional Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearlman, R Ellen; Pawelczak, Melissa; Yacht, Andrew C; Akbar, Salaahuddin; Farina, Gino A

2017-10-01

The Association of American Medical Colleges describes 13 core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) that every graduating medical student should be expected to perform proficiently on day 1 of residency, regardless of chosen specialty. Studies have shown wide variability in program director (PD) confidence in interns' abilities to perform these core EPAs. Little is known regarding comparison of United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores with proficiency in EPAs. We determined if PDs from a large health system felt confident in their postgraduate year 1 residents' abilities to perform the 13 core EPAs, and compared perceived EPA proficiency with USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores. The PDs were asked to rate their residents' proficiency in each EPA and to provide residents' USMLE scores. Timing coincided with the reporting period for resident milestones. Surveys were completed on 204 of 328 residents (62%). PDs reported that 69% of residents (140 of 204) were prepared for EPA 4 (orders/prescriptions), 61% (117 of 192) for EPA 7 (form clinical questions), 68% (135 of 198) for EPA 8 (handovers), 63% (116 of 185) for EPA 11 (consent), and 38% (49 of 129) for EPA 13 (patient safety). EPA ratings and USMLE 1 and 2 were negatively correlated ( r (101) = -0.23, P  = .031). PDs felt that a significant percentage of residents were not adequately prepared in order writing, forming clinical questions, handoffs, informed consent, and promoting a culture of patient safety. We found no positive association between USMLE scores and EPA ratings.

ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK AND ENTROPY INJECTION IN GALAXY CLUSTER CORES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhuri, Anya; Majumdar, Subhabrata; Nath, Biman B.

2013-01-01

We make the first estimate of non-gravitational energy profiles in galaxy cluster cores (and beyond) based on observational data. Comparing the observed entropy profiles within r 500 , from the Representative XMM-Newton Cluster Structure Survey to simulated base entropy profiles without feedback from both adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) and smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) non-radiative simulations, we estimate the amount of additional non-gravitational energy, E ICM , contained in the intracluster medium (ICM), as well as the total energy feedback, E Feedback , from active galactic nuclei (AGNs; the central AGNs in most cases) into the clusters. The total feedback energy scales with the mean spectroscopic temperature as E Feedback ∝T sp 2.52±0.08 and E Feedback ∝T sp 2.17±0.11 for the SPH and AMR baseline profiles. The mean non-gravitational energy per particle within r 500 remaining in the ICM after energy lost during cooling is ε ICM = 2.8 ± 0.8 keV for the SPH theoretical relation and ε ICM = 1.7 ± 0.9 keV for the AMR theoretical relation. We use the NRAO/VLA Sky Survey source catalog to determine the radio luminosity, L R , at 1.4 GHz of the central source(s) of our sample. For T sp > 3 keV, the E Feedback correlates with L R , although with different normalization for cool-core and non-cool-core clusters. We show that AGNs could provide a significant portion of the feedback

Fluctuations in the multiparticle dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozek, P.; Ploszajczak, M.

1993-01-01

The appearance and properties of intermittent fluctuations in physical systems, in particular the formation of rare structures in transport phenomena are discussed. The distribution of fluctuations approaches a limiting log-normal statistical distribution. The log-normal distribution is introduced as a simple parametrization of the energy fluctuations leading to the subthreshold production of particles in nuclear collisions, and it is shown that it fits all available data both for total π 0 production cross section as well as the π 0 kinetic energy spectra for E/A < 90 MeV. It is suggested that the same universal distribution should also describe the subthreshold production of other hadrons like η and K. (author) 36 refs., 11 figs

The temporal spectrum of adult mosquito population fluctuations: conceptual and modeling implications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Jian

Full Text Available An improved understanding of mosquito population dynamics under natural environmental forcing requires adequate field observations spanning the full range of temporal scales over which mosquito abundance fluctuates in natural conditions. Here we analyze a 9-year daily time series of uninterrupted observations of adult mosquito abundance for multiple mosquito species in North Carolina to identify characteristic scales of temporal variability, the processes generating them, and the representativeness of observations at different sampling resolutions. We focus in particular on Aedes vexans and Culiseta melanura and, using a combination of spectral analysis and modeling, we find significant population fluctuations with characteristic periodicity between 2 days and several years. Population dynamical modelling suggests that the observed fast fluctuations scales (2 days-weeks are importantly affected by a varying mosquito activity in response to rapid changes in meteorological conditions, a process neglected in most representations of mosquito population dynamics. We further suggest that the range of time scales over which adult mosquito population variability takes place can be divided into three main parts. At small time scales (indicatively 2 days-1 month observed population fluctuations are mainly driven by behavioral responses to rapid changes in weather conditions. At intermediate scales (1 to several month environmentally-forced fluctuations in generation times, mortality rates, and density dependence determine the population characteristic response times. At longer scales (annual to multi-annual mosquito populations follow seasonal and inter-annual environmental changes. We conclude that observations of adult mosquito populations should be based on a sub-weekly sampling frequency and that predictive models of mosquito abundance must include behavioral dynamics to separate the effects of a varying mosquito activity from actual changes in the

Fluctuations, dynamical instabilities and clusterization processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgio, G.F.; Chomaz, Ph.; Randrup, J.

1992-01-01

Recent progress with regard to the numerical simulation of fluctuations in nuclear dynamics is reported. Cluster formation in unstable nuclear matter is studied within the framework of a Boltzmann-Langevin equation developed to describe large amplitude fluctuations. Through the Fourier analysis of the fluctuating nuclear density in coordinate space, the onset of the clusterization is related to the dispersion relation of harmonic density oscillations. This detailed study on the simple two-dimensional case demonstrates the validity of the general approach. It is also shown, how the inclusion of fluctuations implies a description in terms of ensemble of trajectories and it is discussed why the presence of a stochastic term may cure the intrinsic unpredictability of deterministic theories (such as mean-field approximation) in presence of instabilities and/or chaos. (author) 8 refs., 3 figs

Origin of density fluctuations in extended inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.; Salopek, D.S.; Turner, M.S.

1990-01-01

We calculate both the curvature and isocurvature density fluctuations that arise due to quantum fluctuations in a simple model of extended inflation based upon the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory. The curvature fluctuations that arise due to quantum fluctuations in the Brans-Dicke field in general have a non-scale-invariant spectrum and an amplitude that is cosmologically acceptable and interesting without having to tune any coupling constant to a very small value. The curvature perturbations that arise due to the Higgs field are subdominant. If there are other massless fields in the theory, e.g., an axion or an ilion, then isocurvature fluctuations arise in these fields too. Production of gravitational waves and the massless particles associated with excitations of the Brans-Dicke field are also discussed. Several attempts at more realistic models of extended inflation are also analyzed. The importance of the Einstein conformal frame in calculating curvature fluctuations is emphasized. When viewed in this frame, extended inflation closely resembles slow-rollover inflation with an exponential potential, and the usual formula for the amplitude of curvature perturbations applies directly

Origin of density fluctuations in extended inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.; Salopek, D.S.; Turner, M.S.

1990-05-01

The density fluctuations (both curvature and isocurvature) that arise due to quantum fluctuations in a simple model of extended inflation based upon the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory are calculated. Curvature fluctuations arise due to quantum fluctuations in the Brans-Dicke field, in general have a nonscale-invariant spectrum, and can have an amplitude that is cosmologically acceptable and interesting without having to tune any coupling constant to a very small value. The density perturbations that arise due to the inflation field are subdominant. If there are other massless fields in the theory, e.g., an axion or an ilion, then isocurvature fluctuations arise in these fields too. Production of gravitational waves and the massless particles associated with excitations of the Brans-Dicke field are also discussed. Several attempts at more realistic models of extended inflation are also analyzed. The importance of the Einstein conformal frame in calculating curvature fluctuations is emphasized. When viewed in this frame, extended inflation closely resembles slow-rollover inflation with an exponential potential and the usual formula for the amplitude of curvature perturbations applies

Short-term fluctuations in motivation to quit smoking in a sample of smokers in Hawaii.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Thaddeus; Pokhrel, Pallav; Kawamoto, Crissy T

2015-01-01

Despite its potential for usefulness in informing the development of smoking cessation interventions, short-term fluctuations in motivation to quit is a relatively understudied topic. To assess the prevalence of smokers' day-to-day fluctuations in motivation to quit, and to assess associations of day-to-day fluctuations in motivation to quit with several established cessation-related variables. A cross-sectional survey was administered to smokers in Hawaii (N = 1,567). To assess short-term fluctuations in motivation to quit smoking, participants were asked to respond "True" or "False" to the statement: "My motivation to quit smoking changes from one day to the next." Other items measured desire to quit smoking, intention to quit, confidence in quitting, cigarette dependence, and other cessation-related variables. "My motivation to quit smoking changes from one day to the next" was endorsed as true by 64.7% of smokers, and false by 35.3%. Analyses revealed that smokers who indicated fluctuating motivation were significantly more interested in quitting as compared to smokers without fluctuations. Fluctuations in motivation to quit also were associated with greater confidence in quitting, lesser cigarette dependence, and more recent quitting activity (all p motivation to quit are common. Day-to-day fluctuations in motivation to quit are strongly associated with higher motivation to quit, greater confidence in future quitting, and other positive cessation-relevant trends.

The N terminus of cGAS de-oligomerizes the cGAS:DNA complex and lifts the DNA size restriction of core-cGAS activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Arum; Park, Eun-Byeol; Lee, Janghyun; Choi, Byong-Seok; Kang, Suk-Jo

2017-03-01

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a DNA-sensing enzyme in the innate immune system. Recent studies using core-cGAS lacking the N terminus investigated the mechanism for binding of double-stranded (ds) DNA and synthesis of 2',3'-cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), a secondary messenger that ultimately induces type I interferons. However, the function of the N terminus of cGAS remains largely unknown. Here, we found that the N terminus enhanced the activity of core-cGAS in vivo. Importantly, the catalytic activity of core-cGAS decreased as the length of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) increased, but the diminished activity was restored by addition of the N terminus. Furthermore, the N terminus de-oligomerized the 2 : 2 complex of core-cGAS and dsDNA into a 1 : 1 complex, suggesting that the N terminus enhanced the activity of core-cGAS by facilitating formation of a monomeric complex of cGAS and DNA. © 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

MONETARY POLICIES AND INDUSTRIAL FLUCTUATIONS IN EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela IFRIM

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Industrial fluctuations are closely related to the evolution of relative prices of produced goods and resources involved in production activity. Industrial fluctuations, as an expression of forces manifested in the real economy, are caused by changes in individuals’ consumption and investment decisions, produced within expansionary monetary policies. The ease of obtaining a bank loan in the context of decreasing interest rates and of larger amounts of money caused an increase in individuals’ demand for goods resulted from longer, capital intensive production processes. The rise in prices of intermediate and capital goods in a faster pace compared to the increase in prices of consumer goods is doubled by the increase of the share of higher order industries in the structure of production. The objective of this paper is to analyze changes in industrial structure of Eastern Europe countries within the policies of quick access to monetary resources. The analyzed states (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania are part of the European Union and have autonomous monetary policies, meaning that they have not yet adopted the common currency. In all economies analyzed, we find approximately the same patterns of monetary expansion and industrial fluctuations.

Zero-point oscillations, zero-point fluctuations, and fluctuations of zero-point oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili, Farit Ya

2003-01-01

Several physical effects and methodological issues relating to the ground state of an oscillator are considered. Even in the simplest case of an ideal lossless harmonic oscillator, its ground state exhibits properties that are unusual from the classical point of view. In particular, the mean value of the product of two non-negative observables, kinetic and potential energies, is negative in the ground state. It is shown that semiclassical and rigorous quantum approaches yield substantially different results for the ground state energy fluctuations of an oscillator with finite losses. The dependence of zero-point fluctuations on the boundary conditions is considered. Using this dependence, it is possible to transmit information without emitting electromagnetic quanta. Fluctuations of electromagnetic pressure of zero-point oscillations are analyzed, and the corresponding mechanical friction is considered. This friction can be viewed as the most fundamental mechanism limiting the quality factor of mechanical oscillators. Observation of these effects exceeds the possibilities of contemporary experimental physics but almost undoubtedly will be possible in the near future. (methodological notes)

Quantum Fluctuations for Gravitational Impulsive Waves

OpenAIRE

Enginer, Y.; Hortacsu, M.; Ozdemir, N.

1998-01-01

Quantum fluctuations for a massless scalar field in the background metric of spherical impulsive gravitational waves through Minkowski and de Sitter spaces are investigated. It is shown that there exist finite fluctuations for de Sitter space.

Effect of temperature and temperature fluctuation on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of cattle manure.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Mashad, Hamed M; Zeeman, Grietje; van Loon, Wilko K P; Bot, Gerard P A; Lettinga, Gatze

2004-11-01

The influence of temperature, 50 and 60 degrees C, at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 20 and 10 days, on the performance of anaerobic digestion of cow manure has been investigated in completely stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). Furthermore, the effect of both daily downward and daily upward temperature fluctuations has been studied. In the daily downward temperature fluctuation regime the temperatures of each reactor was reduced by 10 degrees C for 10 h while in the daily upward fluctuation regime the temperature of each reactor was increased 10 degrees C for 5 h. The results show that the methane production rate at 60 degrees C is lower than that at 50 degrees C at all experimental conditions of imposed HRT except when downward temperature fluctuations were applied at an HRT of 10 days. It also was found that the free ammonia concentration not only affects the acetate-utilising bacteria but also the hydrolysis and acidification process. The upward temperature fluctuation affects the maximum specific methanogenesis activity more severely as compared to imposed downward temperature fluctuations. The results clearly reveal the possibility of using available solar energy at daytime to heat up the reactor(s) without the need of heat storage during nights, especially at an operational temperature of 50 degrees C and at a 20 days HRT, and without the jeopardising of the overheating.

Effect of temperature and temperature fluctuation on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of cattle manure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Mashad, H.M. [Mansoura University, El-Mansoura (Egypt). Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Engineering; Zeeman, G.; Van Loon, W.K.P.; Bot, G.P.A.; Lettinga, G. [Wageningen University Agrotechnion (Netherlands). Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences

2004-11-01

The influence of temperature, 50 and 60 {sup o}C, at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 20 and 10 days, on the performance of anaerobic digestion of cow manure has been investigated in completely stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). Furthermore, the effect of both daily downward and daily upward temperature fluctuations has been studied. In the daily downward temperature fluctuation regime the temperatures of each reactor was reduced by 10 {sup o}C for 10 h while in the daily upward fluctuation regime the temperature of each reactor was increased 10 {sup o}C for 5 h. The results show that the methane production rate at 60 {sup o}C is lower than that at 50 {sup o}C at all experimental conditions of imposed HRT except when downward temperature fluctuations were applied at an HRT of 10 days. It also was found that the free ammonia concentration not only affects the acetate-utilising bacteria but also the hydrolysis and acidification process. The upward temperature fluctuation affects the maximum specific methanogenesis activity more severely as compared to imposed downward temperature fluctuations. The results clearly reveal the possibility of using available solar energy at daytime to heat up the reactor(s) without the need of heat storage during nights, especially at an operational temperature of 50 {sup o}C and at a 20 days HRT, and without the jeopardising of the overheating. (author)

Facile in situ synthesis of wurtzite ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructure with highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity and photostability

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Jian-Hua; Huang, Wei-Qing; Hu, Yong-sheng; Zeng, Fan; Huang, Qin-Yi; Zhou, Bing-Xin; Pan, Anlian; Li, Kai; Huang, Gui-Fang

2018-02-01

High photocatalytic activity and photostability are the pursuit of the goal for designing promising photocatalysts. Herein, using ZnO to encapsulate ZnS nanoparticles is proposed as an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic activity and anti-photocorrosion. The ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructures are obtained via an annealing treatment of ZnS nanoparticles produced by a facile wet chemical approach. Due to its small size, the nascent cubic sphalerite ZnS (s-ZnS) converts into a hexagonal wurtzite ZnS (w-ZnS)/ZnO core/shell structure after annealing treatment. In situ oxidation leads to increasing ZnO, simultaneously decreasing the w-ZnS content in the resultant w-ZnS/ZnO with thermal annealing time. The w-ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructures show high photocatalytic activity, demonstrated by the photodegradation rate of methylene blue being up to ten-fold and seven-fold higher than that of s-ZnS under UV and visible light irradiation, respectively, and the high capability of degrading rhodamine B. The enhanced photocatalytic activity may be attributed to the large specific surface and improved charge carrier separation at the core/shell interface. Moreover, it displays high photostability owing to the protection of the ZnO shell, greatly inhibiting the photocorrosion of ZnS. This facile in situ oxidation is effective and easily scalable, providing opportunities for developing novel core/shell structure photocatalysts with high activity and photostability.

CORE SIM: A multi-purpose neutronic tool for research and education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demaziere, Christophe

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A highly flexible neutronic core simulator was developed. → The tool estimates the static neutron flux, the eigenmodes, and the neutron noise. → The tool was successfully validated via many benchmark cases. → The tool can be used for research and education. → The tool is freely available. - Abstract: This paper deals with the development, validation, and demonstration of an innovative neutronic tool. The novelty of the tool resides in its versatility, since many different systems can be investigated and different kinds of calculations can be performed. More precisely, both critical systems and subcritical systems with an external neutron source can be studied, and static and dynamic cases in the frequency domain (i.e. for stationary fluctuations) can be considered. In addition, the tool has the ability to determine the different eigenfunctions of any nuclear core. For each situation, the static neutron flux, the different eigenmodes and eigenvalues, the first-order neutron noise, and their adjoint functions are estimated, as well as the effective multiplication factor of the system. The main advantages of the tool, which is entirely MatLab based, lie with the robustness of the implemented numerical algorithms, its high portability between different computer platforms and operative systems, and finally its ease of use since no input deck writing is required. The present version of the tool, which is based on two-group diffusion theory, is mostly suited to investigate thermal systems. The definition of both the static and dynamic core configurations directly from the static macroscopic cross-sections and their fluctuations, respectively, makes the tool particularly well suited for research and education. Some of the many benchmark cases used to validate the tool are briefly reported. The static and dynamic capabilities of the tool are also demonstrated for the following configurations: a vibrating control rod, a perturbation traveling upwards

Quantum horizon fluctuations of an evaporating black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roura, Albert

2007-01-01

The quantum fluctuations of a black hole spacetime are studied within a low-energy effective field theory approach to quantum gravity. Our approach accounts for both intrinsic metric fluctuations and those induced by matter fields interacting with the gravitational field. Here we will concentrate on spherically symmetric fluctuations of the black hole horizon. Our results suggest that for a sufficiently massive evaporating black hole, fluctuations can accumulate over time and become significant well before reaching Planckian scales. In addition, we provide the sketch of a proof that the symmetrized two-point function of the stress-tensor operator smeared over a null hypersurface is actually divergent and discuss the implications for the analysis of horizon fluctuations. Finally, a natural way to probe quantum metric fluctuations near the horizon is briefly described

Core-shell microparticles for protein sequestration and controlled release of a protein-laden core.

Science.gov (United States)

Rinker, Torri E; Philbrick, Brandon D; Temenoff, Johnna S

2017-07-01

Development of multifunctional biomaterials that sequester, isolate, and redeliver cell-secreted proteins at a specific timepoint may be required to achieve the level of temporal control needed to more fully regulate tissue regeneration and repair. In response, we fabricated core-shell heparin-poly(ethylene-glycol) (PEG) microparticles (MPs) with a degradable PEG-based shell that can temporally control delivery of protein-laden heparin MPs. Core-shell MPs were fabricated via a re-emulsification technique and the number of heparin MPs per PEG-based shell could be tuned by varying the mass of heparin MPs in the precursor PEG phase. When heparin MPs were loaded with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and then encapsulated into core-shell MPs, degradable core-shell MPs initiated similar C2C12 cell alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity as the soluble control, while non-degradable core-shell MPs initiated a significantly lower response (85+19% vs. 9.0+4.8% of the soluble control, respectively). Similarly, when degradable core-shell MPs were formed and then loaded with BMP-2, they induced a ∼7-fold higher C2C12 ALP activity than the soluble control. As C2C12 ALP activity was enhanced by BMP-2, these studies indicated that degradable core-shell MPs were able to deliver a bioactive, BMP-2-laden heparin MP core. Overall, these dynamic core-shell MPs have the potential to sequester, isolate, and then redeliver proteins attached to a heparin core to initiate a cell response, which could be of great benefit to tissue regeneration applications requiring tight temporal control over protein presentation. Tissue repair requires temporally controlled presentation of potent proteins. Recently, biomaterial-mediated binding (sequestration) of cell-secreted proteins has emerged as a strategy to harness the regenerative potential of naturally produced proteins, but this strategy currently only allows immediate amplification and re-delivery of these signals. The multifunctional, dynamic

Luminescence properties of In(Zn)P alloy core/ZnS shell quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Thuy, Ung Thi Dieu; Reiss, Peter; Liem, Nguyen Quang

2010-11-01

Chemically synthesized InP/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) are studied using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. Zinc stearate, which is added during the synthesis of the InP core, significantly improves the optical characteristics of the QDs. The luminescence quantum yield (QY) reaches 60%-70% and the emission is tunable from 485 to 586 nm by varying the Zn2+:In3+ molar ratio and growth temperature. The observed increased Stokes shift, luminescence decay time, and QY in the presence of Zn are rationalized by the formation of an In(Zn)P alloy structure that causes band-edge fluctuation to enhance the confinement of the excited carriers.

Fluctuation of microbial activities after influent load variations in a full-scale SBR. Recovery of the biomass after starvation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabezas, Angela; Draper, Patricia; Etchebehere, Claudia [Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo (Uruguay). Catedra de Microbiologia, Facultad de Quimica y Facultad de Ciencias

2009-10-15

Due to variations in the production levels, a full-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for post-treatment of tannery wastewater was exposed to low and high ammonia load periods. In order to study how these changes affected the N-removal capacity, the microbiology of the reactor was studied by a diverse set of techniques including molecular tools, activity tests, and microbial counts in samples taken along 3 years. The recover capacity of the biomass was also studied in a lab-scale reactor operated with intermittent aeration without feeding for 36 days. The results showed that changes in the feeding negatively affected the nitrifying community, but the nitrogen removal efficiencies could be restored after the concentration stress. Species substitution was observed within the nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrobacter predominated initially, and after an ammonia overload period, Nitrosomonas nitrosa and Nitrospira became dominant. Some denitrifiers, with nirS related to Alicycliphilus, Azospirillum, and Marinobacter nirS, persisted during long-term reactor operation, but the community fluctuated both in composition and in abundance. This fluctuating community may better resist the continuous changes in the feeding regime. Our results showed that a nitrifying-denitrifying SBR could be operated with low loads or even without feeding during production shut down periods. (orig.)

Active AirCore Sampling: Constraining Point Sources of Methane and Other Gases with Fixed Wing Unmanned Aerial Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bent, J. D.; Sweeney, C.; Tans, P. P.; Newberger, T.; Higgs, J. A.; Wolter, S.

2017-12-01

Accurate estimates of point source gas emissions are essential for reconciling top-down and bottom-up greenhouse gas measurements, but sampling such sources is challenging. Remote sensing methods are limited by resolution and cloud cover; aircraft methods are limited by air traffic control clearances, and the need to properly determine boundary layer height. A new sampling approach leverages the ability of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to measure all the way to the surface near the source of emissions, improving sample resolution, and reducing the need to characterize a wide downstream swath, or measure to the full height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The "Active-AirCore" sampler, currently under development, will fly on a fixed wing UAS in Class G airspace, spiraling from the surface to 1200 ft AGL around point sources such as leaking oil wells to measure methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The sampler collects a 100-meter long sample "core" of air in an 1/8" passivated stainless steel tube. This "core" is run on a high-precision instrument shortly after the UAS is recovered. Sample values are mapped to a specific geographic location by cross-referencing GPS and flow/pressure metadata, and fluxes are quantified by applying Gauss's theorem to the data, mapped onto the spatial "cylinder" circumscribed by the UAS. The AirCore-Active builds off the sampling ability and analytical approach of the related AirCore sampler, which profiles the atmosphere passively using a balloon launch platform, but will add an active pumping capability needed for near-surface horizontal sampling applications. Here, we show design elements, laboratory and field test results for methane, describe the overall goals of the mission, and discuss how the platform can be adapted, with minimal effort, to measure other gas species.

Fluctuation relations for anomalous dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chechkin, A V; Klages, R

2009-01-01

We consider work fluctuation relations (FRs) for generic types of dynamics generating anomalous diffusion: Lévy flights, long-correlated Gaussian processes and time-fractional kinetics. By combining Langevin and kinetic approaches we calculate the probability distributions of mechanical and thermodynamical work in two paradigmatic nonequilibrium situations, respectively: a particle subject to a constant force and a particle in a harmonic potential dragged by a constant force. We check the transient FR for two models exhibiting superdiffusion, where a fluctuation-dissipation relation does not exist, and for two other models displaying subdiffusion, where there is a fluctuation-dissipation relation. In the two former cases the conventional transient FR is not recovered, whereas in the latter two it holds either exactly or in the long-time limit. (letter)

Multiscale fluctuations in nuclear response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacroix, D.; Chomaz, Ph.

1999-01-01

The nuclear collective response is investigated in the framework of a doorway picture in which the spreading width of the collective emotion is described as a coupling to more and more complex configurations. It is shown that this coupling induces fluctuations of the observed strength. In the case of a hierarchy of overlapping decay channels, Ericson fluctuations are observed at different scales. Methods for extracting these scales and the related lifetimes are discussed. Finally, it is shown that the coupling of different states at one level of complexity to some common decay channels at the next level, may produce interference-like patterns in the nuclear response. This quantum effect leads to anew type of fluctuations with a typical width related to the level spacing. (author)

Multiscale fluctuations in nuclear response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacroix, D.; Chomaz, Ph

1999-01-01

The nuclear collective response is investigated in the framework of a doorway picture in which the spreading width of the collective emotion is described as a coupling to more and more complex configurations. It is shown that this coupling induces fluctuations of the observed strength. In the case of a hierarchy of overlapping decay channels, Ericson fluctuations are observed at different scales. Methods for extracting these scales and the related lifetimes are discussed. Finally, it is shown that the coupling of different states at one level of complexity to some common decay channels at the next level, may produce interference-like patterns in the nuclear response. This quantum effect leads to anew type of fluctuations with a typical width related to the level spacing. (author) 25 refs.

Comparison of methods for detecting nondeterministic BOLD fluctuation in fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiviniemi, Vesa; Kantola, Juha-Heikki; Jauhiainen, Jukka; Tervonen, Osmo

2004-02-01

Functional MR imaging (fMRI) has been used in detecting neuronal activation and intrinsic blood flow fluctuations in the brain cortex. This article is aimed for comparing the methods for analyzing the nondeterministic flow fluctuations. Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), cross correlation (CC), spatial principal component analysis (sPCA), and independent component analysis (sICA) were compared. 15 subjects were imaged at 1.5 T. Three quantitative measures were compared: (1) The number of subjects with identifiable fluctuation, (2) the volume, and (3) mean correlation coefficient (MCC) of the detected voxels. The focusing on cortical structures and the overall usability were qualitatively assessed. sICA was spatially most accurate but time consuming, robust, and detected voxels with high temporal synchrony. The CC and FFT were fast suiting primary screening. The CC detected highest temporal synchrony but the subjective detection for reference vector produced excess variance of the detected volumes. The FFT and sPCA were not spatially accurate and did not detect adequate temporal synchrony of the voxels.

Pairing fluctuations in trapped Fermi gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viverit, Luciano; Bruun, Georg M.; Minguzzi, Anna; Fazio, Rosario

2004-01-01

We examine the contribution of pairing fluctuations to the superfluid order parameter for harmonically trapped atomic Fermi gases in the BCS regime. In the limit of small systems we consider, both analytically and numerically, their space and temperature dependence. We predict a parity effect, i.e., that pairing fluctuations show a maximum or a minimum at the center of the trap, depending on the value of the last occupied shell being even or odd. We propose to detect pairing fluctuations by measuring the density-density correlation function after a ballistic expansion of the gas

Three dimensional numerical simulation of a full scale CANDU reactor moderator to study temperature fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarchami, Araz; Ashgriz, Nasser; Kwee, Marc

2014-01-01

Highlights: • 3D model of a Candu reactor is modeled to investigate flow distribution. • The results show the temperature distribution is not symmetrical. • Temperature contours show the hot regions at the top left-hand side of the tank. • Interactions of momentum flows and buoyancy flows create circulation zones. • The results indicate that the moderator tank operates in the buoyancy driven mode. -- Abstract: Three dimensional numerical simulations are conducted on a full scale CANDU Moderator and transient variations of the temperature and velocity distributions inside the tank are determined. The results show that the flow and temperature distributions inside the moderator tank are three dimensional and no symmetry plane can be identified. Competition between the upward moving buoyancy driven flows and the downward moving momentum driven flows in the center region of the tank, results in the formation of circulation zones. The moderator tank operates in the buoyancy driven mode and any small disturbances in the flow or temperature makes the system unstable and asymmetric. Different types of temperature fluctuations are noted inside the tank: (i) large amplitude are at the boundaries between the hot and cold; (ii) low amplitude are in the core of the tank; (iii) high frequency fluctuations are in the regions with high velocities and (iv) low frequency fluctuations are in the regions with lower velocities

Fluctuation-driven directional flow of energy in biochemical cycle: Electric activation of Na,K ATPase

Science.gov (United States)

Yow Tsong, Tian

1998-03-01

Na,K ATPase is an ion pump which uses chemical bond energy of ATP to pump Na ion out of, and K ion into living cell thus maintaining ionic and osmotic balances of the cell. Both are uphill transport reactions. Surprisingly we have found that electric energy can also substitute chemical energy to fuel the pump activity. However, in this case only electric fields of certain waveforms, amplitudes, and frequencies are effective. Waveform, amplitude and frequency are three elements of signal. In other words, Na,K ATPase can recognize, process, and harvest energy from an oscillating or a fluctuating electric field to drive an endergonic reaction. The enzyme is a molecular transducer of electric signal. This report will describe electric activation experiment to define electric signal. Electric signal will then mixed with electric noise of broad power spectrum for experiment. Effect of white noise (WN) on the efficiency of Na,K ATPase will be investigated. It will be shown that WN of appropriate power level can improve the pump efficiency when a sub-optimal electric field is used. WN can also carry a sub-threshold signal to cross over the threshold. Stochastic resonance will be discussed in reference to these observations.

The effect of core and lanthanide ion dopants in sodium fluoride-based nanocrystals on phagocytic activity of human blood leukocytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sojka, Bartlomiej [Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Department of Experimental Physics (Poland); Liskova, Aurelia; Kuricova, Miroslava [Slovak Medical University, Medical Faculty, Department of Immunology and Immunotoxicology (Slovakia); Banski, Mateusz; Misiewicz, Jan [Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Department of Experimental Physics (Poland); Dusinska, Maria [Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Health Effects Laboratory, Department of Environmental Chemistry (Norway); Horvathova, Mira; Ilavska, Silvia; Szabova, Michaela [Slovak Medical University, Medical Faculty, Department of Immunology and Immunotoxicology (Slovakia); Rollerova, Eva [Slovak Medical University, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Toxicology (Slovakia); Podhorodecki, Artur, E-mail: artur.p.podhorodecki@pwr.edu.pl [Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Department of Experimental Physics (Poland); Tulinska, Jana, E-mail: jana.tulinska@szu.sk [Slovak Medical University, Medical Faculty, Department of Immunology and Immunotoxicology (Slovakia)

2017-02-15

Sodium fluoride-based β-NaLnF4 nanoparticles (NPs) doped with lanthanide ions are promising materials for application as luminescent markers in bio-imaging. In this work, the effect of NPs doped with yttrium (Y), gadolinium (Gd), europium (Eu), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and terbium (Tb) ions on phagocytic activity of monocytes and granulocytes and the respiratory burst was examined. The surface functionalization of <10-nm NPs was performed according to our variation of patent pending ligand exchange method that resulted in meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) molecules on their surface. Y-core-based NCs were doped with Eu ions, which enabled them to be excited with UV light wavelengths. Cultures of human peripheral blood (n = 8) were in vitro treated with five different concentrations of eight NPs for 24 h. In summary, neither type of nanoparticles is found toxic with respect to conducted test; however, some cause toxic effects (they have statistically significant deviations compared to reference) in some selected doses tested. Both core types of NPs (Y-core and Gd-core) impaired the phagocytic activity of monocytes the strongest, having minimal or none whatsoever influence on granulocytes and respiratory burst of phagocytic cells. The lowest toxicity was observed in Gd-core, Yb, Tm dopants and near-infrared nanoparticles. Clear dose-dependent effect of NPs on phagocytic activity of leukocytes and respiratory burst of cells was observed for limited number of samples.

The effect of core and lanthanide ion dopants in sodium fluoride-based nanocrystals on phagocytic activity of human blood leukocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sojka, Bartlomiej; Liskova, Aurelia; Kuricova, Miroslava; Banski, Mateusz; Misiewicz, Jan; Dusinska, Maria; Horvathova, Mira; Ilavska, Silvia; Szabova, Michaela; Rollerova, Eva; Podhorodecki, Artur; Tulinska, Jana

2017-01-01

Sodium fluoride-based β-NaLnF4 nanoparticles (NPs) doped with lanthanide ions are promising materials for application as luminescent markers in bio-imaging. In this work, the effect of NPs doped with yttrium (Y), gadolinium (Gd), europium (Eu), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and terbium (Tb) ions on phagocytic activity of monocytes and granulocytes and the respiratory burst was examined. The surface functionalization of <10-nm NPs was performed according to our variation of patent pending ligand exchange method that resulted in meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) molecules on their surface. Y-core-based NCs were doped with Eu ions, which enabled them to be excited with UV light wavelengths. Cultures of human peripheral blood (n = 8) were in vitro treated with five different concentrations of eight NPs for 24 h. In summary, neither type of nanoparticles is found toxic with respect to conducted test; however, some cause toxic effects (they have statistically significant deviations compared to reference) in some selected doses tested. Both core types of NPs (Y-core and Gd-core) impaired the phagocytic activity of monocytes the strongest, having minimal or none whatsoever influence on granulocytes and respiratory burst of phagocytic cells. The lowest toxicity was observed in Gd-core, Yb, Tm dopants and near-infrared nanoparticles. Clear dose-dependent effect of NPs on phagocytic activity of leukocytes and respiratory burst of cells was observed for limited number of samples.

Decrease of GSK3β phosphorylation in the rat nucleus accumbens core enhances cocaine-induced hyper-locomotor activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Wha Y; Jang, Ju K; Lee, Jung W; Jang, Hyunduk; Kim, Jeong-Hoon

2013-06-01

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), which is abundantly present in the brain, is known to contribute to psychomotor stimulant-induced locomotor behaviors. However, most studies have been focused in showing that GSK3β is able to attenuate psychomotor stimulants-induced hyperactivity by increasing its phosphorylation levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). So, here we examined in the opposite direction about the effects of decreased phosphorylation of GSK3β in the NAcc core on both basal and cocaine-induced locomotor activity by a bilateral microinjection into this site of an artificially synthesized peptide, S9 (0.5 or 5.0 μg/μL), which contains sequences around N-terminal serine 9 residue of GSK3β. We found that decreased levels of GSK3β phosphorylation in the NAcc core enhance cocaine-induced hyper-locomotor activity, while leaving basal locomotor activity unchanged. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that the selective decrease of GSK3β phosphorylation levels in the NAcc core may contribute positively to cocaine-induced locomotor activity, while this is not sufficient for the generation of locomotor behavior by itself without cocaine. Taken together, these findings importantly suggest that GSK3β may need other molecular targets which are co-activated (or deactivated) by psychomotor stimulants like cocaine to contribute to generation of locomotor behaviors. © 2013 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Engineering Ru@Pt Core-Shell Catalysts for Enhanced Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Mass Activity and Stability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariel Jackson

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Improving the performance of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR electrocatalysts is essential for the commercial efficacy of many renewable energy technologies, including low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs. Herein, we report highly active and stable carbon-supported Ru@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (Ru@Pt/C prepared by a wet chemical synthesis technique. Through rotating disc electrode testing, the Ru@Pt/C achieves an ORR Pt mass-based activity of 0.50 A mgPt−1 at 0.9 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE, which exceeds the activity of the state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalyst as well as the Department of Energy 2020 PEFC electrocatalyst activity targets for transportation applications. The impact of various synthetic parameters, including Pt to Ru ratios and catalyst pretreatments (i.e., annealing are thoroughly explored. Pt-based mass activity of all prepared Ru@Pt/C catalysts was found to exceed 0.4 mgPt−1 across the range of compositions investigated, with the maximum activity catalyst having a Ru:Pt ratio of 1:1. This optimized composition of Ru@Pt/C catalyst demonstrated remarkable stability after 30,000 accelerated durability cycles (0.6 to 1.0 V vs. RHE at 125 mV s−1, maintaining 85% of its initial mass activity. Scanning transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDS analysis at various stages of electrochemical testing demonstrated that the Pt shell can provide sufficient protection against the dissolution of the otherwise unstable Ru core.

Role of Density Gradient Driven Trapped Electron Modes in the H-Mode Inner Core with Electron Heating

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, D.

2015-11-01

We present new experiments and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations showing that density gradient driven TEM (DGTEM) turbulence dominates the inner core of H-Mode plasmas during strong electron heating. Thus α-heating may degrade inner core confinement in H-Mode plasmas with moderate density peaking. These DIII-D low torque quiescent H-mode experiments were designed to study DGTEM turbulence. Gyrokinetic simulations using GYRO (and GENE) closely match not only particle, energy, and momentum fluxes, but also density fluctuation spectra, with and without ECH. Adding 3.4 MW ECH doubles Te /Ti from 0.5 to 1.0, which halves the linear TEM critical density gradient, locally flattening the density profile. Density fluctuations from Doppler backscattering (DBS) intensify near ρ = 0.3 during ECH, displaying a band of coherent fluctuations with adjacent toroidal mode numbers. GYRO closely reproduces the DBS spectrum and its change in shape and intensity with ECH, identifying these as coherent TEMs. Prior to ECH, parallel flow shear lowers the effective nonlinear DGTEM critical density gradient 50%, but is negligible during ECH, when transport displays extreme stiffness in the density gradient. GS2 predictions show the DGTEM can be suppressed, to avoid degradation with electron heating, by broadening the current density profile to attain q0 >qmin > 1 . A related experiment in the same regime varied the electron temperature gradient in the outer half-radius (ρ ~ 0 . 65) using ECH, revealing spatially coherent 2D mode structures in the Te fluctuations measured by ECE imaging. Fourier analysis with modulated ECH finds a threshold in Te profile stiffness. Supported by the US DOE under DE-FC02-08ER54966 and DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Ocean acidification alters the photosynthetic responses of a coccolithophorid to fluctuating ultraviolet and visible radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Peng; Gao, Kunshan; Villafañe, Virginia E; Campbell, Douglas A; Helbling, E Walter

2013-08-01

Mixing of seawater subjects phytoplankton to fluctuations in photosynthetically active radiation (400-700 nm) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 280-400 nm). These irradiance fluctuations are now superimposed upon ocean acidification and thinning of the upper mixing layer through stratification, which alters mixing regimes. Therefore, we examined the photosynthetic carbon fixation and photochemical performance of a coccolithophore, Gephyrocapsa oceanica, grown under high, future (1,000 μatm) and low, current (390 μatm) CO₂ levels, under regimes of fluctuating irradiances with or without UVR. Under both CO₂ levels, fluctuating irradiances, as compared with constant irradiance, led to lower nonphotochemical quenching and less UVR-induced inhibition of carbon fixation and photosystem II electron transport. The cells grown under high CO₂ showed a lower photosynthetic carbon fixation rate but lower nonphotochemical quenching and less ultraviolet B (280-315 nm)-induced inhibition. Ultraviolet A (315-400 nm) led to less enhancement of the photosynthetic carbon fixation in the high-CO₂-grown cells under fluctuating irradiance. Our data suggest that ocean acidification and fast mixing or fluctuation of solar radiation will act synergistically to lower carbon fixation by G. oceanica, although ocean acidification may decrease ultraviolet B-related photochemical inhibition.

Fluctuating hydrodynamics for ionic liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazaridis, Konstantinos [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Washington State University, Pullman, 99163 (United States); Wickham, Logan [Department of Computer Science, Washington State University, Richland, 99354 (United States); Voulgarakis, Nikolaos, E-mail: n.voulgarakis@wsu.edu [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Washington State University, Pullman, 99163 (United States)

2017-04-25

We present a mean-field fluctuating hydrodynamics (FHD) method for studying the structural and transport properties of ionic liquids in bulk and near electrified surfaces. The free energy of the system consists of two competing terms: (1) a Landau–Lifshitz functional that models the spontaneous separation of the ionic groups, and (2) the standard mean-field electrostatic interaction between the ions in the liquid. The numerical approach used to solve the resulting FHD-Poisson equations is very efficient and models thermal fluctuations with remarkable accuracy. Such density fluctuations are sufficiently strong to excite the experimentally observed spontaneous formation of liquid nano-domains. Statistical analysis of our simulations provides quantitative information about the properties of ionic liquids, such as the mixing quality, stability, and the size of the nano-domains. Our model, thus, can be adequately parameterized by directly comparing our prediction with experimental measurements and all-atom simulations. Conclusively, this work can serve as a practical mathematical tool for testing various theories and designing more efficient mixtures of ionic liquids. - Highlights: • A new fluctuating hydrodynamics method for ionic liquids. • Description of ionic liquid morphology in bulk and near electrified surfaces. • Direct comparison with experimental measurements.

Nucleon matter equation of state, particle number fluctuations, and shear viscosity within UrQMD box calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Motornenko, A.; Bravina, L.; Gorenstein, M. I.; Magner, A. G.; Zabrodin, E.

2018-03-01

Properties of equilibrated nucleon system are studied within the ultra-relativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD) transport model. The UrQMD calculations are done within a finite box with periodic boundary conditions. The system achieves thermal equilibrium due to nucleon-nucleon elastic scattering. For the UrQMD-equilibrium state, nucleon energy spectra, equation of state, particle number fluctuations, and shear viscosity η are calculated. The UrQMD results are compared with both, statistical mechanics and Chapman-Enskog kinetic theory, for a classical system of nucleons with hard-core repulsion.

Stochastic and information-thermodynamic structures of population dynamics in a fluctuating environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tetsuya J.; Sughiyama, Yuki

2017-07-01

Adaptation in a fluctuating environment is a process of fueling environmental information to gain fitness. Living systems have gradually developed strategies for adaptation from random and passive diversification of the phenotype to more proactive decision making, in which environmental information is sensed and exploited more actively and effectively. Understanding the fundamental relation between fitness and information is therefore crucial to clarify the limits and universal properties of adaptation. In this work, we elucidate the underlying stochastic and information-thermodynamic structure in this process, by deriving causal fluctuation relations (FRs) of fitness and information. Combined with a duality between phenotypic and environmental dynamics, the FRs reveal the limit of fitness gain, the relation of time reversibility with the achievability of the limit, and the possibility and condition for gaining excess fitness due to environmental fluctuation. The loss of fitness due to causal constraints and the limited capacity of real organisms is shown to be the difference between time-forward and time-backward path probabilities of phenotypic and environmental dynamics. Furthermore, the FRs generalize the concept of the evolutionary stable state (ESS) for fluctuating environment by giving the probability that the optimal strategy on average can be invaded by a suboptimal one owing to rare environmental fluctuation. These results clarify the information-thermodynamic structures in adaptation and evolution.

Fluctuations in high-energy particle collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gronqvist, Hanna

2016-01-01

We study fluctuations that are omnipresent in high-energy particle collisions. These fluctuations can be either of either classical or quantum origin and we will study both. Firstly, we consider the type of quantum fluctuations that arise in proton-proton collisions. These are computable perturbatively in quantum field theory and we will focus on a specific class of diagrams in this set-up. Secondly, we will consider the fluctuations that are present in collisions between nuclei that can be heavier than protons. These are the quantum laws of nature that describe the positions of nucleons within a nucleus, but also the hydrodynamic fluctuations of classical, thermal origin that affect the evolution of the medium produced in heavy-ion collisions. The fluctuations arising in proton-proton collisions can be computed analytically up to a certain order in perturbative quantum field theory. We will focus on one-loop diagrams of a fixed topology. Loop diagrams give rise to integrals that typically are hard to evaluate. We show how modern mathematical methods can be used to ease their computation. We will study the relations among unitarity cuts of a diagram, the discontinuity across the corresponding branch cut and the coproduct. We show how the original integral corresponding to a given diagram can be reconstructed from the information contained in the coproduct. We expect that these methods can be applied to solve more complicated topologies and help in the computation of new amplitudes in the future. Finally, we study the two types of fluctuations arising in heavy-ion collisions. These are related either to the initial state or the intermediate state of matter produced in such collisions. The initial state fluctuations are experimentally observed to give rise to non-Gaussianities in the final-state spectra. We show how these non-Gaussianities can be explained by the random position and interaction energy of 'sources' in the colliding nuclei. Furthermore, we

Synchronization, non-linear dynamics and low-frequency fluctuations: Analogy between spontaneous brain activity and networked single-transistor chaotic oscillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minati, Ludovico; Chiesa, Pietro; Tabarelli, Davide; Jovicich, Jorge; D'Incerti, Ludovico

2015-01-01

In this paper, the topographical relationship between functional connectivity (intended as inter-regional synchronization), spectral and non-linear dynamical properties across cortical areas of the healthy human brain is considered. Based upon functional MRI acquisitions of spontaneous activity during wakeful idleness, node degree maps are determined by thresholding the temporal correlation coefficient among all voxel pairs. In addition, for individual voxel time-series, the relative amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and the correlation dimension (D 2 ), determined with respect to Fourier amplitude and value distribution matched surrogate data, are measured. Across cortical areas, high node degree is associated with a shift towards lower frequency activity and, compared to surrogate data, clearer saturation to a lower correlation dimension, suggesting presence of non-linear structure. An attempt to recapitulate this relationship in a network of single-transistor oscillators is made, based on a diffusive ring (n = 90) with added long-distance links defining four extended hub regions. Similarly to the brain data, it is found that oscillators in the hub regions generate signals with larger low-frequency cycle amplitude fluctuations and clearer saturation to a lower correlation dimension compared to surrogates. The effect emerges more markedly close to criticality. The homology observed between the two systems despite profound differences in scale, coupling mechanism and dynamics appears noteworthy. These experimental results motivate further investigation into the heterogeneity of cortical non-linear dynamics in relation to connectivity and underline the ability for small networks of single-transistor oscillators to recreate collective phenomena arising in much more complex biological systems, potentially representing a future platform for modelling disease-related changes

Synchronization, non-linear dynamics and low-frequency fluctuations: Analogy between spontaneous brain activity and networked single-transistor chaotic oscillators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minati, Ludovico, E-mail: lminati@ieee.org, E-mail: ludovico.minati@unitn.it, E-mail: lminati@istituto-besta.it [Scientific Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan (Italy); Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento (Italy); Chiesa, Pietro; Tabarelli, Davide; Jovicich, Jorge [Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento (Italy); D' Incerti, Ludovico [Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan (Italy)

2015-03-15

In this paper, the topographical relationship between functional connectivity (intended as inter-regional synchronization), spectral and non-linear dynamical properties across cortical areas of the healthy human brain is considered. Based upon functional MRI acquisitions of spontaneous activity during wakeful idleness, node degree maps are determined by thresholding the temporal correlation coefficient among all voxel pairs. In addition, for individual voxel time-series, the relative amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and the correlation dimension (D{sub 2}), determined with respect to Fourier amplitude and value distribution matched surrogate data, are measured. Across cortical areas, high node degree is associated with a shift towards lower frequency activity and, compared to surrogate data, clearer saturation to a lower correlation dimension, suggesting presence of non-linear structure. An attempt to recapitulate this relationship in a network of single-transistor oscillators is made, based on a diffusive ring (n = 90) with added long-distance links defining four extended hub regions. Similarly to the brain data, it is found that oscillators in the hub regions generate signals with larger low-frequency cycle amplitude fluctuations and clearer saturation to a lower correlation dimension compared to surrogates. The effect emerges more markedly close to criticality. The homology observed between the two systems despite profound differences in scale, coupling mechanism and dynamics appears noteworthy. These experimental results motivate further investigation into the heterogeneity of cortical non-linear dynamics in relation to connectivity and underline the ability for small networks of single-transistor oscillators to recreate collective phenomena arising in much more complex biological systems, potentially representing a future platform for modelling disease-related changes.

Effects of fluctuating temperature and food availability on reproduction and lifespan.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Tonia S; Pearson, Phillip; Dawson, John; Allison, David B; Gohlke, Julia M

2016-12-15

Experimental studies on energetics and aging often remove two major factors that in part regulate the energy budget in a normal healthy individual: reproduction and fluctuating environmental conditions that challenge homeostasis. Here we use the cyclical parthenogenetic Daphnia pulex to evaluate the role of a fluctuating thermal environment on both reproduction and lifespan across six food concentrations. We test the hypotheses that (1) caloric restriction extends lifespan; (2) maximal reproduction will come with a cost of shortened lifespan; and (3) at a given food concentration, relative to a metabolically equivalent constant temperature environment a diel fluctuating thermal environment will alter the allocation of energy to reproduction and lifespan to maintain homeostasis. We did not identify a level of food concentration that extended lifespan in response to caloric restriction, and we found no cost of reproduction in terms of lifespan. Rather, the individuals at the highest food levels generally had the highest reproductive output and the longest lifespans, the individuals at the intermediate food level decreased reproduction and maintained lifespan, and the individuals at the three lower food concentrations had a decrease in reproduction and lifespan as would be predicted with increasing levels of starvation. Fluctuating temperature had no effect on lifespan at any food concentration, but delayed time to reproductive maturity and decreased early reproductive output at all food concentrations. This suggests that a fluctuating temperature regimen activates molecular pathways that alter energy allocation. The costs of fluctuating temperature on reproduction were not consistent across the lifespan. Statistical interactions for age of peak reproduction and lifetime fecundity suggest that senescence of the reproductive system may vary between temperature regimens at the different food concentrations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of motor fluctuations on real-life gait in Parkinson's patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva de Lima, Ana Lígia; Evers, Luc J W; Hahn, Tim; de Vries, Nienke M; Daeschler, Margaret; Boroojerdi, Babak; Terricabras, Dolors; Little, Max A; Bloem, Bastiaan R; Faber, Marjan J

2018-05-01

People with PD (PWP) have an increased risk of becoming inactive. Wearable sensors can provide insights into daily physical activity and walking patterns. (1) Is the severity of motor fluctuations associated with sensor-derived average daily walking quantity? (2) Is the severity of motor fluctuations associated with the amount of change in sensor-derived walking quantity after levodopa intake? 304 Dutch PWP from the Parkinson@Home study were included. At baseline, all participants received a clinical examination. During the follow-up period (median: 97 days; 25-Interquartile range-IQR: 91 days, 75-IQR: 188 days), participants used the Fox Wearable Companion app and streamed smartwatch accelerometer data to a cloud platform. The first research question was assessed by linear regression on the sensor-derived mean time spent walking/day with the severity of fluctuations (MDS-UPDRS item 4.4) as independent variable, controlled for age and MDS-UPDRS part-III score. The second research question was assessed by linear regression on the sensor-derived mean post-levodopa walking quantity, with the sensor-derived mean pre-levodopa walking quantity and severity of fluctuations as independent variables, controlled for mean time spent walking per day, age and MDS-UPDRS part-III score. PWP spent most time walking between 8am and 1pm, summing up to 72 ± 39 (mean ± standard deviation) minutes of walking/day. The severity of motor fluctuations did not influence the mean time spent walking (B = 2.4 ± 1.9, p = 0.20), but higher age (B = -1.3 ± 0.3, p = motor symptoms (B = -0.6 ± 0.2, p motor fluctuations is not associated with changes in real-life walking patterns in mildly to moderate affected PWP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The metabolic activator FOXO1 binds hepatitis B virus DNA and activates its transcription

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shlomai, Amir; Shaul, Yosef

2009-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small DNA virus that targets the liver and infects humans worldwide. Recently we have shown that the metabolic regulator PGC-1α coactivates HBV transcription thereby rendering the virus susceptible to fluctuations in the nutritional status of the liver. PGC-1α coactivation of HBV is mediated through the liver-enriched nuclear receptor HNF4α and through another yet unknown transcription factor(s). Here we show that the forkhead transcription factor FOXO1, a known target for PGC-1α coactivation and a central mediator of glucose metabolism in the liver, binds HBV core promoter and activates its transcription. This activation is further enhanced in the presence of PGC-1α, implying that FOXO1 is a target for PGC-1α coactivation of HBV transcription. Thus, our results identify another key metabolic regulator as an activator of HBV transcription, thereby supporting the principle that HBV gene expression is regulated in a similar way to key hepatic metabolic genes.

Theory of electromagnetic fluctuations for magnetized multi-species plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Navarro, Roberto E., E-mail: roberto.navarro@ug.uchile.cl; Muñoz, Víctor [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago (Chile); Araneda, Jaime [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386 (Chile); Moya, Pablo S. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Geospace Physics Laboratory, Mail Code 673, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (United States); Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. 20064 (United States); Viñas, Adolfo F. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Geospace Physics Laboratory, Mail Code 673, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (United States); Valdivia, Juan A. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago (Chile); Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios Básicos y Aplicados en Complejidad, CEIBA complejidad, Bogotá (Colombia)

2014-09-15

Analysis of electromagnetic fluctuations in plasma provides relevant information about the plasma state and its macroscopic properties. In particular, the solar wind persistently sustains a small but detectable level of magnetic fluctuation power even near thermal equilibrium. These fluctuations may be related to spontaneous electromagnetic fluctuations arising from the discreteness of charged particles. Here, we derive general expressions for the plasma fluctuations in a multi-species plasma following arbitrary distribution functions. This formalism, which generalizes and includes previous works on the subject, is then applied to the generation of electromagnetic fluctuations propagating along a background magnetic field in a plasma of two proton populations described by drifting bi-Maxwellians.

Plasma diffusion due to magnetic field fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuda, H.; Lee, W.W.; Lin, A.T.

1979-01-01

Plasma diffusion due to magnetic field fluctuations has been studied in two dimensions for a plasma near thermal equilibrium and when the fluctuations are suprathermal. It is found that near thermal equilibrium electron diffusion varies as B -2 when the collisionless skin depth is greater than the thermal electron gyroradius and is generally smaller than the diffusion due to collisions or electrostatic fluctuations for a low-β plasma. When the suprathermal magnetic fluctuation exists because of macroscopic plasma currents, electron diffusion is enhanced due to the coalescence of current filaments and magnetic islands. Magnetic field energy is found to condense to the longest wavelength available in the system and stays there longer than the electron diffusion time scale

Fluctuation microscopy: a probe of medium range order

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treacy, M M J; Gibson, J M; Fan, L; Paterson, D J; McNulty, I

2005-01-01

Fluctuation microscopy is a hybrid diffraction-imaging technique that detects medium range order in amorphous materials by examining spatial fluctuations in coherent scattering. These fluctuations appear as speckle in images and diffraction patterns. The volume of material contributing to the speckle is determined by the point-spread function (the resolution) of the imaging optics and the sample thickness. The spatial periodicities being probed are related to the diffraction vector. Statistical analysis of the speckle allows the random and non-random (ordered) contributions to be discriminated. The image resolution that gives the maximum speckle contrast, as determined by the normalized variance of the image intensity, is determined by the characteristic length scale of the ordering. Because medium range ordering length scales can extend out to about the tenth coordination shell, fluctuation microscopy tends to be a low image resolution technique. This review presents the kinematical scattering theory underpinning fluctuation microscopy and a description of fluctuation electron microscopy as it has been employed in the transmission electron microscope for studying amorphous materials. Recent results using soft x-rays for studying nanoscale materials are also presented. We summarize outstanding issues and point to possible future directions for fluctuation microscopy as a technique

Non-equilibrium fluctuation-induced interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, David S

2012-01-01

We discuss non-equilibrium aspects of fluctuation-induced interactions. While the equilibrium behavior of such interactions has been extensively studied and is relatively well understood, the study of these interactions out of equilibrium is relatively new. We discuss recent results on the non-equilibrium behavior of systems whose dynamics is of the dissipative stochastic type and identify a number of outstanding problems concerning non-equilibrium fluctuation-induced interactions.

Nonlinear quenching of current fluctuations in a self-exciting homopolar dynamo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Hide

1997-01-01

Full Text Available In the interpretation of geomagnetic polarity reversals with their highly variable frequency over geological time it is necessary, as with other irregularly fluctuating geophysical phenomena, to consider the relative importance of forced contributions associated with changing boundary conditions and of free contributions characteristic of the behaviour of nonlinear systems operating under fixed boundary conditions.  New evidence -albeit indirect- in favour of the likely predominance of forced contributions is provided by the discovery reported here of the possibility of complete quenching by nonlineax effects of current fluctuations in a self-exciting homopolar dynamo with its single Faraday disk driven into rotation with angular speed y(τ (where τ denotes time by a steady applied couple.  The armature of an electric motor connected in series with the coil of the dynamo is driven into rotation' with angular speed z(τ by a torque xf (x due to Lorentz forces associated with the electric current x(τ in the system (just as certain parts of the spectrum of eddies within the liquid outer core are generated largely by Lorentz forces associated with currents generated by the self-exciting magnetohydrodynamic (MHD geodynamo.   The discovery is based on bifurcation analysis supported by computational studies of the following (mathematically novel autonomous set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations: dx/dt = x(y - 1 - βzf(x, dy/dt = α(1 - x² - κy, dz/dt = xf (x -λz,          where f (x = 1 - ε + εσx, in cases when the dimensionless parameters (α, β, κ, λ, σ are all positive and 0 ≤ ε ≤ 1. Within those regions of (α, β, κ, λ, σ parameter space where the applied couple, as measured by α, is strong enough for persistent dynamo action (i.e. x ≠ 0 to occur at all, there are in general extensive regions where x(τ exhibits large amplitude regular or irregular (chaotic fluctuations.  But these fluctuating r

Longitudinal fluctuations and decorrelation of anisotropic flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pang, Long-Gang [Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Ruth-Moufang-Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Petersen, Hannah [Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Ruth-Moufang-Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Qin, Guang-You [Key Laboratory of Quark & Lepton Physics (MOE) and Institute of Particle Physics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China); Roy, Victor [Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Wang, Xin-Nian [Key Laboratory of Quark & Lepton Physics (MOE) and Institute of Particle Physics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China); Nuclear Science Division MS70R0319, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2016-12-15

We investigate the decorrelation of 2nd and 3rd order anisotropic flow for charged particles in two different pseudo rapidity (η) windows by varying the pseudo rapidity gap, in an event-by-event (3+1)D ideal hydrodynamic model, with fluctuating initial conditions from A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) model. We visualize the parton distribution at initial state for Pb+Pb collisions at LHC and Au+Au collisions at RHIC, and demonstrate the longitudinal fluctuations originating from the asymmetry between forward and backward going participants, the fluctuations of the string length and the fluctuations due to finite number of partons at different beam energies. The decorrelation of anisotropic flow of final hadrons with large η gaps is found to originate from the spatial decorrelation along the longitudinal direction in the AMPT initial conditions through hydrodynamic evolution. The agreement between our results and recent CMS data in most centralities suggests that the string-like mechanism of initial parton production in AMPT model captures the initial longitudinal fluctuation that is responsible for the measured decorrelation of anisotropic flow in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC. Our predictions for Au+Au collisions at the highest RHIC energy show stronger longitudinal decorrelation than at LHC, indicating larger longitudinal fluctuations at lower beam energies.

Edge fluctuation studies in Heliotron J

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizuuchi, T.; Chechkin, V.V.; Ohashi, K.; Sorokovoy, E.L.; Chechkin, A.V.; Gonchar, V.Yu.; Takahashi, K.; Kobayashi, S.; Nagasaki, K.; Okada, H.; Yamamoto, S.; Sano, F.; Kondo, K.; Nishino, N.; Kawazome, H.; Shidara, H.; Kaneko, S.; Fukagawa, Y.; Morita, Y.; Nakazawa, S.; Nishio, S.; Tsuboi, S.; Yamada, M.

2005-01-01

Low frequency and small-scale fluctuations of density and potential near the last closed flux surface are investigated by using Langmuir probes for the second harmonic ECH plasmas in a helical-axis heliotron device, Heliotron J. The existence of a plasma layer with a radial electric field shear was indicated near the last closed flux surface. Near this layer, the reversal of phase velocity and de-correlation of the fluctuations were observed. On the other hand, it is suggested that a considerable fraction of the fluctuation induced particle flux is carried off through the intermittent events. Preliminary analyses to classify the PDFs of the ion-saturation current fluctuation as stable Levy distributions demonstrate that the Levy index decreases from the inner to the outer region of edge plasma, suggesting that the PDFs near the boundary region of Heliotron J are nearly Gaussian, whereas at the outer regions of plasma they become strongly non-Gaussian

Effects of limited spatial resolution on fluctuation measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bravenec, R.V.; Wootton, A.J.

1994-01-01

The finite sample volumes of fluctuation diagnostics distort the measurements not only by averaging the gross fluctuation parameters over the sample volumes, but more importantly (except for collective scattering), by attenuating the shorter wavelength components. In this work the response of various sample volume sizes and orientations to a model fluctuation power spectrum S(k,ω) are examined. The model spectrum is fashioned after observations by far-infrared scattering on TEXT. The sample-volume extent in the direction of propagation of the turbulence is shown to be the most critical - not only does it reduce the measured fluctuation amplitude and correlation length (as does an extent perpendicular to the propagation direction), but also reduces the measured mean frequency and increases the apparent average phase velocity of the fluctuations. The differing sizes, shapes, and orientations of the sample volumes among fluctuation diagnostics, as well as deliberate variations within a single diagnostic, provide information on the form of the underlying turbulence and can be exploited to refine the model

Korrelasjon mellom core styrke, core stabilitet og utholdende styrke i core

OpenAIRE

Berg-Olsen, Andrea Marie; Fugelsøy, Eivor; Maurstad, Ann-Louise

2010-01-01

Formålet med studien var å se hvilke korrelasjon det er mellom core styrke, core stabilitet og utholdende styrke i core. Testingen bestod av tre hoveddeler hvor vi testet core styrke, core stabilitet og utholdende styrke i core. Innenfor core styrke og utholdende styrke i core ble tre ulike tester utført. Ved måling av core stabilitet ble det gjennomført kun en test. I core styrke ble isometrisk abdominal fleksjon, isometrisk rygg ekstensjon og isometrisk lateral fleksjon testet. Sit-ups p...

Studies of Fluctuation Processes in Nuclear Collisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ayik, Sakir [Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville, TN (United States). Dept. of Physics

2016-04-14

The standard one-body transport approaches have been extensively applied to investigate heavy-ion collision dynamics at low and intermediate energies. At low energies the approach is the mean-field description of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory. At intermediate energies the approach is extended by including a collision term, and its application has been carried out mostly in the semi-classical framework of the Boltzmann-Uhling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) model. The standard transport models provide a good understanding of the average properties of the collision dynamics in terms of the effective interactions in both low and intermediate energies. However, the standard models are inadequate for describing the fluctuation dynamics of collective motion at low energies and disassembling of the nuclear system into fragments at intermediate energies resulting from the growth of density fluctuations in the spinodal region. Our tasks have been to improve the standard transport approaches by incorporating fluctuation mechanisms into the description. There are mainly two different mechanisms for fluctuations: (i) Collisional fluctuations generated by binary nucleon collisions, which provide the dominant mechanism at intermediate energies, and (ii) One-body mechanism or mean-field fluctuations, which is the dominant mechanism at low energies. In the first part of our project, the PI extended the standard transport model at intermediate energies by incorporating collisional mechanism according to the “Generalized Langevin Description” of Mori formalism. The PI and his collaborators carried out a number of applications for describing dynamical mechanism of nuclear multi fragmentations, and nuclear collective response in the semi-classical framework of the approach, which is known as the Boltzmann-Langevin model. In the second part of the project, we considered dynamical description at low energies. Because of the effective Pauli blocking, the collisional dissipation and

Preparation of AgBr@SiO{sub 2} core@shell hybrid nanoparticles and their bactericidal activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yuanyuan [Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Yang, Lisu [Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Henna Sports School, Zhengzhou 450045 (China); Zhao, Yanbao, E-mail: yanbaozhao@126.com [Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Li, Binjie; Sun, Lei; Luo, Huajuan [Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China)

2013-04-01

AgBr@SiO{sub 2} core@shell hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully prepared by sol-gel method. Their morphology and structure were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hybrid NPs are predominantly spherical in shape, with an average diameter of 180–200 nm, and each NP contains one inorganic core. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the hybrid NPs were examined against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), respectively. Results indicated that the AgBr@SiO{sub 2} NPs had excellent antibacterial activity. - Highlights: ► Presents a novel antibacterial agent “AgBr@ SiO{sub 2} NPs”. ► AgBr@SiO{sub 2} hybrid NPs could provide long-term antimicrobial effect. ► AgBr@SiO{sub 2} hybrid NPs have excellent antibacterial activity.

Charge Fluctuations of an Uncharged Black Hole

OpenAIRE

Schiffer, Marcelo

2016-01-01

In this paper we calculate charge fluctuations of a Schwarzschild black-hole of mass $M$ confined within a perfectly reflecting cavity of radius R in thermal equilibrium with various species of radiation and fermions . Charge conservation is constrained by a Lagrange multiplier (the chemical potential). Black hole charge fluctuations are expected owing to continuous absorption and emission of particles by the black hole. For black holes much more massive than $10^{16} g$ , these fluctuations ...

Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Cosmological parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Di Valentino, E.; Brinckmann, T.; Gerbino, M.; Poulin, V.; Bouchet, F. R.; Lesgourgues, J.; Melchiorri, A.; Chluba, J.; Clesse, S.; Delabrouille, J.; Dvorkin, C.; Forastieri, F.; Galli, S.; Hooper, D. C.; Lattanzi, M.; Martins, C. J. A. P.; Salvati, L.; Cabass, G.; Caputo, A.; Giusarma, E.; Hivon, E.; Natoli, P.; Pagano, L.; Paradiso, S.; Rubiño-Martin, J. A.; Achúcarro, A.; Ade, P.; Allison, R.; Arroja, F.; Ashdown, M.; Ballardini, M.; Banday, A. J.; Banerji, R.; Bartolo, N.; Bartlett, J. G.; Basak, S.; Baumann, D.; de Bernardis, P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bonaldi, A.; Bonato, M.; Borrill, J.; Boulanger, F.; Bucher, M.; Burigana, C.; Buzzelli, A.; Cai, Z.-Y.; Calvo, M.; Carvalho, C. S.; Castellano, G.; Challinor, A.; Charles, I.; Colantoni, I.; Coppolecchia, A.; Crook, M.; D'Alessandro, G.; De Petris, M.; De Zotti, G.; Diego, J. M.; Errard, J.; Feeney, S.; Fernandez-Cobos, R.; Ferraro, S.; Finelli, F.; de Gasperis, G.; Génova-Santos, R. T.; González-Nuevo, J.; Grandis, S.; Greenslade, J.; Hagstotz, S.; Hanany, S.; Handley, W.; Hazra, D. K.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Hervias-Caimapo, C.; Hills, M.; Kiiveri, K.; Kisner, T.; Kitching, T.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lamagna, L.; Lasenby, A.; Lewis, A.; Liguori, M.; Lindholm, V.; Lopez-Caniego, M.; Luzzi, G.; Maffei, B.; Martin, S.; Martinez-Gonzalez, E.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; McCarthy, D.; Melin, J.-B.; Mohr, J. J.; Molinari, D.; Monfardini, A.; Negrello, M.; Notari, A.; Paiella, A.; Paoletti, D.; Patanchon, G.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pisano, G.; Polastri, L.; Polenta, G.; Pollo, A.; Quartin, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Roman, M.; Ringeval, C.; Tartari, A.; Tomasi, M.; Tramonte, D.; Trappe, N.; Trombetti, T.; Tucker, C.; Väliviita, J.; van de Weygaert, R.; Van Tent, B.; Vennin, V.; Vermeulen, G.; Vielva, P.; Vittorio, N.; Young, K.; Zannoni, M.

2018-04-01

We forecast the main cosmological parameter constraints achievable with the CORE space mission which is dedicated to mapping the polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). CORE was recently submitted in response to ESA's fifth call for medium-sized mission proposals (M5). Here we report the results from our pre-submission study of the impact of various instrumental options, in particular the telescope size and sensitivity level, and review the great, transformative potential of the mission as proposed. Specifically, we assess the impact on a broad range of fundamental parameters of our Universe as a function of the expected CMB characteristics, with other papers in the series focusing on controlling astrophysical and instrumental residual systematics. In this paper, we assume that only a few central CORE frequency channels are usable for our purpose, all others being devoted to the cleaning of astrophysical contaminants. On the theoretical side, we assume ΛCDM as our general framework and quantify the improvement provided by CORE over the current constraints from the Planck 2015 release. We also study the joint sensitivity of CORE and of future Baryon Acoustic Oscillation and Large Scale Structure experiments like DESI and Euclid. Specific constraints on the physics of inflation are presented in another paper of the series. In addition to the six parameters of the base ΛCDM, which describe the matter content of a spatially flat universe with adiabatic and scalar primordial fluctuations from inflation, we derive the precision achievable on parameters like those describing curvature, neutrino physics, extra light relics, primordial helium abundance, dark matter annihilation, recombination physics, variation of fundamental constants, dark energy, modified gravity, reionization and cosmic birefringence. In addition to assessing the improvement on the precision of individual parameters, we also forecast the post-CORE overall reduction of the allowed

Effect of the fluid core on changes in the length of day due to long period tides

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Wahr, J. M.; Smith, M. L.; Sasao, T.

1981-01-01

The long period luni-solar tidal potential is known to cause periodic changes in the earth's rotation rate. It is found that the effect of a dissipationless fluid outer core is to reduce the amplitudes of these tidal perturbations by about 11 percent. When the fluid core effect is added to Agnew and Farrell's (1978) estimate of the effect of an equilibrium ocean, the result is in accord with observation. The effects of dissipative processes within the fluid core are also examined. Out-of-phase perturbations are found which could be as large as about 10 ms at 18.6 yr. It is concluded, however, that the poorly understood decade fluctuations in the earth's rotation rate will prohibit observation of this effect.

Constructing a Shared Mental Model for Faculty Development for the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency.

Science.gov (United States)

Favreau, Michele A; Tewksbury, Linda; Lupi, Carla; Cutrer, William B; Jokela, Janet A; Yarris, Lalena M

2017-06-01

In 2014, the Association of American Medical Colleges identified 13 Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (Core EPAs), which are activities that entering residents might be expected to perform without direct supervision. This work included the creation of an interinstitutional concept group focused on faculty development efforts, as the processes and tools for teaching and assessing entrustability in undergraduate medical education (UME) are still evolving. In this article, the authors describe a conceptual framework for entrustment that they developed to better prepare all educators involved in entrustment decision making in UME. This framework applies to faculty with limited or longitudinal contact with medical students and to those who contribute to entrustment development or render summative entrustment decisions.The authors describe a shared mental model for entrustment that they developed, based on a critical synthesis of the EPA literature, to serve as a guide for UME faculty development efforts. This model includes four dimensions for Core EPA faculty development: (1) observation skills in authentic settings (workplace-based assessments), (2) coaching and feedback skills, (3) self-assessment and reflection skills, and (4) peer guidance skills developed through a community of practice. These dimensions form a conceptual foundation for meaningful faculty participation in entrustment decision making.The authors also differentiate between the UME learning environment and the graduate medical education learning environment to highlight distinct challenges and opportunities for faculty development in UME settings. They conclude with recommendations and research questions for future Core EPA faculty development efforts.