Towards uncovering the structure of power fluctuations of wind farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Huiwen; Jin, Yaqing; Tobin, Nicolas; Chamorro, Leonardo P

2017-12-01

The structure of the turbulence-driven power fluctuations in a wind farm is fundamentally described from basic concepts. A derived tuning-free model, supported with experiments, reveals the underlying spectral content of the power fluctuations of a wind farm. It contains two power-law trends and oscillations in the relatively low- and high-frequency ranges. The former is mostly due to the turbulent interaction between the flow and the turbine properties, whereas the latter is due to the advection between turbine pairs. The spectral wind-farm scale power fluctuations Φ_{P} exhibit a power-law decay proportional to f^{-5/3-2} in the region corresponding to the turbulence inertial subrange and at relatively large scales, Φ_{P}∼f^{-2}. Due to the advection and turbulent diffusion of large-scale structures, a spectral oscillation exists with the product of a sinusoidal behavior and an exponential decay in the frequency domain.

Evidence for pressure-tuned quantum structural fluctuations in KCuF3

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, S.; Kim, M.; Seeley, J.; Lal, S.; Abbamonte, P.; Cooper, S. L.

2012-02-01

Frustrated magnetic systems are currently of great interest because of the possibility that these materials exhibit novel ground states such as orbital and spin liquids. We provide evidence in the orbital-ordering material KCuF3 for pressure-tuned quantum melting of a static structural phase to a phase that dynamically fluctuates even near T ˜ 0K.[1] Pressure-dependent Raman scattering measurements show that applied pressure above P* ˜ 7kbar reverses a low temperature structural distortion in KCuF3, resulting in the development of a φ ˜ 0 fluctuational (quasielastic) response near T ˜ 0K. This pressure-induced fluctuational response is temperature independent and exhibits a characteristic fluctuation rate that is much larger than the temperature, γ >> KBT, consistent with quantum fluctuations of the CuF6 octahedra. We show that a previous developed model of pseudospin-phonon coupling qualitatively describes both the temperature- and pressure-dependent evolution of the Raman spectra of KCuF3. Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award No. DE-FG02-07ER46453 and by the National Science Foundation under Grant NSF DMR 08-56321. [4pt] [1] S. Yuan et al., arXiv:1107.1433 (2011).

Tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieu-Nosjean, Marie-Caroline; Goc, Jérémy; Giraldo, Nicolas A; Sautès-Fridman, Catherine; Fridman, Wolf Herman

2014-11-01

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are ectopic lymphoid formations found in inflamed, infected, or tumoral tissues. They exhibit all the characteristics of structures in the lymph nodes (LN) associated with the generation of an adaptive immune response, including a T cell zone with mature dendritic cells (DC), a germinal center with follicular dendritic cells (FDC) and proliferating B cells, and high endothelial venules (HEV). In this review, we discuss evidence for the roles of TLS in chronic infection, autoimmunity, and cancer, and address the question of whether TLS present beneficial or deleterious effects in these contexts. We examine the relationship between TLS in tumors and patient prognosis, and discuss the potential role of TLS in building and/or maintaining local immune responses and how this understanding may guide therapeutic interventions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure of density fluctuations in the edge plasma of ASDEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudyj, A.; Carlson, A.; Endler, M.; Giannone, L.; Niedermeyer, H.; Theimer, G.

1990-01-01

It is now generally believed that the anomalous particle and energy transport in tokamaks is caused by turbulent fluctuations. The physical nature of these fluctuations (mode type, the driving mechanism) have still to be identified experimentally before a self consistent transport theory can be developed. In contrast to the confinement region the plasma edge can be well diagnosed. H α -light, which is emitted at the edge, reacts to density and to some extend to temperature fluctuations. It delivers information about radially integrated spectra and correlations. Langmuir probes measure density and potential fluctuations with good spatial resolution. The edge transport governs the physics in the scrape-off layer and in the divertor which is extremely important for a reactor and therefore deserves a major experimental effort. In this paper we report on an attempt to gain detailed information about the spatial and temporal structure of the edge turbulence hoping to reduce the degrees of freedom for theoretical models to a manageable number. (author) 3 refs., 3 figs

Dynamic response of tertiary systems in structures subjected to base excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernried, A.G.; Kai-sing Lau

1988-01-01

The dynamic response of very lightweight equipment (tertiary subsystem) attached to light equipment (secondary subsystem) which in turn is attached to a heavier structure (primary subsystem) that is subjected to ground shock or earthquake excitation is investigated. Both the single-degree-of-freedom and multi-degree-of-freedom subsystem models are considered. The systems are damped as well as undamped, completely detuned (all natural frequencies of the subsystems well spaced), singly tuned (one natural frequency of each subsystem equal or close to one another), or multiply tuned (more than one natural frequency of the subsystems close to each other). Efficient techniques for the determination of the tertiary subsystem response that avoid a computationally intensive numerical integration of the combined system equations are presented. (author)

Deformation analysis and prediction of bank protection structure with river level fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Rui; Xing, Yixuan

2017-04-01

Bank structure is an important barrier to maintain the safety of the embankment. The deformation of bank protection structure is not only affected by soil pressure caused by the excavation of the riverway, but also by the water pressure caused river water level fluctuations. Thus, it is necessary to establish a coupled soil-water model to analyze the deformation of bank structure. Based on Druck-Prager failure criteria and groundwater seepage theory, a numerical model of bank protection structure with consideration of the pore water pressure of soil mass is established. According to the measured river level data with seasonal fluctuating, numerical analysis of the deformation of bank protection structure is implemented. The simulation results show that the river water level fluctuation has clear influence on the maximum lateral displacement of the pile. Meanwhile, the distribution of plastic zone is related to the depth of groundwater level. Finally, according to the river water level data of the recent ten years, we analyze the deformation of the bank structure under extreme river level. The result shows that, compared with the scenario of extreme high river level, the horizontal displacement of bank protection structure is larger (up to 65mm) under extreme low river level, which is a potential risk to the embankment. Reference Schweiger H F. On the use of drucker-prager failure criteria for earth pressure problems[J]. Computers and Geotechnics, 1994, 16(3): 223-246. DING Yong-chun，CHENG Ze-kun. Numerical study on performance of waterfront excavation[J]. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering，2013，35(2):515-521. Wu L M, Wang Z Q. Three gorges reservoir water level fluctuation influents on the stability of the slope[J]. Advanced Materials Research. Trans Tech Publications, 2013, 739: 283-286.

Structure of density fluctuations in the edge plasma of ASDEX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rudyj, A; Carlson, A; Endler, M; Giannone, L.; Niedermeyer, H; Theimer, G [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany)

1990-01-01

It is now generally believed that the anomalous particle and energy transport in tokamaks is caused by turbulent fluctuations. The physical nature of these fluctuations (mode type, the driving mechanism) have still to be identified experimentally before a self consistent transport theory can be developed. In contrast to the confinement region the plasma edge can be well diagnosed. H{sub {alpha}}-light, which is emitted at the edge, reacts to density and to some extend to temperature fluctuations. It delivers information about radially integrated spectra and correlations. Langmuir probes measure density and potential fluctuations with good spatial resolution. The edge transport governs the physics in the scrape-off layer and in the divertor which is extremely important for a reactor and therefore deserves a major experimental effort. In this paper we report on an attempt to gain detailed information about the spatial and temporal structure of the edge turbulence hoping to reduce the degrees of freedom for theoretical models to a manageable number. (author) 3 refs., 3 figs.

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.

Isolating long-wavelength fluctuation from structural relaxation in two-dimensional glass: cage-relative displacement

Science.gov (United States)

Shiba, Hayato; Keim, Peter; Kawasaki, Takeshi

2018-03-01

It has recently been revealed that long-wavelength fluctuation exists in two-dimensional (2D) glassy systems, having the same origin as that given by the Mermin-Wagner theorem for 2D crystalline solids. In this paper, we discuss how to characterise quantitatively the long-wavelength fluctuation in a molecular dynamics simulation of a lightly supercooled liquid. We employ the cage-relative mean-square displacement (MSD), defined on relative displacement to its cage, to quantitatively separate the long-wavelength fluctuation from the original MSD. For increasing system size the amplitude of acoustic long wavelength fluctuations not only increases but shifts to later times causing a crossover with structural relaxation of caging particles. We further analyse the dynamic correlation length using the cage-relative quantities. It grows as the structural relaxation becomes slower with decreasing temperature, uncovering an overestimation by the four-point correlation function due to the long-wavelength fluctuation. These findings motivate the usage of cage-relative MSD as a starting point for analysis of 2D glassy dynamics.

Quantized fluctuational electrodynamics for three-dimensional plasmonic structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Partanen, Mikko; Häyrynen, Teppo; Tulkki, Jukka

2017-01-01

We recently introduced a quantized fluctuational electrodynamics (QFED) formalism that provides a physically insightful definition of an effective position-dependent photon-number operator and the associated ladder operators. However, this far the formalism has been applicable only for the normal...... formalism, we apply it to study the local steady-state photon numbers and field temperatures in a light-emitting near-surface InGaN quantum-well structure with a metallic coating supporting surface plasmons....

The nucleation process and the roles of structure and density fluctuations in supercooled liquid Fe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Rong; Wu, Yongquan; Xiao, Junjiang

2014-01-01

We observed homogeneous nucleation process of supercooled liquid Fe by molecular dynamics simulations. Using bond-orientational order parameters together with Voronoi polyhedron method, we characterized local structure, calculated the volume of Voronoi polyhedra of atoms and identified the structure and density fluctuations. We monitored the formation of nucleus and analyzed its inner structure. The birth and growth of the pre-nucleus and nucleus are accompanied with aggregating and disaggregating processes in the time scale of femtosecond. Only the initial solid-like clusters (ISLC), ranging from 1 to 7 atoms, pop up directly from liquid. The relation between the logarithm of number of clusters and the cluster size was found to be linear for ISLCs and was observed to be parabolic for all solid-like clusters (SLC) due to aggregating and disaggregating effects. The nucleus and pre-nuclei mainly consist of body centered cubic (BCC) and hexagonal close packed atoms, while the BCC atoms tend to be located at the surface. Medium-range structure fluctuations induce the birth of ISLCs, benefit the aggregation of embryos and remarkably promote the nucleation. But density fluctuations contribute little to nucleation. The lifetime of most icosahedral-like atoms (ICO) is shorter than 0.7 ps. No obvious relationship was found between structure/density fluctuations and the appearance of ICO atoms

Stochastic Eulerian Lagrangian methods for fluid-structure interactions with thermal fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atzberger, Paul J.

2011-01-01

We present approaches for the study of fluid-structure interactions subject to thermal fluctuations. A mixed mechanical description is utilized combining Eulerian and Lagrangian reference frames. We establish general conditions for operators coupling these descriptions. Stochastic driving fields for the formalism are derived using principles from statistical mechanics. The stochastic differential equations of the formalism are found to exhibit significant stiffness in some physical regimes. To cope with this issue, we derive reduced stochastic differential equations for several physical regimes. We also present stochastic numerical methods for each regime to approximate the fluid-structure dynamics and to generate efficiently the required stochastic driving fields. To validate the methodology in each regime, we perform analysis of the invariant probability distribution of the stochastic dynamics of the fluid-structure formalism. We compare this analysis with results from statistical mechanics. To further demonstrate the applicability of the methodology, we perform computational studies for spherical particles having translational and rotational degrees of freedom. We compare these studies with results from fluid mechanics. The presented approach provides for fluid-structure systems a set of rather general computational methods for treating consistently structure mechanics, hydrodynamic coupling, and thermal fluctuations.

Automatic identification of mobile and rigid substructures in molecular dynamics simulations and fractional structural fluctuation analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leandro Martínez

Full Text Available The analysis of structural mobility in molecular dynamics plays a key role in data interpretation, particularly in the simulation of biomolecules. The most common mobility measures computed from simulations are the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD and Root Mean Square Fluctuations (RMSF of the structures. These are computed after the alignment of atomic coordinates in each trajectory step to a reference structure. This rigid-body alignment is not robust, in the sense that if a small portion of the structure is highly mobile, the RMSD and RMSF increase for all atoms, resulting possibly in poor quantification of the structural fluctuations and, often, to overlooking important fluctuations associated to biological function. The motivation of this work is to provide a robust measure of structural mobility that is practical, and easy to interpret. We propose a Low-Order-Value-Optimization (LOVO strategy for the robust alignment of the least mobile substructures in a simulation. These substructures are automatically identified by the method. The algorithm consists of the iterative superposition of the fraction of structure displaying the smallest displacements. Therefore, the least mobile substructures are identified, providing a clearer picture of the overall structural fluctuations. Examples are given to illustrate the interpretative advantages of this strategy. The software for performing the alignments was named MDLovoFit and it is available as free-software at: http://leandro.iqm.unicamp.br/mdlovofit.

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.

Effects of lattice fluctuations on electronic transmission in metal/conjugated-oligomer/metal structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Z.G.; Smith, D.L.; Saxena, A.; Bishop, A.R.

1997-01-01

The electronic transmission across metal/conjugated-oligomer/metal structures in the presence of lattice fluctuations is studied for short oligomer chains. The lattice fluctuations are approximated by static white noise disorder. Resonant transmission occurs when the energy of an incoming electron coincides with a discrete electronic level of the oligomer. The corresponding transmission peak diminishes in intensity with increasing disorder strength. Because of disorder there is an enhancement of the electronic transmission for energies that lie within the electronic gap of the oligomer. If fluctuations are sufficiently strong, a transmission peak within the gap is found at the midgap energy E=0 for degenerate conjugated oligomers (e.g., trans-polyacetylene) and E≠0 for AB-type degenerate oligomers. These results can be interpreted in terms of soliton-antisoliton states created by lattice fluctuations. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Fluctuations in medium-range structure of Bi-based metallic liquid alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueno, H; Takeda, S; Kawakita, Y; Ohara, K; Kohara, S; Itou, M; Tahara, S

2012-01-01

Liquid structure of Bi 50 Zn 50 , which is situated at around the Bi-rich end of miscibility gap in Bi-Zn system, has been investigated by neutron and x-ray diffraction experiments and following analysis using reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) structural modelling. Among the partial correlations calculated from the structural model obtained by RMC, the Zn-Zn partial has a large temperature variation. It is found that there are medium-range fluctuations in Zn distribution which have a scale of 10 Å.

Giant fluctuations and structural effects in a flocking epithelium

Science.gov (United States)

Giavazzi, Fabio; Malinverno, Chiara; Corallino, Salvatore; Ginelli, Francesco; Scita, Giorgio; Cerbino, Roberto

2017-09-01

Epithelial cells cultured in a monolayer are very motile in isolation but reach a near-jammed state when mitotic division increases their number above a critical threshold. We have recently shown that a monolayer can be reawakened by over-expression of a single protein, RAB5A, a master regulator of endocytosis. This reawakening of motility was explained in terms of a flocking transition that promotes the emergence of a large-scale collective migratory pattern. Here we focus on the impact of this reawakening on the structural properties of the monolayer. We find that the unjammed monolayer is characterised by a fluidisation at the single cell level, and by enhanced non-equilibrium large-scale number fluctuations at a larger length scale. Also, with the help of numerical simulations, we trace back the origin of these fluctuations to the self-propelled active nature of the constituents, and to the existence of a local alignment mechanism, leading to the spontaneous breaking of the orientational symmetry.

Giant fluctuations and structural effects in a flocking epithelium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giavazzi, Fabio; Cerbino, Roberto; Malinverno, Chiara; Corallino, Salvatore; Scita, Giorgio; Ginelli, Francesco

2017-01-01

Epithelial cells cultured in a monolayer are very motile in isolation but reach a near-jammed state when mitotic division increases their number above a critical threshold. We have recently shown that a monolayer can be reawakened by over-expression of a single protein, RAB5A, a master regulator of endocytosis. This reawakening of motility was explained in terms of a flocking transition that promotes the emergence of a large-scale collective migratory pattern. Here we focus on the impact of this reawakening on the structural properties of the monolayer. We find that the unjammed monolayer is characterised by a fluidisation at the single cell level, and by enhanced non-equilibrium large-scale number fluctuations at a larger length scale. Also, with the help of numerical simulations, we trace back the origin of these fluctuations to the self-propelled active nature of the constituents, and to the existence of a local alignment mechanism, leading to the spontaneous breaking of the orientational symmetry. (paper)

Structural Fluctuations and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Ching-Hua; Zhu, Shen; Li, Chao; Scripa, R.; Lehoczky, Sandra L.; Kim, Y. W.; Baird, J. K.; Lin, B.; Ban, Heng; Benmore, Chris

2003-01-01

The objectives of the project are to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs as well as to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuation phenomena in these melts by: 1) conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts (such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density) as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. It has long been recognized that liquid Te presents a unique case having properties between those of metals and semiconductors. The electrical conductivity for Te melt increases rapidly at melting point, indicating a semiconductor-metal transition. Te melts comprise two features, which are usually considered to be incompatible with each other: covalently bound atoms and metallic-like behavior. Why do Te liquids show metallic behavior? is one of the long-standing issues in liquid metal physics. Since thermophysical properties are very sensitive to the structural variations of a melt, we have conducted extensive thermophysical measurements on Te melt.

High-accuracy CFD prediction methods for fluid and structure temperature fluctuations at T-junction for thermal fatigue evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qian, Shaoxiang, E-mail: qian.shaoxiang@jgc.com [EN Technology Center, Process Technology Division, JGC Corporation, 2-3-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-6001 (Japan); Kanamaru, Shinichiro [EN Technology Center, Process Technology Division, JGC Corporation, 2-3-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-6001 (Japan); Kasahara, Naoto [Nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan)

2015-07-15

Highlights: • Numerical methods for accurate prediction of thermal loading were proposed. • Predicted fluid temperature fluctuation (FTF) intensity is close to the experiment. • Predicted structure temperature fluctuation (STF) range is close to the experiment. • Predicted peak frequencies of FTF and STF also agree well with the experiment. • CFD results show the proposed numerical methods are of sufficiently high accuracy. - Abstract: Temperature fluctuations generated by the mixing of hot and cold fluids at a T-junction, which is widely used in nuclear power and process plants, can cause thermal fatigue failure. The conventional methods for evaluating thermal fatigue tend to provide insufficient accuracy, because they were developed based on limited experimental data and a simplified one-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). CFD/FEA coupling analysis is expected as a useful tool for the more accurate evaluation of thermal fatigue. The present paper aims to verify the accuracy of proposed numerical methods of simulating fluid and structure temperature fluctuations at a T-junction for thermal fatigue evaluation. The dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM) is used for large eddy simulation (LES) sub-grid scale (SGS) turbulence model, and a hybrid scheme (HS) is adopted for the calculation of convective terms in the governing equations. Also, heat transfer between fluid and structure is calculated directly through thermal conduction by creating a mesh with near wall resolution (NWR) by allocating grid points within the thermal boundary sub-layer. The simulation results show that the distribution of fluid temperature fluctuation intensity and the range of structure temperature fluctuation are remarkably close to the experimental results. Moreover, the peak frequencies of power spectrum density (PSD) of both fluid and structure temperature fluctuations also agree well with the experimental results. Therefore, the numerical methods used in the present paper are

Perspective: Structural fluctuation of protein and Anfinsen's thermodynamic hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Hirata, Fumio; Sugita, Masatake; Yoshida, Masasuke; Akasaka, Kazuyuki

2018-01-01

The thermodynamics hypothesis, casually referred to as "Anfinsen's dogma," is described theoretically in terms of a concept of the structural fluctuation of protein or the first moment (average structure) and the second moment (variance and covariance) of the structural distribution. The new theoretical concept views the unfolding and refolding processes of protein as a shift of the structural distribution induced by a thermodynamic perturbation, with the variance-covariance matrix varying. Based on the theoretical concept, a method to characterize the mechanism of folding (or unfolding) is proposed. The transition state, if any, between two stable states is interpreted as a gap in the distribution, which is created due to an extensive reorganization of hydrogen bonds among back-bone atoms of protein and with water molecules in the course of conformational change. Further perspective to applying the theory to the computer-aided drug design, and to the material science, is briefly discussed.

Fluctuation in Interface and Electronic Structure of Single-Molecule Junctions Investigated by Current versus Bias Voltage Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Isshiki, Yuji; Fujii, Shintaro; Nishino, Tomoaki; Kiguchi, Manabu

2018-03-14

Structural and electronic detail at the metal-molecule interface has a significant impact on the charge transport across the molecular junctions, but its precise understanding and control still remain elusive. On the single-molecule scale, the metal-molecule interface structures and relevant charge transport properties are subject to fluctuation, which contain the fundamental science of single-molecule transport and implication for manipulability of the transport properties in electronic devices. Here, we present a comprehensive approach to investigate the fluctuation in the metal-molecule interface in single-molecule junctions, based on current-voltage ( I- V) measurements in combination with first-principles simulation. Contrary to conventional molecular conductance studies, this I- V approach provides a correlated statistical description of both the degree of electronic coupling across the metal-molecule interface and the molecular orbital energy level. This statistical approach was employed to study fluctuation in single-molecule junctions of 1,4-butanediamine (DAB), pyrazine (PY), 4,4'-bipyridine (BPY), and fullerene (C 60 ). We demonstrate that molecular-dependent fluctuation of σ-, π-, and π-plane-type interfaces can be captured by analyzing the molecular orbital (MO) energy level under mechanical perturbation. While the MO level of DAB with the σ-type interface shows weak distance dependence and fluctuation, the MO level of PY, BPY, and C 60 features unique distance dependence and molecular-dependent fluctuation against the mechanical perturbation. The MO level of PY and BPY with the σ+π-type interface increases with the increase in the stretch distance. In contrast, the MO level of C 60 with the π-plane-type interface decreases with the increase in the stretching perturbation. This study provides an approach to resolve the structural and electronic fluctuation in the single-molecule junctions and insight into the molecular-dependent fluctuation in

STRUCTURAL FLUCTUATIONS, ELECTRICAL RESPONSE AND THE RELIABILITY OF NANOSTRUCTURES (FINAL REPORT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philip J. Rous; Ellen D. Williams; Michael S. Fuhrer

2006-07-31

The goal of the research supported by DOE-FG02-01ER45939 was to synthesize a number of experimental and theoretical approaches to understand the relationship between morphological fluctuations, the electrical response and the reliability (failure) of metallic nanostructures. The primary focus of our work was the study of metallic nanowires which we regard as prototypical of nanoscale interconnects. Our research plan has been to link together these materials properties and behaviors by understanding the phenomenon of, and the effects of electromigration at nanometer length scales. The thrust of our research has been founded on the concept that, for nanostructures where the surface-to-volume ratio is necessarily high, surface diffusion is the dominant mass transport mechanism that governs the fluctuations, electrical properties and failure modes of nanostructures. Our approach has been to develop experimental methods that permit the direct imaging of the electromagnetic distributions within nanostructures, their structural fluctuations and their electrical response. This experimental research is complemented by a parallel theoretical and computational program that describes the temporal evolution of nanostructures in response to current flow.

Fast protein tertiary structure retrieval based on global surface shape similarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sael, Lee; Li, Bin; La, David; Fang, Yi; Ramani, Karthik; Rustamov, Raif; Kihara, Daisuke

2008-09-01

Characterization and identification of similar tertiary structure of proteins provides rich information for investigating function and evolution. The importance of structure similarity searches is increasing as structure databases continue to expand, partly due to the structural genomics projects. A crucial drawback of conventional protein structure comparison methods, which compare structures by their main-chain orientation or the spatial arrangement of secondary structure, is that a database search is too slow to be done in real-time. Here we introduce a global surface shape representation by three-dimensional (3D) Zernike descriptors, which represent a protein structure compactly as a series expansion of 3D functions. With this simplified representation, the search speed against a few thousand structures takes less than a minute. To investigate the agreement between surface representation defined by 3D Zernike descriptor and conventional main-chain based representation, a benchmark was performed against a protein classification generated by the combinatorial extension algorithm. Despite the different representation, 3D Zernike descriptor retrieved proteins of the same conformation defined by combinatorial extension in 89.6% of the cases within the top five closest structures. The real-time protein structure search by 3D Zernike descriptor will open up new possibility of large-scale global and local protein surface shape comparison. 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Electronic structure and quantum spin fluctuations at the magnetic phase transition in MnSi

Science.gov (United States)

Povzner, A. A.; Volkov, A. G.; Nogovitsyna, T. A.

2018-05-01

The effect of spin fluctuations on the heat capacity and homogeneous magnetic susceptibility of the chiral magnetic MnSi in the vicinity of magnetic transition has been investigated by using the free energy functional of the coupled electron and spin subsystems and taking into account the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction. For helical ferromagnetic ordering, we found that zero-point fluctuations of the spin density are large and comparable with fluctuations of the non-uniform magnetization. The amplitude of zero-point spin fluctuations shows a sharp decrease in the region of the magnetic phase transition. It is shown that sharp decrease of the amplitude of the quantum spin fluctuations results in the lambda-like maxima of the heat capacity and the homogeneous magnetic susceptibility. Above the temperature of the lambda anomaly, the spin correlation radius becomes less than the period of the helical structure and chiral fluctuations of the local magnetization appear. It is shown that formation of a "shoulder" on the temperature dependence of the heat capacity is due to disappearance of the local magnetization. Our finding allows to explain the experimentally observed features of the magnetic phase transition of MnSi as a result of the crossover of quantum and thermodynamic phase transitions.

Time scale defined by the fractal structure of the price fluctuations in foreign exchange markets

Science.gov (United States)

Kumagai, Yoshiaki

2010-04-01

In this contribution, a new time scale named C-fluctuation time is defined by price fluctuations observed at a given resolution. The intraday fractal structures and the relations of the three time scales: real time (physical time), tick time and C-fluctuation time, in foreign exchange markets are analyzed. The data set used is trading prices of foreign exchange rates; US dollar (USD)/Japanese yen (JPY), USD/Euro (EUR), and EUR/JPY. The accuracy of the data is one minute and data within a minute are recorded in order of transaction. The series of instantaneous velocity of C-fluctuation time flowing are exponentially distributed for small C when they are measured by real time and for tiny C when they are measured by tick time. When the market is volatile, for larger C, the series of instantaneous velocity are exponentially distributed.

Structural Fluctuation and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

2003-01-01

The objectives of the project is to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs and to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuations phenomena in these melts by: 1) Conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) Performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. A relaxation phenomenon, which shows a slow drift of the measured thermal conductivity toward the equilibrium value after cooling of the sample, was observed for the first time. An apparatus based on the transient torque induced by a rotating magnetic field has been developed to determine the viscosity and electrical conductivity of semiconducting liquids. Viscosity measurements on molten tellurium showed similar relaxation behavior as the measured diffusivity. Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the HgTe and HgZnTe melts and the results on pair distribution showed better resolution than previous reported.

Effects of the layered structure of YBa2Cu3O7-δ on the superconducting fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baraduc, C.

1994-06-01

The study mainly addresses Gaussian fluctuations, with the Lawrence-Doniach model used as a framework for describing the coupled superconducting planes. The fluctuations in zero magnetic field and especially the conductivity fluctuations are studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the conductivity does not follow the same mechanism when current flows along the planes or perpendicularly to them. When fluctuations are confined in each plane, a two-dimensional mechanism is observed for the parallel conductivity whereas a zero-dimensional one controls the perpendicular conductivity, which can be understood as a hopping process. Fluctuations under magnetic field, applied in the perpendicular direction, are also examined. Different scaling laws are proposed and compared for experimental magnetization data. It is shown that the 2D-3D cross-over, characterizing a layered structure, still remains under field. The observation of a crossing point in the magnetic curves raises the problem of vortex fluctuations even in this moderately anisotropic compound. 48 figs., 86 refs

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.

Structural fluctuations and orientational glass of levoglucosan--High stability against ordering and absence of structural glass.

Science.gov (United States)

Tombari, Elpidio; Johari, G P

2015-03-14

To investigate whether a non-exponential relaxation always indicates 2-4 nm-size regions of dynamic heterogeneity, we studied the kinetic freezing and unfreezing of structural fluctuations involving the rotational modes in orientationally disordered crystal (ODIC) of levoglucosan by calorimetry. The heat capacity, Cp, of levoglucosan measured over the 203 K-463 K range shows that its low-temperature, orientationally ordered crystal (ORC) transforms to ODIC phase on heating, which then melts to a low viscosity liquid. On cooling, the melt transforms to the ODIC which then does not transform to the ORC. Instead, the ODIC supercools. Fluctuations resulting from hindered (random) rotations of levoglucosan molecules confined to the lattice sites and from their conformational changes become progressively slower on cooling and an orientational glass (O-G) forms showing the sigmoid shape decrease in Cp characteristic of structural arrest like that of a glass. On heating the O-G state, rotational fluctuations begin to contribute to Cp at To-g of 247.8 K and there is an overshoot in Cp and thermal hysteresis (characteristic of physical ageing) in the temperature range of 230-260 K. The non-exponential relaxation parameter, β(cal), determined by fitting the Cp data to a non-exponential, nonlinear model for relaxation of a glass is 0.60, which is similar to β(cal) found for polymers, molecular liquids, and metal-alloy melts in which Brownian diffusion occurs. Such β(cal) glass formation, but its value of 0.60 for ODIC levoglucosan, in which Brownian diffusion does not occur, would not indicate such domains. Despite the lack of Brownian diffusion, we discuss these findings in the potential energy landscape paradigm. Levoglucosan melt, which is believed to vitrify and to stabilize a protein's disordered structure, did not supercool even at 200 K/min cooling rate. The findings have consequences for reports on the dielectric relaxation studies that indicated that levoglucosan

Wall-attached structures of streamwise velocity fluctuations in turbulent boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Jinyul; Sung, Hyung Jin

2017-11-01

The wall-attached structures of streamwise velocity fluctuations (u) are explored using direct numerical simulation data of turbulent boundary layer at Reτ = 1000 . We identify the structures of u, which are extended close to the wall. Their height (ly) ranges from the near-wall region to the edge of turbulent boundary layer. They are geometrically self-similar in a sense that the length and width of the structures are proportional to the distance from the wall. The population density of the attached structures shows that the tall attached structures (290 wall. The wall-attached structures of u identified in the present work are a proper candidate for Townsend's attached eddy hypothesis and these structures exist in the low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer. This work was supported by the Creative Research Initiatives (No. 2017-013369) program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (MSIP) and supported by the Supercomputing Center (KISTI).

Kinetic-freezing and unfreezing of local-region fluctuations in a glass structure observed by heat capacity hysteresis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aji, D. P. B.; Johari, G. P., E-mail: joharig@mcmaster.ca [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7 (Canada)

2015-06-07

Fluctuations confined to local regions in the structure of a glass are observed as the Johari-Goldstein (JG) relaxation. Properties of these regions and their atomic configuration are currently studied by relaxation techniques, by electron microscopy, and by high-energy X-ray scattering and extended x-ray absorption fine structure methods. One expects that these fluctuations (i) would kinetically freeze on cooling a glass, and the temperature coefficient of its enthalpy, dH/dT, would consequently show a gradual decrease with decrease in T, (ii) would kinetically unfreeze on heating the glass toward the glass-liquid transition temperature, T{sub g}, and dH/dT would gradually increase, and (iii) there would be a thermal hysteresis indicating the time and temperature dependence of the enthalpy. Since no such features have been found, thermodynamic consequences of these fluctuations are debated. After searching for these features in glasses of different types, we found it in one of the most stable metal alloy glasses of composition Pd{sub 40}Ni{sub 10}Cu{sub 30}P{sub 20}. On cooling from its T{sub g}, dH/dT decreased along a broad sigmoid-shape path as local-region fluctuations kinetically froze. On heating thereafter, dH/dT increased along a similar path as these fluctuations unfroze, and there is hysteresis in the cooling and heating paths, similar to that observed in the T{sub g}-endotherm range. After eliminating other interpretations, we conclude that local-region fluctuations seen as the JG relaxation in the non-equilibrium state of a glass contribute to its entropy, and we suggest conditions under which such fluctuations may be observed.

Kinetic-freezing and unfreezing of local-region fluctuations in a glass structure observed by heat capacity hysteresis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aji, D. P. B.; Johari, G. P.

2015-01-01

Fluctuations confined to local regions in the structure of a glass are observed as the Johari-Goldstein (JG) relaxation. Properties of these regions and their atomic configuration are currently studied by relaxation techniques, by electron microscopy, and by high-energy X-ray scattering and extended x-ray absorption fine structure methods. One expects that these fluctuations (i) would kinetically freeze on cooling a glass, and the temperature coefficient of its enthalpy, dH/dT, would consequently show a gradual decrease with decrease in T, (ii) would kinetically unfreeze on heating the glass toward the glass-liquid transition temperature, T g , and dH/dT would gradually increase, and (iii) there would be a thermal hysteresis indicating the time and temperature dependence of the enthalpy. Since no such features have been found, thermodynamic consequences of these fluctuations are debated. After searching for these features in glasses of different types, we found it in one of the most stable metal alloy glasses of composition Pd 40 Ni 10 Cu 30 P 20 . On cooling from its T g , dH/dT decreased along a broad sigmoid-shape path as local-region fluctuations kinetically froze. On heating thereafter, dH/dT increased along a similar path as these fluctuations unfroze, and there is hysteresis in the cooling and heating paths, similar to that observed in the T g -endotherm range. After eliminating other interpretations, we conclude that local-region fluctuations seen as the JG relaxation in the non-equilibrium state of a glass contribute to its entropy, and we suggest conditions under which such fluctuations may be observed

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

Effects of the layered structure of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} on the superconducting fluctuations; Influence de la structure lamellaire sur les fluctuations supraconductrices dans YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baraduc, C.

1994-06-01

The study mainly addresses Gaussian fluctuations, with the Lawrence-Doniach model used as a framework for describing the coupled superconducting planes. The fluctuations in zero magnetic field and especially the conductivity fluctuations are studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the conductivity does not follow the same mechanism when current flows along the planes or perpendicularly to them. When fluctuations are confined in each plane, a two-dimensional mechanism is observed for the parallel conductivity whereas a zero-dimensional one controls the perpendicular conductivity, which can be understood as a hopping process. Fluctuations under magnetic field, applied in the perpendicular direction, are also examined. Different scaling laws are proposed and compared for experimental magnetization data. It is shown that the 2D-3D cross-over, characterizing a layered structure, still remains under field. The observation of a crossing point in the magnetic curves raises the problem of vortex fluctuations even in this moderately anisotropic compound. 48 figs., 86 refs.

Tertiary classes–after Chern-Simons theory

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

J.N. Iyer Institute of Mathematical Sciences Chennai, India

2013-11-08

Nov 8, 2013 ... Euler characteristic class. In early twentieth century, the notion of local product structure, i.e. fiber spaces and their generalizations appeared, in the study of topological spaces (with additional structures). J.N. Iyer. IMSc, Chennai. Tertiary classes–after Chern-Simons theory ...

[Decomposition model of energy-related carbon emissions in tertiary industry for China].

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yuan-Qing; Shi, Jun

2012-07-01

Tertiary industry has been developed in recent years. And it is very important to find the factors influenced the energy-related carbon emissions in tertiary industry. A decomposition model of energy-related carbon emissions for China is set up by adopting logarithmic mean weight Divisia method based on the identity of carbon emissions. The model is adopted to analyze the influence of energy structure, energy efficiency, tertiary industry structure and economic output to energy-related carbon emissions in China from 2000 to 2009. Results show that the contribution rate of economic output and energy structure to energy-related carbon emissions increases year by year. Either is the contribution rate of energy efficiency or the tertiary industry restraining to energy-related carbon emissions. However, the restrain effect is weakening.

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.

Cosmological perturbations from quantum fluctuations to large scale structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bardeen, J.M.

1988-01-01

Classical perturbation theory is developed from the 3 + 1 form of the Einstein equations. A somewhat unusual form of the perturbation equations in the synchronous gauge is recommended for carrying out computations, but interpretation is based on certain hypersurface-invariant combinations of the variables. The formalism is used to analyze the origin of density perturbations from quantum fluctuations during inflation, with particular emphasis on dealing with 'double inflation' and deviations from the Zel'dovich spectrum. The evolution of the density perturbation to the present gives the final density perturbation power spectrum, whose relationship to observed large scale structure is discussed in the context of simple cold-dark-matter biasing schemes. 86 refs

Calcium-induced tertiary structure modifications of endo-B-1,3-glucanase form Pyrococcus furiosus in 7.9 M guanidinium chloride

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chiaraluce, R.; Gianese, G.; Angelaccio, S.; Florio, R.; Lieshout, van J.F.T.; Oost, van der J.; Consalvi, V.

2005-01-01

The family 16 endo-b-1,3 glucanase from the extremophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus is a laminarinase, which in 7.9 M GdmCl (guanidinium chloride) maintains a significant amount of tertiary structure without any change of secondary structure. The addition of calcium to the enzyme in 7.9 M GdmCl

Three-residue turns in alpha/beta-peptides and their application in the design of tertiary structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Gangavaram V M; Nagendar, Pendem; Ramakrishna, Kallaganti V S; Chandramouli, Nagula; Choudhary, Madavi; Kunwar, Ajit C

2008-06-02

A new three-residue turn was serendipitously discovered in alpha/beta hybrid peptides derived from alternating C-linked carbo-beta-amino acids (beta-Caa) and L-Ala residues. The three-residue beta-alpha-beta turn at the C termini, nucleated by a helix at the N termini, resulted in helix-turn (HT) supersecondary structures in these peptides. The turn in the HT motif is stabilized by two H bonds-CO(i-2)-NH(i), with a seven-membered pseudoring (gamma turn) in the backward direction, and NH(i-2)-CO(i), with a 13-membered pseudoring in the forward direction (i being the last residue)--at the C termini. The study was extended to generalize the new three-residue turn (beta-alpha-beta) by using different alpha- and beta-amino acids. Furthermore, the HT motifs were efficiently converted, by an extension with helical oligomers at the C termini, into peptides with novel helix-turn-helix (HTH) tertiary structures. However, this resulted in the destabilization of the beta-alpha-beta turn with the concomitant nucleation of another three-residue turn, alpha-beta-beta, which is stabilized by 11- and 15-membered bifurcated H bonds. Extensive NMR spectroscopic studies were carried out to delineate the secondary and tertiary structures in these peptides, which are further supported by molecular dynamics (MD) investigations.

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

Identification of Large-Scale Structure Fluctuations in IC Engines using POD-Based Conditional Averaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buhl Stefan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Cycle-to-Cycle Variations (CCV in IC engines is a well-known phenomenon and the definition and quantification is well-established for global quantities such as the mean pressure. On the other hand, the definition of CCV for local quantities, e.g. the velocity or the mixture distribution, is less straightforward. This paper proposes a new method to identify and calculate cyclic variations of the flow field in IC engines emphasizing the different contributions from large-scale energetic (coherent structures, identified by a combination of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD and conditional averaging, and small-scale fluctuations. Suitable subsets required for the conditional averaging are derived from combinations of the the POD coefficients of the second and third mode. Within each subset, the velocity is averaged and these averages are compared to the ensemble-averaged velocity field, which is based on all cycles. The resulting difference of the subset-average and the global-average is identified as a cyclic fluctuation of the coherent structures. Then, within each subset, remaining fluctuations are obtained from the difference between the instantaneous fields and the corresponding subset average. The proposed methodology is tested for two data sets obtained from scale resolving engine simulations. For the first test case, the numerical database consists of 208 independent samples of a simplified engine geometry. For the second case, 120 cycles for the well-established Transparent Combustion Chamber (TCC benchmark engine are considered. For both applications, the suitability of the method to identify the two contributions to CCV is discussed and the results are directly linked to the observed flow field structures.

Anisotropic KPZ growth in 2+1 dimensions: fluctuations and covariance structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borodin, Alexei; Ferrari, Patrik L

2009-01-01

In Borodin and Ferrari (2008 arXiv:0804.3035) we studied an interacting particle system which can be also interpreted as a stochastic growth model. This model belongs to the anisotropic KPZ class in 2+1 dimensions. In this paper we present the results that are relevant from the perspective of stochastic growth models, in particular: (a) the surface fluctuations are asymptotically Gaussian on a √ln t scale and (b) the correlation structure of the surface is asymptotically given by the massless field

Experimental study on high cycle thermal fatigue in T-junction. Effect of local flow velocity on transfer of temperature fluctuation from fluid to structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Nobuyuki; Ono, Ayako; Miyakoshi, Hiroyuki; Kamide, Hideki

2009-01-01

A quantitative evaluation on high cycle thermal fatigue due to temperature fluctuation in fluid is of importance for structural integrity in the reactor. It is necessary for the quantitative evaluation to investigate occurrence and propagation processes of temperature fluctuation, e.g., decay of fluctuation intensity near structures and transfer of temperature fluctuation from fluid to structures. The JSME published a guideline for evaluation of high-cycle thermal fatigue of a pipe as the JSME guideline in 2003. This JSME standard covers T-pipe junction used in LWRs operated in Japan. In the guideline, the effective heat transfer coefficients were obtained from temperature fluctuations in fluid and structure in experiments. In the previous studies, the effective heat transfer coefficients were 2 - 10 times larger than the heat transfer coefficients under steady state conditions in a straight tube. In this study, a water experiment of T-junction was performed to evaluate the transfer characteristics of temperature fluctuation from fluid to structure. In the experiment, temperatures in fluid and structure were measured simultaneously at 20 positions to obtain spatial distributions of the effective heat transfer coefficient. In addition, temperatures in structure and local velocities in fluid were measured simultaneously to evaluate the correlation between the temperature and velocity under the non-stationary fields. The large heat transfer coefficients were registered at the region where the local velocity was high. Furthermore it was found that the heat transfer coefficients were correlated with the time-averaged turbulent heat flux near the pipe wall. (author)

Origin of cosmological density fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, B.J.

1984-11-01

The density fluctuations required to explain the large-scale cosmological structure may have arisen spontaneously as a result of a phase transition in the early Universe. There are several ways in which such fluctuations may have ben produced, and they could have a variety of spectra, so one should not necessarily expect all features of the large-scale structure to derive from a simple power law spectrum. Some features may even result from astrophysical amplification mechanisms rather than gravitational instability. 128 references

SECTORAL ANALYSIS: GROWTH ACCOUNTING OF TERTIARY INDUSTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yahya Z. ALSHEHHI

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The tertiary sector is one of the modern styles of economic systems in view of the share it occupies in the field of production as well as employment occupied share. Hence, just like other lands, the UAE, witnessed an economic structural change similar to developed and developing nations, where the tertiary industries contributed 55.4% in 2015 to total country’s income. The empirical study aimed to analyze the contribution portion of growth in the tertiary industries through using the growth accounting framework in time-series from 1990 to 2015. The empirical study found that most of the industries contributed significantly to the growth of the tertiary sector. The contribution shares of growth due to labor and capital varied among industries. The main observed results show that there was a vice versa relationship between TFP performance and the size of labor, where the TFP positively corresponded with the decline in the size of labor specifically from 2010-2015.

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.

Hydrogen bond indices and tertiary structure of yeast tRNA sup(Phe)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giambiagi, M.S. de; Giambiagi, M.; Esquivel, D.M.S.

1982-01-01

The rigidity and stability of the tertiary structure of yeast tRNA sup(Phe) is related to a bond index employed in an IEHT calculation. The index permits a quantitative estimate of the electronic cloud along the hydrogen bond, having thus an appealing physical meaning. The results indicate that Hoogsteen-type bonds have, as expected, greater electronic population than Watson-Crick type ones. Other non-Watson-Crick pairings, the wobble pair and G 15 -C 48 , exhibit high values of the index for the NH...O bond. In the triples, the electronic density of the hydrogen bridges does not weaken, comparing it with the one of the pairs involved. Contour density maps are shown and dipolar moments of pairs and triples are qualitatively discussed. (Author) [pt

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.

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.

Beyond BLASTing: Tertiary and Quaternary Structure Analysis Helps Identify Major Vault Proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Toni K.; Sutherland-Smith, Andrew J.; Penny, David

2013-01-01

We examine the advantages of going beyond sequence similarity and use both protein three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction and then quaternary structure (docking) of inferred 3D structures to help evaluate whether comparable sequences can fold into homologous structures with sufficient lateral associations for quaternary structure formation. Our test case is the major vault protein (MVP) that oligomerizes in multiple copies to form barrel-like vault particles and is relatively widespread among eukaryotes. We used the iterative threading assembly refinement server (I-TASSER) to predict whether putative MVP sequences identified by BLASTp and PSI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool are structurally similar to the experimentally determined rodent MVP tertiary structures. Then two identical predicted quaternary structures from I-TASSER are analyzed by RosettaDock to test whether a pair-wise association occurs, and hence whether the oligomeric vault complex is likely to form for a given MVP sequence. Positive controls for the method are the experimentally determined rat (Rattus norvegicus) vault X-ray crystal structure and the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) MVP sequence that forms experimentally observed vaults. These and two kinetoplast MVP structural homologs were predicted with high confidence value, and RosettaDock predicted that these MVP sequences would dock laterally and therefore could form oligomeric vaults. As the negative control, I-TASSER did not predict an MVP-like structure from a randomized rat MVP sequence, even when constrained to the rat MVP crystal structure (PDB:2ZUO), thus further validating the method. The protocol identified six putative homologous MVP sequences in the heterobolosean Naegleria gruberi within the excavate kingdom. Two of these sequences are predicted to be structurally similar to rat MVP, despite being in excess of 300 residues shorter. The method can be used generally to help test predictions of homology via

Dynamical study of the radial structure of the fluctuations measured by a reciprocating Langmuir probe in Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devynck, P.; Antar, G.; Wang, G.; Garbet, X.; Gunn, J.; Pascal, J.Y.

1999-01-01

The fluctuations in the Scrape Off Layer (S.O.L.) of Tore Supra are studied with a movable Langmuir probe biased to ion saturation current. The probe system consists of three probes separated poloidally (0.68 cm between two nearby probes). The probe has no magnetic connection to the mid plane limiter on which the plasma is leaning, but the radial profile of the ion saturation current fluctuations displays a dip at the limiter position. At the same location the ion saturation current displays a dip at the limiter position. At the same location the ion saturation current displays an inflexion point. A correlation analysis technique is developed to study the radial behaviour of the fluctuations. It reveals that this dip is associated with a reduction of the poloidal velocity of the fluctuations with no sign reversal. In the dip the mean poloidal correlation length of the fluctuations is also reduced. These observations are consistent with a reduction of the fluctuations by a shear of the radial electric field created at the limiter surface. The autocorrelation time is also calculated. It increases slightly in the dip and is found to be sensitive to both the convection time and lifetime of the turbulent structures, because these quantities are of the same order. (authors)

Kinetic Scale Structure of Low-frequency Waves and Fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

López, Rodrigo A.; Yoon, Peter H. [Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Viñas, Adolfo F. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Geospace Physics Laboratory, Mail Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Araneda, Jaime A., E-mail: rlopezh@umd.edu, E-mail: yoonp@umd.edu [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción (Chile)

2017-08-10

The dissipation of solar wind turbulence at kinetic scales is believed to be important for the heating of the corona and for accelerating the wind. The linear Vlasov kinetic theory is a useful tool for identifying various wave modes, including kinetic Alfvén, fast magnetosonic/whistler, and ion-acoustic (or kinetic slow), and their possible roles in the dissipation. However, the kinetic mode structure in the vicinity of ion-cyclotron modes is not clearly understood. The present paper aims to further elucidate the structure of these low-frequency waves by introducing discrete particle effects through hybrid simulations and Klimontovich formalism of spontaneous emission theory. The theory and simulation of spontaneously emitted low-frequency fluctuations are employed to identify and distinguish the detailed mode structures associated with ion-Bernstein modes versus quasi-modes. The spontaneous emission theory and simulation also confirm the findings of the Vlasov theory in that the kinetic Alfvén waves can be defined over a wide range of frequencies, including the proton cyclotron frequency and its harmonics, especially for high-beta plasmas. This implies that these low-frequency modes may play predominant roles even in the fully kinetic description of kinetic scale turbulence and dissipation despite the fact that cyclotron harmonic and Bernstein modes may also play important roles in wave–particle interactions.

Epitope-Targeting of Tertiary Protein Structure Enables Target-Guided Synthesis of a Potent in Cell Inhibitor of Botulinum Neurotoxin**

OpenAIRE

Farrow, Blake; Wong, Michelle; Malette, Jacquie; Lai, Bert; Deyle, Kaycie M.; Das, Samir; Nag, Arundhati; Agnew, Heather D.; Heath, James R.

2015-01-01

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotype A is the most lethal known toxin and has an occluded structure, which prevents direct inhibition of its active site before it enters the cytosol. Target-guided synthesis by in situ click chemistry is combined with synthetic epitope targeting to exploit the tertiary structure of the BoNT protein as a landscape for assembling a competitive inhibitor. A substrate-mimicking peptide macrocycle is used as a direct inhibitor of BoNT. An epitope-targeting in situ ...

Constructing a folding model for protein S6 guided by native fluctuations deduced from NMR structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lammert, Heiko; Noel, Jeffrey K.; Haglund, Ellinor; Onuchic, José N.; Schug, Alexander

2015-01-01

The diversity in a set of protein nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structures provides an estimate of native state fluctuations that can be used to refine and enrich structure-based protein models (SBMs). Dynamics are an essential part of a protein’s functional native state. The dynamics in the native state are controlled by the same funneled energy landscape that guides the entire folding process. SBMs apply the principle of minimal frustration, drawn from energy landscape theory, to construct a funneled folding landscape for a given protein using only information from the native structure. On an energy landscape smoothed by evolution towards minimal frustration, geometrical constraints, imposed by the native structure, control the folding mechanism and shape the native dynamics revealed by the model. Native-state fluctuations can alternatively be estimated directly from the diversity in the set of NMR structures for a protein. Based on this information, we identify a highly flexible loop in the ribosomal protein S6 and modify the contact map in a SBM to accommodate the inferred dynamics. By taking into account the probable native state dynamics, the experimental transition state is recovered in the model, and the correct order of folding events is restored. Our study highlights how the shared energy landscape connects folding and function by showing that a better description of the native basin improves the prediction of the folding mechanism

Structure, stabilité et fluctuations

CERN Document Server

Glansdorff, P

1971-01-01

Théorie générale : lois de conservation et bilans ; le second principe de la thermodynamique et le bilan entropique ; thermodynamique linéaire des phénomènes irréversibles ; théorie de la stabilité de l'équilibre thermodynamique par la méthode Gibbs-Duhem ; théorie générale de la stabilité de l'équilibre thermodynamique ; conditions de stabilité thermodynamique et hydrodynamique des syst¿mes hors d'équilibre ; forme explicite des conditions de stablité des processus hors d'équilibre ; stabilité et fluctuations ; le critère général d'évolution.

Remarks on transport theories of interplanetary fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Zhou; Matthaeus, W.H.

1990-01-01

The structure of approximate transport theories for the radial behavior of interplanetary fluctuations is reconsidered. The emphasis is on theories derived under the assumption of scale separation; i.e., the correlation length of the fluctuations is much less than the scale of large inhomogeneities. In these cases the zero-wavelength limit provides a first approximation to the spectral evolution equations for the radial dependence of interplanetary fluctuation spectra. The goal here is to investigate the structure of a recently presented (Zhou and Matthaeus, 1989) transport theory, in which coupling of inward- and outward-type fluctuations appears in the leading order, an effect the authors call mixing. In linear theory, mixing-type couplings of inward-type and outward-type waves are formally a nonresonant effect. However, leading order mixing terms do not vanish at zero wavelength for fluctuations that vary nearly perpendicular to the local magnetic field, or when the mean magnetic field is weak. Leading order mixing terms also survive when the dispersion relation fails and there is a nonunique relationship between frequency and wave number. The former case corresponds to nearly two-dimensional structures; these are included, for example, in isotropic models of turbulence. The latter instance occurs when wave-wave couplings are sufficiently strong. Thus there are a variety of situations in which leading order mixing effects are expected to be present

Haar wavelets, fluctuations and structure functions: convenient choices for geophysics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Lovejoy

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Geophysical processes are typically variable over huge ranges of space-time scales. This has lead to the development of many techniques for decomposing series and fields into fluctuations Δv at well-defined scales. Classically, one defines fluctuations as differences: (Δv_diff = v(x+Δx-v(x and this is adequate for many applications (Δx is the "lag". However, if over a range one has scaling Δv ∝ Δx^H, these difference fluctuations are only adequate when 0 < H < 1. Hence, there is the need for other types of fluctuations. In particular, atmospheric processes in the "macroweather" range ≈10 days to 10–30 yr generally have −1 < H < 0, so that a definition valid over the range −1 < H < 1 would be very useful for atmospheric applications. A general framework for defining fluctuations is wavelets. However, the generality of wavelets often leads to fairly arbitrary choices of "mother wavelet" and the resulting wavelet coefficients may be difficult to interpret. In this paper we argue that a good choice is provided by the (historically first wavelet, the Haar wavelet (Haar, 1910, which is easy to interpret and – if needed – to generalize, yet has rarely been used in geophysics. It is also easy to implement numerically: the Haar fluctuation (Δv_Haar at lag Δx is simply equal to the difference of the mean from x to x+ Δx/2 and from x+Δx/2 to x+Δx. Indeed, we shall see that the interest of the Haar wavelet is this relation to the integrated process rather than its wavelet nature per se.

Using numerical multifractal simulations, we show that it is quite accurate, and we compare and contrast it with another similar technique, detrended fluctuation analysis. We find that, for estimating scaling exponents, the two methods are very similar, yet

Characterization of Alfvenic fluctuations in the magnetopause boundary layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rezeau, L.; Morane, A.; Perraut, S.; Roux, A.; Schmidt, R.

1989-01-01

The European Space Agency GEOS 2 spacecraft happened to cross the magnetopause several times, at various local times. Intense electric and magnetic fluctuations, in the ultralow-frequency (ULF) range (0-10 Hz) have been detected during each such crossing, with a peak at the magnetopause and still large amplitudes in the adjacent magnetosheath and magnetopause boundary layer. By applying spectral analysis and correlations to the electric and magnetic fluctuations, and a minimum variance analysis to the magnetic fluctuations, the authors investigate the nature of these fluctuations which appear as short-lasting bursts in the spacecraft frame. Having reviewed possible interpretations, they show that the observed electric and magnetic signatures are consistent with small-scale (L ∼ ion Larmor radius) Alfvenic field-aligned structures passing by the spacecraft at high speed. It is suggested that these structures correspond to nonlinear Alfvenic structures

A new analysing approach for the structure of density fluctuation of supercritical fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T; Sugiyama, M; Itoh, K; Mori, K; Fukunaga, T; Misawa, M; Otomo, T; Takata, S

2008-01-01

Large scale structural evolution of supercritical carbon dioxide along the isotherm at 32 deg. C was investigated with small-angle neutron scattering. The maximum of the density fluctuation, the so-called 'ridge', was confirmed with Ornstein-Zernike analysis. To investigate the structural change in more detail, the molecular distribution over a large domain was determined with a newly developed reverse Monte Carlo method. From the molecular distribution obtained, the pair distribution function and cluster-size distribution can be calculated. With increasing density of carbon dioxide, the cluster size increases monotonically, whereas the pair distribution function for the range of sizes shorter than 10 A shows a monotonic decrease. From this result, it is suggested that the structural change along the isotherm is caused by the change of balance between growth of clusters and increase of the average density

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

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.

Influence Factor of Tertiary Students’ Employability Awareness Adjust Industry 4.0

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Chun-Mei Chou

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the correlation (N=621 among tertiary students’ career planning, erecruiting adoption acceptance, and employability awareness in Taiwan. Tertiary students’ perceived career planning includes four factors, namely, self-appraisal, job expectancy, goal selection, and problem solving. E-recruiting adoption acceptance includes four factors, namely, playfulness, ease of use, effectiveness, and usefulness. Employability awareness includes four factors, namely, personal adaptability, employability ambition, career identity, and labour market. Participants responded to a 5-point Likert-type scale for each factor. Analysis was conducted using the structural equation modeling (SEM, and a good model fit was found for both the measurement and structural models. Research findings demonstrate that tertiary students’ career planning significantly and directly influences employability awareness. Career planning significantly and indirectly influences employability awareness by e-recruiting adoption acceptance. Tertiary students’ career planning and e-recruiting adoption acceptance fit the influence model and empirical data of employability awareness. Implications of this study, including the value of student self-assessment of their skills and utility of the e-recruiting to underpin personal career development planning and inform graduate recruitment processes, are discussed and recommendations made.

Measuring past glacier fluctuations from historic photographs geolocated using Structure from Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Vargo, L.; Anderson, B.; Horgan, H. J.; Mackintosh, A.; Lorrey, A.; Thornton, M.

2017-12-01

Quantifying glacier fluctuations is important for understanding how the cryosphere responds to climate variability and change. Photographs of past ice extents have become iconic images of climate change, but until now incorporating these images into quantitative estimates of glacier change has been problematic. We present a new method to quantitatively measure past glacier fluctuations from historic images. The method uses a large set of modern geolocated photographs and Structure from Motion (SfM) to calculate the camera parameters for the historic images, including the location from which they were taken. We initially apply this method to a small maritime New Zealand glacier (Brewster Glacier, 44°S, 2 km2), and quantify annual equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) and length changes from historic oblique aerial photographs (1981 - 2017). Results show that Brewster has retreated 364 ± 12 m since 1981 and, using independent field measurements of terminus positions (2005 - 2014), we show that this SfM-derived length record accurately captures glacier change. We calculate the uncertainties associated with this method using known coordinates of bedrock features surrounding the glacier. Mean uncertainties in the ELA and length records are 7 m and 11 m, respectively. In addition to Brewster, 49 other New Zealand glaciers have been monitored by aerial photographs since 1978. However, the length records for these glaciers only include years of relative advance or retreat, and no length changes have been quantified. We will ultimately apply this method to all 50 glaciers, expanding the database of New Zealand glacier fluctuations that until now included only a few glaciers. This method can be further applied to any glacier with historic images, and can be used to measure past changes in glacier width, area, and surface elevation in addition to ELA and length.

Small-scale structure and 21cm fluctuations by primordial black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gong, Jinn-Ouk; Kitajima, Naoya, E-mail: jinn-ouk.gong@apctp.org, E-mail: kitajima.naoya@f.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Pohang 37673 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-01

We discuss early structure formation of small scales sourced by primordial black holes (PBHs) which constitute a small part of present cold dark matter component. We calculate the mass function and power spectrum of haloes originated from the Poisson fluctuations of PBH number and show that the number of small haloes is significantly modified in the presence of PBHs even if their fraction accounts for only 10{sup −4}–10{sup −3} of total dark matter abundance. We then compute the subsequent 21cm signature from those haloes. We find that PBHs can provide major contributions at high redshifts within the detectability of future experiments such as Square Kilometer Array, and provide a forecast constraint on the PBH fraction.

Tertiary Students ’ Entrepreneurship Learning Socialization : Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun- Mei Chou

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This study examines 728 tertiary students’ entrepreneurship learning socialization and its influencing factors to serve as a school reference for the development of internship and entrepreneurship education. The results show that students’ internship experience has a significant direct effect on entrepreneurship learning socialization, and entrepreneurship intention has a significant effect on entrepreneurship learning socialization through internship experience. The influence pattern and empirical data of entrepreneurship intention and internship experience on entrepreneurship learning socialization has a good fit. This paper gives an insight from Taiwan tertiary institutions about entrepreneurial learning socialization of students and contributions to them. We describe the development of the influencing factors, discuss its implications for entrepreneurship and internship education, and finally offer suggestions for further entrepreneurship education development.

Fluctuating hydrodynamics, current fluctuations, and hyperuniformity in boundary-driven open quantum chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Carollo, Federico; Garrahan, Juan P; Lesanovsky, Igor; Pérez-Espigares, Carlos

2017-11-01

We consider a class of either fermionic or bosonic noninteracting open quantum chains driven by dissipative interactions at the boundaries and study the interplay of coherent transport and dissipative processes, such as bulk dephasing and diffusion. Starting from the microscopic formulation, we show that the dynamics on large scales can be described in terms of fluctuating hydrodynamics. This is an important simplification as it allows us to apply the methods of macroscopic fluctuation theory to compute the large deviation (LD) statistics of time-integrated currents. In particular, this permits us to show that fermionic open chains display a third-order dynamical phase transition in LD functions. We show that this transition is manifested in a singular change in the structure of trajectories: while typical trajectories are diffusive, rare trajectories associated with atypical currents are ballistic and hyperuniform in their spatial structure. We confirm these results by numerically simulating ensembles of rare trajectories via the cloning method, and by exact numerical diagonalization of the microscopic quantum generator.

Effect of spin fluctuations on the electronic structure in iron-based superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Heimes, Andreas; Grein, Roland; Eschrig, Matthias

2012-08-01

Magnetic inelastic neutron scattering studies of iron-based superconductors reveal a strongly temperature-dependent spin-fluctuation spectrum in the normal conducting state, which develops a prominent low-energy resonance feature when entering the superconducting state. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) allow us to study the fingerprints of fluctuation modes via their interactions with electronic quasiparticles. We calculate such fingerprints in 122 iron pnictides using an experimentally motivated spin-fluctuation spectrum and make a number of predictions that can be tested in ARPES and STS experiments. This includes discussions of the quasiparticle scattering rate and the superconducting order parameter. In quantitative agreement with experiment we reproduce the quasiparticle dispersions obtained from momentum distribution curves as well as energy distribution curves. We discuss the relevance of the coupling between spin fluctuations and electronic excitations for the superconducting mechanism.

Temporal structure of aggregate power fluctuations in large-eddy simulations of extended wind-farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stevens, Richard Johannes Antonius Maria; Meneveau, Charles

2014-01-01

Fluctuations represent a major challenge for the incorporation of electric power from large wind-farms into power grids. Wind-farm power output fluctuates strongly in time, over various time scales. Understanding these fluctuations, especially their spatio-temporal characteristics, is particularly

Protein Tertiary Structure Prediction Based on Main Chain Angle Using a Hybrid Bees Colony Optimization Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmood, Zakaria N.; Mahmuddin, Massudi; Mahmood, Mohammed Nooraldeen

Encoding proteins of amino acid sequence to predict classified into their respective families and subfamilies is important research area. However for a given protein, knowing the exact action whether hormonal, enzymatic, transmembranal or nuclear receptors does not depend solely on amino acid sequence but on the way the amino acid thread folds as well. This study provides a prototype system that able to predict a protein tertiary structure. Several methods are used to develop and evaluate the system to produce better accuracy in protein 3D structure prediction. The Bees Optimization algorithm which inspired from the honey bees food foraging method, is used in the searching phase. In this study, the experiment is conducted on short sequence proteins that have been used by the previous researches using well-known tools. The proposed approach shows a promising result.

Stereoinversion of tertiary alcohols to tertiary-alkyl isonitriles and amines.

Science.gov (United States)

Pronin, Sergey V; Reiher, Christopher A; Shenvi, Ryan A

2013-09-12

The SN2 reaction (bimolecular nucleophilic substitution) is a well-known chemical transformation that can be used to join two smaller molecules together into a larger molecule or to exchange one functional group for another. The SN2 reaction proceeds in a very predictable manner: substitution occurs with inversion of stereochemistry, resulting from the 'backside attack' of the electrophilic carbon by the nucleophile. A significant limitation of the SN2 reaction is its intolerance for tertiary carbon atoms: whereas primary and secondary alcohols are viable precursor substrates, tertiary alcohols and their derivatives usually either fail to react or produce stereochemical mixtures of products. Here we report the stereochemical inversion of chiral tertiary alcohols with a nitrogenous nucleophile facilitated by a Lewis-acid-catalysed solvolysis. The method is chemoselective against secondary and primary alcohols, thereby complementing the selectivity of the SN2 reaction. Furthermore, this method for carbon-nitrogen bond formation mimics a putative biosynthetic step in the synthesis of marine terpenoids and enables their preparation from the corresponding terrestrial terpenes. We expect that the general attributes of the methodology will allow chiral tertiary alcohols to be considered viable substrates for stereoinversion reactions.

Density Fluctuations of Hard-Sphere Fluids in Narrow Confinement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Nygård

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Spatial confinement induces microscopic ordering of fluids, which in turn alters many of their dynamic and thermodynamic properties. However, the isothermal compressibility has hitherto been largely overlooked in the literature, despite its obvious connection to the underlying microscopic structure and density fluctuations in confined geometries. Here, we address this issue by probing density profiles and structure factors of hard-sphere fluids in various narrow slits, using x-ray scattering from colloid-filled nanofluidic containers and integral-equation-based statistical mechanics at the level of pair distributions for inhomogeneous fluids. Most importantly, we demonstrate that density fluctuations and isothermal compressibilities in confined fluids can be obtained experimentally from the long-wavelength limit of the structure factor, providing a formally exact and experimentally accessible connection between microscopic structure and macroscopic, thermodynamic properties. Our approach will thus, for example, allow direct experimental verification of theoretically predicted enhanced density fluctuations in liquids near solvophobic interfaces.

Secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamal, Sophie A; Miller, Paul D

2013-01-01

We reviewed the etiology and management of secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Secondary hyperparathyroidism is characterized by an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) that is appropriate and in response to a stimulus, most commonly low serum calcium. In secondary hyperparathyroidism, the serum calcium is normal and the PTH level is elevated. Tertiary hyperparathyroidism is characterized by excessive secretion of PTH after longstanding secondary hyperparathyroidism, in which hypercalcemia has ensued. Tertiary hyperparathyroidism typically occurs in men and women with chronic kidney disease usually after kidney transplant. The etiology and treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism is relatively straightforward whereas data on the management of tertiary hyperparathyroidism is limited to a few small trials with short follow-up. Copyright © 2013 The International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Significance of Incorporating Nanoscale Fluctuations in a Constitutive Description of Glassy Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Caruthers, James

2015-03-01

The current picture of the glass involves dynamic heterogeneity, where nanoscopic regions of the glass have order-of-magnitude differences in local mobility that evolve with time. Dynamic heterogeneity provides a critical challenge to the traditional nonlinear continuum models, where both temporal and spatial fluctuations are averaged as a result of the continuum postulate. In order to acknowledge dynamic heterogeneity, a Stochastic Constitutive Model (SCM) has been developed to describe the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of polymeric glasses, where (i) temporal fluctuations are explicitly included and (ii) the local mobility depends upon the local state of the material (e.g. local stress and local entropy) vs. traditional viscoelastic/viscoelastic models where macroscopic mobility depends upon the macroscopic state. The SCM is able to describe a number of nonlinear relaxation phenomena that cannot be predicted by traditional nonlinear viscoelastic/viscoplastic models, including (i) post-yield stress softening and its dependence on annealing time, (ii) the inversion of the strain dependence of nonlinear stress relaxation with the loading rate, (iii) stress memory and (iv) tertiary creep and creep-recovery. This paper will argue that incorporation of nanoscopic fluctuations is a necessary component for a description of the thermomechanical behavior of polymeric glasses. Support from NSF Grant 1363326-CMMI.

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.

Do Amplitudes of Water Level Fluctuations Affect the Growth and Community Structure of Submerged Macrophytes?

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mo-Zhu; Liu, Zheng-Yuan; Luo, Fang-Li; Lei, Guang-Chun; Li, Hong-Li

2016-01-01

Submerged macrophytes are subjected to potential mechanical stresses associated with fluctuating water levels in natural conditions. However, few experimental studies have been conducted to further understand the effects of water level fluctuating amplitude on submerged macrophyte species and their assemblages or communities. We designed a controlled experiment to investigate the responses of three submerged macrophyte species (Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum and Elodea nuttallii) and their combinations in communities to three amplitudes (static, ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm) of water level fluctuations. Results showed that water level fluctuating amplitude had little effects on the community performance and the three tested species responded differently. H. verticillata exhibited more growth in static water and it was negatively affected by either of the water level fluctuations amplitude, however, growth parameters of H. verticillata in two fluctuating water level treatments (i.e., ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm) were not significantly different. On the other hand, the growth of C. demersum was not significantly correlated with different amplitude treatments. However, it became more abundant when water levels fluctuated. E. nuttallii was inhibited by the two fluctuating water level treatments, and was less in growth parameters compared to the other species especially in water level fluctuating conditions. The inherent differences in the adaptive capabilities of the tested species indicate that C. demersum or other species with similar responses may be dominant species to restore submerged macrophyte communities with great fluctuating water levels. Otherwise, H. verticillata, E. nuttallii or other species with similar responses could be considered for constructing the community in static water conditions. PMID:26735689

Do Amplitudes of Water Level Fluctuations Affect the Growth and Community Structure of Submerged Macrophytes?

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mo-Zhu; Liu, Zheng-Yuan; Luo, Fang-Li; Lei, Guang-Chun; Li, Hong-Li

2016-01-01

Submerged macrophytes are subjected to potential mechanical stresses associated with fluctuating water levels in natural conditions. However, few experimental studies have been conducted to further understand the effects of water level fluctuating amplitude on submerged macrophyte species and their assemblages or communities. We designed a controlled experiment to investigate the responses of three submerged macrophyte species (Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum and Elodea nuttallii) and their combinations in communities to three amplitudes (static, ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm) of water level fluctuations. Results showed that water level fluctuating amplitude had little effects on the community performance and the three tested species responded differently. H. verticillata exhibited more growth in static water and it was negatively affected by either of the water level fluctuations amplitude, however, growth parameters of H. verticillata in two fluctuating water level treatments (i.e., ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm) were not significantly different. On the other hand, the growth of C. demersum was not significantly correlated with different amplitude treatments. However, it became more abundant when water levels fluctuated. E. nuttallii was inhibited by the two fluctuating water level treatments, and was less in growth parameters compared to the other species especially in water level fluctuating conditions. The inherent differences in the adaptive capabilities of the tested species indicate that C. demersum or other species with similar responses may be dominant species to restore submerged macrophyte communities with great fluctuating water levels. Otherwise, H. verticillata, E. nuttallii or other species with similar responses could be considered for constructing the community in static water conditions.

Do Amplitudes of Water Level Fluctuations Affect the Growth and Community Structure of Submerged Macrophytes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mo-Zhu Wang

Full Text Available Submerged macrophytes are subjected to potential mechanical stresses associated with fluctuating water levels in natural conditions. However, few experimental studies have been conducted to further understand the effects of water level fluctuating amplitude on submerged macrophyte species and their assemblages or communities. We designed a controlled experiment to investigate the responses of three submerged macrophyte species (Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum and Elodea nuttallii and their combinations in communities to three amplitudes (static, ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm of water level fluctuations. Results showed that water level fluctuating amplitude had little effects on the community performance and the three tested species responded differently. H. verticillata exhibited more growth in static water and it was negatively affected by either of the water level fluctuations amplitude, however, growth parameters of H. verticillata in two fluctuating water level treatments (i.e., ± 30 cm, ± 60 cm were not significantly different. On the other hand, the growth of C. demersum was not significantly correlated with different amplitude treatments. However, it became more abundant when water levels fluctuated. E. nuttallii was inhibited by the two fluctuating water level treatments, and was less in growth parameters compared to the other species especially in water level fluctuating conditions. The inherent differences in the adaptive capabilities of the tested species indicate that C. demersum or other species with similar responses may be dominant species to restore submerged macrophyte communities with great fluctuating water levels. Otherwise, H. verticillata, E. nuttallii or other species with similar responses could be considered for constructing the community in static water conditions.

Fluctuation microscopy analysis of amorphous silicon models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibson, J.M., E-mail: jmgibson@fsu.edu [Northeastern University, Department of Physics, Boston MA 02115 (United States); FAMU/FSU Joint College of Engineering, 225 Pottsdamer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32310 (United States); Treacy, M.M.J. [Arizona State University, Department of Physics, Tempe AZ 85287 (United States)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Studied competing computer models for amorphous silicon and simulated fluctuation microscopy data. • Show that only paracrystalline/random network composite can fit published data. • Specifically show that pure random network or random network with void models do not fit available data. • Identify a new means to measure volume fraction of ordered material. • Identify unreported limitations of the Debye model for simulating fluctuation microscopy data. - Abstract: Using computer-generated models we discuss the use of fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) to identify the structure of amorphous silicon. We show that a combination of variable resolution FEM to measure the correlation length, with correlograph analysis to obtain the structural motif, can pin down structural correlations. We introduce the method of correlograph variance as a promising means of independently measuring the volume fraction of a paracrystalline composite. From comparisons with published data, we affirm that only a composite material of paracrystalline and continuous random network that is substantially paracrystalline could explain the existing experimental data, and point the way to more precise measurements on amorphous semiconductors. The results are of general interest for other classes of disordered materials.

Fluctuation microscopy analysis of amorphous silicon models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, J.M.; Treacy, M.M.J.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Studied competing computer models for amorphous silicon and simulated fluctuation microscopy data. • Show that only paracrystalline/random network composite can fit published data. • Specifically show that pure random network or random network with void models do not fit available data. • Identify a new means to measure volume fraction of ordered material. • Identify unreported limitations of the Debye model for simulating fluctuation microscopy data. - Abstract: Using computer-generated models we discuss the use of fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) to identify the structure of amorphous silicon. We show that a combination of variable resolution FEM to measure the correlation length, with correlograph analysis to obtain the structural motif, can pin down structural correlations. We introduce the method of correlograph variance as a promising means of independently measuring the volume fraction of a paracrystalline composite. From comparisons with published data, we affirm that only a composite material of paracrystalline and continuous random network that is substantially paracrystalline could explain the existing experimental data, and point the way to more precise measurements on amorphous semiconductors. The results are of general interest for other classes of disordered materials.

Fluctuation-driven mechanotransduction regulates mitochondrial-network structure and function

Science.gov (United States)

Bartolák-Suki, Erzsébet; Imsirovic, Jasmin; Parameswaran, Harikrishnan; Wellman, Tyler J.; Martinez, Nuria; Allen, Philip G.; Frey, Urs; Suki, Béla

2015-10-01

Cells can be exposed to irregular mechanical fluctuations, such as those arising from changes in blood pressure. Here, we report that ATP production, assessed through changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, is downregulated in vascular smooth muscle cells in culture exposed to monotonous stretch cycles when compared with cells exposed to a variable cyclic stretch that incorporates physiological levels of cycle-by-cycle variability in stretch amplitude. Variable stretch enhances ATP production by increasing the expression of ATP synthase’s catalytic domain, cytochrome c oxidase and its tyrosine phosphorylation, mitofusins and PGC-1α. Such a fluctuation-driven mechanotransduction mechanism is mediated by motor proteins and by the enhancement of microtubule-, actin- and mitochondrial-network complexity. We also show that, in aorta rings isolated from rats, monotonous stretch downregulates--whereas variable stretch maintains--physiological vessel-wall contractility through mitochondrial ATP production. Our results have implications for ATP-dependent and mechanosensitive intracellular processes.

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.

A hybrid computation method for determining fluctuations of temperature in branched structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czomber, L.

1982-01-01

A hybrid computation method for determining temperature fluctuations at discrete points of slab like geometries is developed on the basis of a new formulation of the finite difference method. For this purpose, a new finite difference method is combined with an exact solution of the heat equation within the range of values of the Laplace transformation. Whereas the exact solution can be applied to arbitraryly large ranges, the finite difference formulation is given for structural ranges which need finer discretization. The boundary conditions of the exact solution are substituted by finite difference terms for the boundary residual flow or an internal heat source, depending on the problem. The resulting system of conditional equations contains only the node parameters of the finite difference method. (orig.) [de

Molecular modelling of the Norrie disease protein predicts a cystine knot growth factor tertiary structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Meitinger, T; Meindl, A; Bork, P; Rost, B; Sander, C; Haasemann, M; Murken, J

1993-12-01

The X-lined gene for Norrie disease, which is characterized by blindness, deafness and mental retardation has been cloned recently. This gene has been thought to code for a putative extracellular factor; its predicted amino acid sequence is homologous to the C-terminal domain of diverse extracellular proteins. Sequence pattern searches and three-dimensional modelling now suggest that the Norrie disease protein (NDP) has a tertiary structure similar to that of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta). Our model identifies NDP as a member of an emerging family of growth factors containing a cystine knot motif, with direct implications for the physiological role of NDP. The model also sheds light on sequence related domains such as the C-terminal domain of mucins and of von Willebrand factor.

Water level fluctuations due to earth tides in a well pumping from slightly fractured crystalline rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marine, I.W.

1975-01-01

J At the Savannah River plant of the Atomic Energy Commission near Aiken, South Carolina, there are three distinct groundwater systems: the coastal plain sediments, the crystalline metamorphic rocks, and a buried Triassic basin. The coastal plain sediments include several Cretaceous and Tertiary granular aquifers and aquicludes, the total thickness being about 305 m. Below these sediments, water occurs in small fractures in crystalline metamorphic rock (hornblende schist and gneiss with lesser amounts of quartzite). Water level fluctuations due to earth tides are recorded in the crystalline metamorphic rock system and in the coastal plain sediments. No water level fluctuations due to earth tides have been observed in wells in the Triassic rock because of the very low permeability. The water level fluctuations due to earth tides in the crystalline rock are about 10 cm, and those in the sediments are about 1.8 cm. The use of water level fluctuations due to earth tides to calculate porosity appears to present practical difficulties both in the crystalline metamorphic rock system and in the coastal plain sediments. In a 1-yr pumping test on a well in the crystalline metamorphic rock the flow was controlled to within 0.1 percent of the total discharge, which was 0.94 1/s. The water level fluctuations due to earth tides in the pumping well were 10 cm, the same as when this well was not being pumped. (U.S.)

Water-level fluctuations due to Earth tides in a well pumping from slightly fractured crystalline rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marine, I.W.

1975-01-01

At the Savannah River plant of the Atomic Energy Commission near Aiken, South Carolina, there are three distinct groundwater systems: the coastal plain sediments, the crystalline metamorphic rocks, and a buried Triassic basin. The coastal plain sediments include several Cretaceous and Tertiary granular aquifers and aquicludes, the total thickness being about 305 m. Below these sediments, water occurs in small fractures in crystalline metamorphic rock (hornblende schist and gneiss with lesser amounts of quartzite). Water level fluctuations due to earth tides are recorded in the crystalline metamorphic rock system and in the coastal plain sediments. No water level fluctuations due to earth tides have been observed in wells in the Triassic rock because of the very low permeability. The water level fluctuations due to earth tides in the crystalline rock are about 10 cm, and those in the sediments are about 1.8 cm. The use of water level fluctuations due to earth tides to calculate porosity appears to present practical difficulties both in the crystalline metamorphic rock system and in the coastal plain sediments. In a 1-yr pumping test on a well in the crystalline metamorphic rock the flow was controlled to within 0.1 per cent of the total discharge, which was 0.94 l/s. The water level fluctuations due to earth tides in the pumping well were 10 cm, the same as when this well was not being pumped. (U.S.)

Fluctuation diamagnetism in two-band superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Kyosuke; Ikeda, Ryusuke

2016-04-01

Anomalously large fluctuation diamagnetism around the superconducting critical temperature has been recently observed in iron selenide (FeSe) [Kasahara et al. (unpublished)]. This indicates that superconducting fluctuations (SCFs) play a more significant role in FeSe, which supposedly has a two-band structure, than in the familiar single-band superconductors. Motivated by the data on FeSe, SCF-induced diamagnetism is examined in a two-band system, on the basis of a phenomenological approach with a Ginzburg-Landau functional. The obtained results indicate that the SCF-induced diamagnetism may be more enhanced than that in a single-band system due to the existence of two distinct fluctuation modes. Such enhancement of diamagnetism unique to a two-band system seems consistent with the large diamagnetism observed in FeSe, though still far from a quantitative agreement.

Mercury exposure may influence fluctuating asymmetry in waterbirds

Science.gov (United States)

Herring, Garth; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Ackerman, Joshua T.

2017-01-01

Variation in avian bilateral symmetry can be an indicator of developmental instability in response to a variety of stressors, including environmental contaminants. The authors used composite measures of fluctuating asymmetry to examine the influence of mercury concentrations in 2 tissues on fluctuating asymmetry within 4 waterbird species. Fluctuating asymmetry increased with mercury concentrations in whole blood and breast feathers of Forster's terns (Sterna forsteri), a species with elevated mercury concentrations. Specifically, fluctuating asymmetry in rectrix feather 1 was the most strongly correlated structural variable of those tested (wing chord, tarsus, primary feather 10, rectrix feather 6) with mercury concentrations in Forster's terns. However, for American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), and Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), the authors found no relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and either whole-blood or breast feather mercury concentrations, even though these species had moderate to elevated mercury exposure. The results indicate that mercury contamination may act as an environmental stressor during development and feather growth and contribute to fluctuating asymmetry of some species of highly contaminated waterbirds.

Relevance of Donation to Special Federal Tertiary Institution ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While structured and open-ended interview and relevant documents, including gift and donation files, acquisition records and library accession registers were used to collect data for the study. The population of the study consisted of the Special Federal Tertiary Institution Libraries under study while the subjects of the study ...

Discovery of tertiary sulfonamides as potent liver X receptor antagonists.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuercher, William J; Buckholz, Richard G; Campobasso, Nino; Collins, Jon L; Galardi, Cristin M; Gampe, Robert T; Hyatt, Stephen M; Merrihew, Susan L; Moore, John T; Oplinger, Jeffrey A; Reid, Paul R; Spearing, Paul K; Stanley, Thomas B; Stewart, Eugene L; Willson, Timothy M

2010-04-22

Tertiary sulfonamides were identified in a HTS as dual liver X receptor (LXR, NR1H2, and NR1H3) ligands, and the binding affinity of the series was increased through iterative analogue synthesis. A ligand-bound cocrystal structure was determined which elucidated key interactions for high binding affinity. Further characterization of the tertiary sulfonamide series led to the identification of high affinity LXR antagonists. GSK2033 (17) is the first potent cell-active LXR antagonist described to date. 17 may be a useful chemical probe to explore the cell biology of this orphan nuclear receptor.

Local polar fluctuations in lead halide perovskites

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Liang; Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Brus, Louis; Rappe, Andrew; Egger, David; Kronik, Leeor

The lead halide perovskites have recently attracted much attention because of their large and growing photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies. However, questions remain regarding the temporal and spatial correlations of the structural fluctuations, their atomistic nature, and how they affect electronic and photovoltaic properties. To address these questions, we have performed a combined ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT) study on CsPbBr3. We have observed prevalent anharmonic motion in our MD trajectories, with local polar fluctuations involving head-to-head motion of A-site Cs cations coupled with Br window opening. We calculate Raman spectra from the polarizability auto-correlation functions obtained from these trajectories and show that anharmonic A-site cation motion manifests as a broad central peak in the Raman spectrum, which increases in intensity with temperature. A comparison of the experimental Raman spectrum of hybrid organometallic MAPbBr3 and fully inorganic CsPbBr3 suggests that structural fluctuations in lead-halide perovskites is more general than rotation of polar organic cations and is intimately coupled to the inorganic framework.

Fluctuation of shower front structure: measurements, Esub(p) approximately 1018 eV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrett, M.L.; Watson, A.A.; Wild, P.; Wilson, J.G.

1975-01-01

The work of Watson and Wilson (1974) on the introduction of a parameter of shower-front development fluctuations has been extended using a purpose-built recording system yielding results over an increased distance range from the shower axis. An exhaustive study of possible spurious sources of the observed features has been undertaken, and none of significance have been identified. The values of the fluctuation parameter now given are considered well-established. (orig.) [de

Potential fluctuations due to randomly distributed charges at the semiconductor-insulator interface in MIS-structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanchev, I.

2003-01-01

A new expression for the Fourier transform of the binary correlation function of the random potential near the semiconductor-insulator interface is derived. The screening from the metal electrode in MIS-structure is taken into account introducing an effective insulator thickness. An essential advantage of this correlation function is the finite dispersion of the random potential to which it leads in distinction with the so far known correlation functions leading to a divergent dispersion. The dispersion, an important characteristic of the random potential distribution, determining the amplitude of the potential fluctuations is calculated

Potential fluctuations due to randomly distributed charges at the semiconductor-insulator interface in MIS-structures

CERN Document Server

Yanchev, I

2003-01-01

A new expression for the Fourier transform of the binary correlation function of the random potential near the semiconductor-insulator interface is derived. The screening from the metal electrode in MIS-structure is taken into account introducing an effective insulator thickness. An essential advantage of this correlation function is the finite dispersion of the random potential to which it leads in distinction with the so far known correlation functions leading to a divergent dispersion. The dispersion, an important characteristic of the random potential distribution, determining the amplitude of the potential fluctuations is calculated.

Potential fluctuations due to randomly distributed charges at the semiconductor-insulator interface in MIS-structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yanchev, I

2003-07-01

A new expression for the Fourier transform of the binary correlation function of the random potential near the semiconductor-insulator interface is derived. The screening from the metal electrode in MIS-structure is taken into account introducing an effective insulator thickness. An essential advantage of this correlation function is the finite dispersion of the random potential to which it leads in distinction with the so far known correlation functions leading to a divergent dispersion. The dispersion, an important characteristic of the random potential distribution, determining the amplitude of the potential fluctuations is calculated.

A study of structure–activity relationships of commercial tertiary amines for post-combustion CO_2 capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Min; Liu, Helei; Idem, Raphael; Tontiwachwuthikul, Paitoon; Liang, Zhiwu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Ethyl group is beneficial for tertiary amines of CO_2 absorption. • The existence of side carbon chain may promote the activity of tertiary amine. • Hydroxyl group reduces the equilibrium CO_2 solubility, k_2 and pKa. • Heterocyclic structure decrease the equilibrium CO_2 solubility, k_2 and pKa. • Hydroxyl group results in higher CO_2 absorption heat. - Abstract: This work examined the relationship between the structure of various commercial tertiary amines and their activity in CO_2 absorption/desorption in terms of rate of CO_2 absorption, equilibrium CO_2 loading, pKa and heat of CO_2 absorption in order to establish possible guidelines for selection of tertiary amine components for amine blends. Results show that any electron donating group linked directly to the nitrogen atom increases their reactivity with CO_2. In addition, the presence of steric hindrance effect and good water solubility also show enhancements in activity. In contrast, the existence of a hydroxyl group leads to a decrease in all the activity of the tertiary amine. The heat of CO_2 absorption of tertiary amines, which is closely related to the regeneration energy, can be reduced by decreasing the number of hydroxyethyl groups or by positing the hydroxyl group at the proper carbon relative to the nitrogen atom.

Scattering and Gaussian Fluctuation Theory for Semiflexible Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangyu Bu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The worm-like chain is one of the best theoretical models of the semiflexible polymer. The structure factor, which can be obtained by scattering experiment, characterizes the density correlation in different length scales. In the present review, the numerical method to compute the static structure factor of the worm-like chain model and its general properties are demonstrated. Especially, the chain length and persistence length involved multi-scale nature of the worm-like chain model are well discussed. Using the numerical structure factor, Gaussian fluctuation theory of the worm-like chain model can be developed, which is a powerful tool to analyze the structure stability and to predict the spinodal line of the system. The microphase separation of the worm-like diblock copolymer is considered as an example to demonstrate the usage of Gaussian fluctuation theory.

Species packing in eco-evolutionary models of seasonally fluctuating environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kremer, Colin T; Klausmeier, Christopher A

2017-09-01

As ecology and evolution become ever more entwined, many areas of ecological theory are being re-examined. Eco-evolutionary analyses of classic coexistence mechanisms are yielding new insights into the structure and stability of communities. We examine fluctuation-dependent coexistence models, identifying communities that are both ecologically and evolutionarily stable. Members of these communities possess distinct environmental preferences, revealing widespread patterns of limiting similarity. This regularity leads to consistent changes in the structure of communities across fluctuation regimes. However, at high amplitudes, subtle differences in the form of fluctuations dramatically affect the collapse of communities. We also show that identical fluctuations can support multiple evolutionarily stable communities - a novel example of alternative stable states within eco-evolutionary systems. Consequently, the configuration of communities will depend on historical contingencies, including details of the adaptive process. Integrating evolution into the study of coexistence offers new insights, while enriching our understanding of ecology. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Local Polar Fluctuations in Lead Halide Perovskite Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Tan, Liang Z.; Egger, David A.; Hull, Trevor; Stoumpos, Constantinos C.; Zheng, Fan; Heinz, Tony F.; Kronik, Leeor; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Owen, Jonathan S.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Brus, Louis E.

2017-03-01

Hybrid lead-halide perovskites have emerged as an excellent class of photovoltaic materials. Recent reports suggest that the organic molecular cation is responsible for local polar fluctuations that inhibit carrier recombination. We combine low-frequency Raman scattering with first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) to study the fundamental nature of these local polar fluctuations. Our observations of a strong central peak in the cubic phase of both hybrid (CH3 NH3 PbBr3 ) and all-inorganic (CsPbBr3 ) lead-halide perovskites show that anharmonic, local polar fluctuations are intrinsic to the general lead-halide perovskite structure, and not unique to the dipolar organic cation. MD simulations indicate that head-to-head Cs motion coupled to Br face expansion, occurring on a few hundred femtosecond time scale, drives the local polar fluctuations in CsPbBr3 .

Local Polar Fluctuations in Lead Halide Perovskite Crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Tan, Liang Z.; Egger, David A.; Hull, Trevor; Stoumpos, Constantinos C.; Zheng, Fan; Heinz, Tony F.; Kronik, Leeor; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Owen, Jonathan S.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Brus, Louis E.

2017-03-01

Hybrid lead-halide perovskites have emerged as an excellent class of photovoltaic materials. Recent reports suggest that the organic molecular cation is responsible for local polar fluctuations that inhibit carrier recombination. We combine low-frequency Raman scattering with first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) to study the fundamental nature of these local polar fluctuations. Our observations of a strong central peak in the cubic phase of both hybrid (CH3NH3PbBr3) and all-inorganic (CsPbBr3) leadhalide perovskites show that anharmonic, local polar fluctuations are intrinsic to the general lead-halide perovskite structure, and not unique to the dipolar organic cation. MD simulations indicate that head-tohead Cs motion coupled to Br face expansion, occurring on a few hundred femtosecond time scale, drives the local polar fluctuations in CsPbBr3.

Economics of Tertiary Education - Challenges and dynamics of the public tertiary education in Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gledian Llatja

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The tertiary education is a critic mechanism for the socio-economic progress, for individuals who aspire a brighter future and it is also considered an important catalyzer of the economic mobility (Department of Treasury and Department of Education, 2012, 2. Based on the positive role and impact that the tertiary education has on the sustainable development, President Obama once stated that it is of damage to treat education as a luxurious public service. In line with the general considerations about the tertiary education in the U.S. the parallel comparison with Albania comes as a direct interpretation of utopia in the education policy-making. As policies are usually drafted based on data and findings, in the case of Albania there is a lack of data on expenses on tertiary education as share of GDP. This stands also for the main limitation of the paper.

Model for an RNA tertiary interaction from the structure of an intermolecular complex between a GAAA tetraloop and an RNA helix.

Science.gov (United States)

Pley, H W; Flaherty, K M; McKay, D B

1994-11-03

In large structured RNAs, RNA hairpins in which the strands of the duplex stem are connected by a tetraloop of the consensus sequence 5'-GNRA (where N is any nucleotide, and R is either G or A) are unusually frequent. In group I introns there is a covariation in sequence between nucleotides in the third and fourth positions of the loop with specific distant base pairs in putative RNA duplex stems: GNAA loops correlate with successive 5'-C-C.G-C base pairs in stems, whereas GNGA loops correlate with 5'-C-U.G-A. This has led to the suggestion that GNRA tetraloops may be involved in specific long-range tertiary interactions, with each A in position 3 or 4 of the loop interacting with a C-G base pair in the duplex, and G in position 3 interacting with a U-A base pair. This idea is supported experimentally for the GAAA loop of the P5b extension of the group I intron of Tetrahymena thermophila and the L9 GUGA terminal loop of the td intron of bacteriophage T4 (ref. 4). NMR has revealed the overall structure of the tetraloop for 12-nucleotide hairpins with GCAA and GAAA loops and models have been proposed for the interaction of GNRA tetraloops with base pairs in the minor groove of A-form RNA. Here we describe the crystal structure of an intermolecular complex between a GAAA tetraloop and an RNA helix. The interactions we observe correlate with the specificity of GNRA tetraloops inferred from phylogenetic studies, suggesting that this complex is a legitimate model for intramolecular tertiary interactions mediated by GNRA tetraloops in large structured RNAs.

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

Thermal fluctuation problems encountered in LMFRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelineau, O.; Sperandio, M.; Martin, P.; Ricard, J.B.; Martin, L.; Bougault, A.

1994-01-01

One of the most significant problems of LMFBRs deals with thermal fluctuations. The main reason is that LMFBRs operate with sodium coolant at very different temperatures which leads to the existence of several areas of transition between hot and cold sodium. These transitions areas which are the critical points, maybe found in the reactor block as well as in the secondary and auxiliary loops. The characteristics of these thermal fluctuations are not easy to quantify because of their complex (random) behaviour, and often demand the use of thermalhydraulic mock-up tests. A good knowledge of these phenomena is essential because of the potential high level of damage they can induce on structures. Two typical thermal fluctuation problems encountered on operation reactors are described. They were not originally anticipated at the design stage of the former Phenix and the latter Superphenix reactors. Description and the analyses performed to describe the damaging process are explained. A well known thermal fluctuation problem is presented. It is pointed out how the feedback from the damages observed on operating reactors is used to prevent the components from any high cycle fatigue

Deriving GENERIC from a Generalized Fluctuation Symmetry

Science.gov (United States)

Kraaij, Richard; Lazarescu, Alexandre; Maes, Christian; Peletier, Mark

2018-02-01

Much of the structure of macroscopic evolution equations for relaxation to equilibrium can be derived from symmetries in the dynamical fluctuations around the most typical trajectory. For example, detailed balance as expressed in terms of the Lagrangian for the path-space action leads to gradient zero-cost flow. We expose a new such fluctuation symmetry that implies GENERIC, an extension of gradient flow where a Hamiltonian part is added to the dissipative term in such a way as to retain the free energy as Lyapunov function.

Why Do Tertiary Education Graduates Regret Their Study Program? A Comparison between Spain and the Netherlands

Science.gov (United States)

Kucel, Aleksander; Vilalta-Bufi, Montserrat

2013-01-01

In this paper we investigate the determinants of regret of study program for tertiary education graduates in Spain and the Netherlands. These two countries differ in their educational system in terms of the tracking structure in their secondary education and the strength of their education-labor market linkages in tertiary education. Therefore, by…

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.

Theoretical studies on rapid fluctuations in solar flares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlahos, L.

1986-01-01

Rapid fluctuations in the emission of solar bursts may have many different origins, e.g., the acceleration process can have a pulsating structure, the propagation of energetic electrons and ions can be interrupted from plasma instabilities and finally the electromagnetic radiation produced by the interaction of electrostatic and electromagnetic waves may have a pulsating behavior in time. In two separate studies the conditions for rapid fluctuations in solar flare driven emission were analyzed

Theoretical studies on rapid fluctuations in solar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, Loukas

1986-01-01

Rapid fluctuations in the emission of solar bursts may have many different origins e.g., the acceleration process can have a pulsating structure, the propagation of energetic electrons and ions can be interrupted from plasma instabilities and finally the electromagnetic radiation produced by the interaction of electrostatic and electromagnetic waves may have a pulsating behavior in time. In two separate studies the conditions for rapid fluctuations in solar flare driven emission were analyzed.

Pressure Fluctuations Induced by a Hypersonic Turbulent Boundary Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Lian; Choudhari, Meelan M.; Zhang, Chao

2016-01-01

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to examine the pressure fluctuations generated by a spatially-developed Mach 5.86 turbulent boundary layer. The unsteady pressure field is analyzed at multiple wall-normal locations, including those at the wall, within the boundary layer (including inner layer, the log layer, and the outer layer), and in the free stream. The statistical and structural variations of pressure fluctuations as a function of wall-normal distance are highlighted. Computational predictions for mean velocity pro les and surface pressure spectrum are in good agreement with experimental measurements, providing a first ever comparison of this type at hypersonic Mach numbers. The simulation shows that the dominant frequency of boundary-layer-induced pressure fluctuations shifts to lower frequencies as the location of interest moves away from the wall. The pressure wave propagates with a speed nearly equal to the local mean velocity within the boundary layer (except in the immediate vicinity of the wall) while the propagation speed deviates from the Taylor's hypothesis in the free stream. Compared with the surface pressure fluctuations, which are primarily vortical, the acoustic pressure fluctuations in the free stream exhibit a significantly lower dominant frequency, a greater spatial extent, and a smaller bulk propagation speed. The freestream pressure structures are found to have similar Lagrangian time and spatial scales as the acoustic sources near the wall. As the Mach number increases, the freestream acoustic fluctuations exhibit increased radiation intensity, enhanced energy content at high frequencies, shallower orientation of wave fronts with respect to the flow direction, and larger propagation velocity.

Potential fluctuations due to randomly distributed charges at the semiconductor-insulator interface in mis-structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanchev, I; Slavcheva, G.

1993-01-01

A new expression for the Fourier transform of the binary correlation function of the random potential near the semiconductor-insulator interface is derived. The screening from the metal electrode in MIS-structure is taken into account introducing an effective insulator thickness. An essential advantage of this correlation function is the finite dispersion of the random potential Γ 2 to which it leads in distinction with the so far known correlation functions leading to divergent dispersion. The important characteristic of the random potential distribution Γ 2 determining the amplitude of the potential fluctuations is calculated. 7 refs. (orig.)

A theoretical analysis of procurement auctions for tertiary control in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Gernot; Rammerstorfer, Margarethe

2008-01-01

As far as energy policy is concerned, the design of the regulatory framework for energy transmission and distribution is a key issue. Consequently, also the embodiment of balancing power markets drives mainly the effectiveness of political implications for the energy sector. Initially, tertiary control in Germany was solely offered by transmission system operators of the respective power control areas and their associated power plant. The recast of the Energy Industry Act of 2005 led in last consequence to a common procurement auction for the supply of tertiary control, which starts on December 1, 2006. Admittedly, the reform has fallen short of expectations so far, first concerning the intensification of market entry of tertiary control providers as well as the desired decline of the price level. Hence, this article examines the effects of the changeover on observable demand charges. In order to identify attributes of the common procurement auction for tertiary control hampering market entry of providers, giving stimuli to collusion and strategic behavior, reducing intensity of competition and encouraging an upswing of prices, we analyze the design under an auction theoretical approach and deduce empirically whether structural components of the auction design have to be touched up again

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

Quantum work fluctuation theorem: Nonergodic Brownian motion case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Zhan-Wu

2014-01-01

The work fluctuations of a quantum Brownian particle driven by an external force in a general nonergodic heat bath are studied under a general initial state. The exact analytical expression of the work probability distribution function is derived. Results show the existence of a quantum asymptotic fluctuation theorem, which is in general not a direct generalization of its classical counterpart. The form of this theorem is dependent on the structure of the heat bath and the specified initial condition.

Science in the Sandbox: Fluctuations, Friction and Instabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Behringer, R.B.; Clement, Eric; Geng, Junfei

2001-01-01

The study of granular materials is a novel and rapidly growing field. These materials are interest for a number of reasons, both practical and theoretical. They exhibit a rich of novel dyanamical states, and they exhibit ‘phases’-solid, liquid, and gas-that resemble conventional thermodynamic...... descriptions for the mean and fluctuating behavior of these materials. We explore recent work that focuses on several important issues. These include force propagation and fluctuations in static and driven systems. It is well known that forces propagate through granular structures along networks-force chains......, whose structure is a function of history. It is much less clear how to describe this process, and even what kind of structures evolve in physical experiments. After a brief overview of the field, we consider models of force propagation and recent experiments to test these models. Among the latter...

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.)

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

Fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges near the QCD critical point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Weijie; Wu Yueliang

2010-01-01

We study the fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges, such as the baryon number, the electric charge and the strangeness, at the finite temperature and the nonzero baryon chemical potential in an effective model. The fluctuations are calculated up to the fourth-order and the correlations to the third-order. We find that the second-order fluctuations and correlations have a peak or valley structure when the chiral phase transition takes place with the increase of the baryon chemical potential; the third-order fluctuations and correlations change their signs during the chiral phase transition; and the fourth-order fluctuations have two maxima and one minimum. We also depict contour plots of various fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges in the plane of temperature and the baryon chemical potential. It is found that higher-order fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges are superior to the second-order ones to be used to search for the critical point in heavy ion collision experiments.

Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Cancer: Drivers of Antitumor Immunity, Immunosuppression, or Bystander Sentinels in Disease?

Science.gov (United States)

Colbeck, Emily Jayne; Ager, Ann; Gallimore, Awen; Jones, Gareth Wyn

2017-01-01

Secondary lymphoid organs are integral to initiation and execution of adaptive immune responses. These organs provide a setting for interactions between antigen-specific lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells recruited from local infected or inflamed tissues. Secondary lymphoid organs develop as a part of a genetically preprogrammed process during embryogenesis. However, organogenesis of secondary lymphoid tissues can also be recapitulated in adulthood during de novo lymphoid neogenesis of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs). These ectopic lymphoid-like structures form in the inflamed tissues afflicted by various pathological conditions, including cancer, autoimmunity, infection, or allograft rejection. Studies are beginning to shed light on the function of such structures in different disease settings, raising important questions regarding their contribution to progression or resolution of disease. Data show an association between the tumor-associated TLSs and a favorable prognosis in various types of human cancer, attracting the speculation that TLSs support effective local antitumor immune responses. However, definitive evidence for the role for TLSs in fostering immune responses in vivo are lacking, with current data remaining largely correlative by nature. In fact, some more recent studies have even demonstrated an immunosuppressive, tumor-promoting role for cancer-associated TLSs. In this review, we will discuss what is known about the development of cancer-associated TLSs and the current understanding of their potential role in the antitumor immune response. PMID:29312327

Interaction Of Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles With Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Modifies Secondary And Tertiary Protein Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al-Hakeim Hussein K

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaPNP have good biocompatibility and bioactivity inside human body. In this study, the interaction between CaPNP and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG was analyzed to determine the changes in the protein structure in the presence of CaPNP and the quantity of protein adsorbed on the CaPNP surface. The results showed a significant adsorption of hCG on the CaPNP nanoparticle surface. The optimal fit was achieved using the Sips isotherm equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 68.23 µg/mg. The thermodynamic parameters, including ∆H° and ∆G°, of the adsorption process are positive, whereas ∆S° is negative. The circular dichroism results of the adsorption of hCG on CaPNP showed the changes in its secondary structure; such changes include the decomposition of α-helix strand and the increase in β-pleated sheet and random coil percentages. Fluorescence study indicated minimal changes in the tertiary structure near the microenvironment of the aromatic amino acids such as tyrosine and phenyl alanine caused by the interaction forces between the CaPNP and hCG protein. The desorption process showed that the quantity of the hCG desorbed significantly increases as temperature increases, which indicates the weak forces between hCG and the surface.

Dependence of Tc on the q -ω structure of the spin-fluctuation spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

Dahm, Thomas; Scalapino, D. J.

2018-05-01

A phenomenological spin-fluctuation analysis [Dahm et al., Nat. Phys. 5, 217 (2009), 10.1038/nphys1180], based upon inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data for YBCO6.6(Tc=61 K) , is used to calculate the functional derivative of the d -wave eigenvalue λd of the linearized gap equation with respect to the imaginary part of the spin susceptibility χ''(q ,ω ) at 70 K. For temperatures near Tc, the variation of Tc with respect to χ''(q ,ω ) is proportional to this functional derivative. We find that above an energy ˜4 Tc the functional derivative becomes positive so that adding spin-fluctuation spectral weight at higher frequencies leads to an increase in Tc. The strongest pairing occurs for large momentum transfers, and small momentum spin-fluctuations suppress the pairing.

Measuring case-mix complexity of tertiary care hospitals using DRGs.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hayoung; Shin, Youngsoo

2004-02-01

The objectives of the study were to develop a model that measures and evaluates case-mix complexity of tertiary care hospitals, and to examine the characteristics of such a model. Physician panels defined three classes of case complexity and assigned disease categories represented by Adjacent Diagnosis Related Groups (ADRGs) to one of three case complexity classes. Three types of scores, indicating proportions of inpatients in each case complexity class standardized by the proportions at the national level, were defined to measure the case-mix complexity of a hospital. Discharge information for about 10% of inpatient episodes at 85 hospitals with bed size larger than 400 and their input structure and research and education activity were used to evaluate the case-mix complexity model. Results show its power to predict hospitals with the expected functions of tertiary care hospitals, i.e. resource intensive care, expensive input structure, and high levels of research and education activities.

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....

Fluctuation theory for radiative transfer in random media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bal, Guillaume; Jing Wenjia

2011-01-01

We consider the effect of small scale random fluctuations of the constitutive coefficients on boundary measurements of solutions to radiative transfer equations. As the correlation length of the random oscillations tends to zero, the transport solution is well approximated by a deterministic, averaged, solution. In this paper, we analyze the random fluctuations to the averaged solution, which may be interpreted as a central limit correction to homogenization. With the inverse transport problem in mind, we characterize the random structure of the singular components of the transport measurement operator. In regimes of moderate scattering, such components provide stable reconstructions of the constitutive parameters in the transport equation. We show that the random fluctuations strongly depend on the decorrelation properties of the random medium.

Intermittent character of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruno, Roberto; Carbone, Vincenzo; Chapman, Sandra; Hnat, Bogdan; Noullez, Alain; Sorriso-Valvo, Luca

2007-01-01

Interplanetary magnetic field magnitude fluctuations are notoriously more intermittent than velocity fluctuations in both fast and slow wind. This behavior has been interpreted in terms of the anomalous scaling observed in passive scalars in fully developed hydrodynamic turbulence. In this paper, the strong intermittent nature of the interplanetary magnetic field is briefly discussed comparing results performed during different phases of the solar cycle. The scaling properties of the interplanetary magnetic field magnitude show solar cycle variation that can be distinguished in the scaling exponents revealed by structure functions. The scaling exponents observed around the solar maximum coincide, within the errors, to those measured for passive scalars in hydrodynamic turbulence. However, it is also found that the values are not universal in the sense that the solar cycle variation may be reflected in dependence on the structure of the velocity field

Fine-Scale Fluctuations in the Corona Observed with Hi-C

Science.gov (United States)

Winebarger, Amy; Schuler, Timothy

2013-01-01

The High Resolution Coronal Imager(HiC) flew aboard a NASA sounding rocket on 2012 July11 and captured roughly 345 s of high spatial and temporal resolution images of the solar corona in a narrowband 193 Angstrom channel. We have analyzed the fluctuations in intensity of Active Region11520.We selected events based on a lifetime greater than 11s (twoHiC frames)and intensities greater than a threshold determined from the average background intensity in a pixel and the photon and electronic noise. We find fluctuations occurring down to the smallest timescale(11s).Typical intensity fluctuations are 20% background intensity, while some events peaka t100%the background intensity.Generally the fluctuations are clustered in solar structures, particularly the moss.We interpret the fluctuations in the moss as indicative of heating events. We use the observed events to model the active region core.

Correlation length of magnetosheath fluctuations: Cluster statistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Gutynska

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Magnetosheath parameters are usually described by gasdynamic or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD models but these models cannot account for one of the most important sources of magnetosheath fluctuations – the foreshock. Earlier statistical processing of a large amount of magnetosheath observations has shown that the magnetosheath magnetic field and plasma flow fluctuations downstream of the quasiparallel shock are much larger than those at the opposite flank. These studies were based on the observations of a single spacecraft and thus they could not provide full information on propagation of the fluctuations through the magnetosheath.

We present the results of a statistical survey of the magnetosheath magnetic field fluctuations using two years of Cluster observations. We discuss the dependence of the cross-correlation coefficients between different spacecraft pairs on the orientation of the separation vector with respect to the average magnetic field and plasma flow vectors and other parameters. We have found that the correlation length does not exceed ~1 R_E in the analyzed frequency range (0.001–0.125 Hz and does not depend significantly on the magnetic field or plasma flow direction. A close connection of cross-correlation coefficients computed in the magnetosheath with the cross-correlation coefficients between a solar wind monitor and a magnetosheath spacecraft suggests that solar wind structures persist on the background of magnetosheath fluctuations.

Correlation length of magnetosheath fluctuations: Cluster statistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Gutynska

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Magnetosheath parameters are usually described by gasdynamic or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD models but these models cannot account for one of the most important sources of magnetosheath fluctuations – the foreshock. Earlier statistical processing of a large amount of magnetosheath observations has shown that the magnetosheath magnetic field and plasma flow fluctuations downstream of the quasiparallel shock are much larger than those at the opposite flank. These studies were based on the observations of a single spacecraft and thus they could not provide full information on propagation of the fluctuations through the magnetosheath. We present the results of a statistical survey of the magnetosheath magnetic field fluctuations using two years of Cluster observations. We discuss the dependence of the cross-correlation coefficients between different spacecraft pairs on the orientation of the separation vector with respect to the average magnetic field and plasma flow vectors and other parameters. We have found that the correlation length does not exceed ~1 RE in the analyzed frequency range (0.001–0.125 Hz and does not depend significantly on the magnetic field or plasma flow direction. A close connection of cross-correlation coefficients computed in the magnetosheath with the cross-correlation coefficients between a solar wind monitor and a magnetosheath spacecraft suggests that solar wind structures persist on the background of magnetosheath fluctuations.

Fluctuations in ammonia oxidizing communities across agricultural soils are driven by soil structure and pH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele C ePereira e Silva

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The milieu in soil in which microorganisms dwell is never constant. Conditions such as temperature, water availability, pH and nutrients frequently change, impacting the overall functioning of the soil system. To understand the effects of such factors on soil functioning, proxies (indicators of soil function are needed that, in a sensitive manner, reveal normal amplitude of variation. Thus, the so-called normal operating range (NOR of soil can be defined. In this study we determined different components of nitrification by analyzing, in eight agricultural soils, how the community structures and sizes of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea (AOB and AOA, respectively, and their activity, fluctuate over spatial and temporal scales. The results indicated that soil pH and soil type are the main factors that influence the size and structure of the AOA and AOB, as well as their function. The nitrification rates varied between 0.11 ± 0.03 µgN.h-1.gdw-1 and 1.68 ± 0.11 µgN.h-1.gdw-1, being higher in soils with higher clay content (1.09 ± 0.12 µgN.h-1.gdw-1 and lower in soils with lower clay percentages (0.27 ± 0.04 µgN.h-1.gdw-1. Nitrifying activity was driven by soil pH, mostly related to its effect on AOA but not on AOB abundance. Regarding the influence of soil parameters, clay content was the main soil factor shaping the structure of both the AOA and AOB communities. Overall, the potential nitrifying activities were higher and more variable over time in the clayey than in the sandy soils. Whereas the structure of AOB fluctuated more (62.7 ± 2.10% the structure of AOA communities showed lower amplitude of variation (53.65 ± 3.37%. Similar trends were observed for the sizes of these communities. The present work represents a first step towards defining a NOR for soil nitrification. Moreover, the clear effect of soil texture established here suggests that the NOR should be defined in a soil-type-specific manner.

[Correlation of fine structures of distributions of amplitudes of a photomultiplier dark current fluctuations with the Earth rotations about its axis].

Science.gov (United States)

Fedorov, M V; Belousov, L V; Voeĭkov, V L; Zenchenko, K I; Zenchenko, T A; Konradov, A A; Shnol', S E

2001-01-01

The fine structures of distributions of photomultiplier dark current fluctuations measured in two laboratories 2000 km distant from other: in the international Institute of Biophysics (Neuss, Germany) and in the Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia) were compared. It is shown that similar forms of appropriate histograms are apparently more often realized at both locations at the same local time. This confirms the previous conclusion that the fine structure of distributions correlates with rotation of the Earth about its axis.

Wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a spatially evolving turbulent boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Mahesh, Krishnan; Kumar, Praveen

2016-11-01

Wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer are important in applications dealing with structural deformation and acoustics. Simulations are performed for flat plate and axisymmetric, spatially evolving zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers at inflow Reynolds number of 1400 and 2200 based on momentum thickness. The simulations generate their own inflow using the recycle-rescale method. The results for mean velocity and second-order statistics show excellent agreement with the data available in literature. The spectral characteristics of wall-pressure fluctuations and their relation to flow structure will be discussed. This work is supported by ONR.

Intrinsically-generated fluctuating activity in excitatory-inhibitory networks

Science.gov (United States)

Mastrogiuseppe, Francesca; Ostojic, Srdjan

2017-01-01

Recurrent networks of non-linear units display a variety of dynamical regimes depending on the structure of their synaptic connectivity. A particularly remarkable phenomenon is the appearance of strongly fluctuating, chaotic activity in networks of deterministic, but randomly connected rate units. How this type of intrinsically generated fluctuations appears in more realistic networks of spiking neurons has been a long standing question. To ease the comparison between rate and spiking networks, recent works investigated the dynamical regimes of randomly-connected rate networks with segregated excitatory and inhibitory populations, and firing rates constrained to be positive. These works derived general dynamical mean field (DMF) equations describing the fluctuating dynamics, but solved these equations only in the case of purely inhibitory networks. Using a simplified excitatory-inhibitory architecture in which DMF equations are more easily tractable, here we show that the presence of excitation qualitatively modifies the fluctuating activity compared to purely inhibitory networks. In presence of excitation, intrinsically generated fluctuations induce a strong increase in mean firing rates, a phenomenon that is much weaker in purely inhibitory networks. Excitation moreover induces two different fluctuating regimes: for moderate overall coupling, recurrent inhibition is sufficient to stabilize fluctuations; for strong coupling, firing rates are stabilized solely by the upper bound imposed on activity, even if inhibition is stronger than excitation. These results extend to more general network architectures, and to rate networks receiving noisy inputs mimicking spiking activity. Finally, we show that signatures of the second dynamical regime appear in networks of integrate-and-fire neurons. PMID:28437436

Advantages of storage in a fluctuating environment.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooi, B.W.; Troost, T.A.

2006-01-01

We will elaborate the evolutionary course of an ecosystem consisting of a population in a chemostat environment with periodically fluctuating nutrient supply. The organisms that make up the population consist of structural biomass and energy storage compartments. In a constant chemostat environment

Charge fluctuations in high-electron-mobility transistors: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, F.

1993-01-01

The quasi-two-dimensional carrier population, free to move within a near-perfect crystalline matrix, is the key to remarkable improvements in signal gain, current density and quiet operation. Current-fluctuation effects are central to all of these properties. Some of these are easily understood within linear-response theory, but other fluctuation phenomena are less tractable. In particular, nonequilibrium noise poses significant theoretical challenges, both descriptive and predictive. This paper examines a few of the basic physical issues which motivate device-noise theory. The structure and operation of high-electron-mobility transistor are first reviewed. The recent nonlinear fluctuation theory of Stanton and Wilkins (1987) help to identify at least some of the complicated noise physics which can arise when carriers in GaAs-like conduction bands are subjected to high fields. Simple examples of fluctuation-dominated behaviour are discussed, with numerical illustrations. 20 refs., 9 figs

Thermal crackling: study of the mechanical effects of quick temperature fluctuations on metallic surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradel, P.

1984-05-01

After a brief overview of the thermohydraulical conditions of liquid sodium leading to important temperature fluctuations near the metallic surfaces, the author examines the transfer modes of these fluctuations in the structure thickness and the long term mechanical effects. Dimensioning models based on thermal and metallurgical properties are under study for structures subject to such sodium loads [fr

Enzymatic conformational fluctuations along the reaction coordinate of cytidine deaminase

OpenAIRE

Noonan, Ryan C.; Carter, Charles W.; Bagdassarian, Carey K.

2002-01-01

Analysis of the crystal structures for cytidine deaminase complexed with substrate analog 3-deazacytidine, transition-state analog zebularine 3,4-hydrate, and product uridine establishes significant changes in the magnitude of atomic-scale fluctuations along the (approximate) reaction coordinate of this enzyme. Differences in fluctuations between the substrate analog complex, transition-state analog complex, and product complex are monitored via changes in corresponding crystallographic tempe...

PASS Student Leader and Mentor Roles: A Tertiary Leadership Pathway

Science.gov (United States)

Skalicky, Jane; Caney, Annaliese

2010-01-01

In relation to developing leadership skills during tertiary studies, this paper considers the leadership pathway afforded by a Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) program which includes the traditional PASS Leader role and a more senior PASS Mentor role. Data was collected using a structured survey with open-ended questions designed to capture the…

Energy Management Systems and tertiary regulation in hierarchical control architectures for islanded micro-grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanseverino, Eleonora Riva; Di Silvestre, Maria Luisa; Quang, Ninh Nguyen

2015-01-01

In this paper, the structure of the highest level of a hierarchical control architecture for micro-grids is proposed. Such structure includes two sub-levels: the Energy Management System, EMS, and the tertiary regulation. The first devoted to energy resources allocation in each time slot based...

Deriving GENERIC from a generalized fluctuation symmetry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraaij, R.; Lazarescu, A.; Maes, C.; Peletier, M.A.

2018-01-01

Much of the structure of macroscopic evolution equations for relaxation to equilibrium can be derived from symmetries in the dynamical fluctuations around the most typical trajectory. For example, detailed balance as expressed in terms of the Lagrangian for the path-space action leads to gradient

Mercury exposure may influence fluctuating asymmetry in waterbirds.

Science.gov (United States)

Herring, Garth; Eagles-Smith, Collin A; Ackerman, Joshua T

2017-06-01

Variation in avian bilateral symmetry can be an indicator of developmental instability in response to a variety of stressors, including environmental contaminants. The authors used composite measures of fluctuating asymmetry to examine the influence of mercury concentrations in 2 tissues on fluctuating asymmetry within 4 waterbird species. Fluctuating asymmetry increased with mercury concentrations in whole blood and breast feathers of Forster's terns (Sterna forsteri), a species with elevated mercury concentrations. Specifically, fluctuating asymmetry in rectrix feather 1 was the most strongly correlated structural variable of those tested (wing chord, tarsus, primary feather 10, rectrix feather 6) with mercury concentrations in Forster's terns. However, for American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), and Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), the authors found no relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and either whole-blood or breast feather mercury concentrations, even though these species had moderate to elevated mercury exposure. The results indicate that mercury contamination may act as an environmental stressor during development and feather growth and contribute to fluctuating asymmetry of some species of highly contaminated waterbirds. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1599-1605. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Why did the price of solar PV Si feedstock fluctuate so wildly in 2004–2009?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Yang; Song Yuhua; Bao Haibo

2012-01-01

Great attention has been paid to the origin of observed wild price fluctuations of solar PV Si feedstock in both contract and spot markets during 2004–2009. This paper sheds light on this issue and tries to resolve it by addressing the following questions: what kind of structural shock is underlying the price fluctuations of PV Si feedstock? How can we quantify the magnitude, timing and relative importance of these shocks? What are their dynamic effects on the real price of PV Si feedstock? By carefully studying development conditions, the structural decomposition of the real price of PV Si feedstock is proposed: exchange rate shocks, production cost shocks, aggregate demand shocks and demand shocks specific to feedstock markets. With a Structural Vector Autoregression model, the paper quantifies and verifies the impact of structural shocks on PV Si feedstock real price changes. Based on national data, an analysis is further taken to confirm the essential role of demand shocks specific to feedstock markets in determining sharper price fluctuations during 2004–2009. The results of this study have important implications for national solar PV development, which can be better promoted and administrated if structural shocks in feedstock markets can be carefully evaluated and understood. - Highlights: ► The determination of solar PV Si feedstock price fluctuation is identified and quantified. ► Systematic structural shocks well explain 2004–2009 price fluctuations of PV Si feedstock. ► Production cost and aggregated demand shocks take longer effects on feedstock price. ► Exchange rate and feedstock specific demand shocks explain sharper price fluctuations. ► Development of national PV power should consider effects of structure shocks.

Pulsed Neutron Scattering Studies of Strongly Fluctuating solids, Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collin Broholm

2006-06-22

The conventional description of a solid is based on a static atomic structure with small amplitude so-called harmonic fluctuations about it. This is a final technical report for a project that has explored materials where fluctuations are sufficiently strong to severely challenge this approach and lead to unexpected and potentially useful materials properties. Fluctuations are enhanced when a large number of configurations share the same energy. We used pulsed spallation source neutron scattering to obtain detailed microscopic information about structure and fluctuations in such materials. The results enhance our understanding of strongly fluctuating solids and their potential for technical applications. Because new materials require new experimental techniques, the project has also developed new techniques for probing strongly fluctuating solids. Examples of material that were studied are ZrW2O8 with large amplitude molecular motion that leads to negative thermal expansion, NiGa2S4 where competing interactions lead to an anomalous short range ordered magnet, Pr1- xBixRu2O7 where a partially filled electron shell (Pr) in a weakly disordered environment produces anomalous metallic properties, and TbMnO3 where competing interactions lead to a magneto-electric phase. The experiments on TbMnO3 exemplify the relationship between research funded by this project and future applications. Magneto-electric materials may produce a magnetic field when an electric field is applied or vise versa. Our experiments have clarified the reason why electric and magnetic polarization is coupled in TbMnO3. While this knowledge does not render TbMnO3 useful for applications it will focus the search for a practical room temperature magneto-electric for applications.

ON THE NATURE OF X-RAY SURFACE BRIGHTNESS FLUCTUATIONS IN M87

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arévalo, P. [Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretana N 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso (Chile); Churazov, E. [Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, D-85741 Garching (Germany); Zhuravleva, I. [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-4085 (United States); Forman, W. R.; Jones, C. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2016-02-10

X-ray images of galaxy clusters and gas-rich elliptical galaxies show a wealth of small-scale features that reflect fluctuations in density and/or temperature of the intracluster medium. In this paper we study these fluctuations in M87/Virgo to establish whether sound waves/shocks, bubbles, or uplifted cold gas dominate the structure. We exploit the strong dependence of the emissivity on density and temperature in different energy bands to distinguish between these processes. Using simulations we demonstrate that our analysis recovers the leading type of fluctuation even in the presence of projection effects and temperature gradients. We confirm the isobaric nature of cool filaments of gas entrained by buoyantly rising bubbles, extending to 7′ to the east and southwest, and the adiabatic nature of the weak shocks at 40″ and 3′ from the center. For features of ∼5–10 kpc, we show that the central 4′ × 4′ region is dominated by cool structures in pressure equilibrium with the ambient hotter gas while up to 30% of the variance in this region can be ascribed to adiabatic fluctuations. The remaining part of the central 14′ × 14′ region, excluding the arms and shocks described above, is dominated by apparently isothermal fluctuations (bubbles) with a possible admixture (at the level of ∼30%) of adiabatic (sound waves) and by isobaric structures. Larger features, of about 30 kpc, show a stronger contribution from isobaric fluctuations. The results broadly agree with a model based on feedback from an active galactic nucleus mediated by bubbles of relativistic plasma.

Spin fluctuation and small polaron conduction dominated electrical ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

temperature regime (20 K < T < 53 K), shows a minima near 53 K and increases with T ... Manganite nanoparticles; resistivity; spin fluctuation; electron–phonon interaction; electron– ... the low-doped regime because of the series of structural,.

Formation mechanism of NDMA from ranitidine, trimethylamine, and other tertiary amines during chloramination: a computational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yong Dong; Selbes, Meric; Zeng, Chengchu; Zhong, Rugang; Karanfil, Tanju

2014-01-01

Chloramination of drinking waters has been associated with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation as a disinfection byproduct. NDMA is classified as a probable carcinogen and thus its formation during chloramination has recently become the focus of considerable research interest. In this study, the formation mechanisms of NDMA from ranitidine and trimethylamine (TMA), as models of tertiary amines, during chloramination were investigated by using density functional theory (DFT). A new four-step formation pathway of NDMA was proposed involving nucleophilic substitution by chloramine, oxidation, and dehydration followed by nitrosation. The results suggested that nitrosation reaction is the rate-limiting step and determines the NDMA yield for tertiary amines. When 45 other tertiary amines were examined, the proposed mechanism was found to be more applicable to aromatic tertiary amines, and there may be still some additional factors or pathways that need to be considered for aliphatic tertiary amines. The heterolytic ONN(Me)2-R(+) bond dissociation energy to release NDMA and carbocation R(+) was found to be a criterion for evaluating the reactivity of aromatic tertiary amines. A structure-activity study indicates that tertiary amines with benzyl, aromatic heterocyclic ring, and diene-substituted methenyl adjacent to the DMA moiety are potentially significant NDMA precursors. The findings of this study are helpful for understanding NDMA formation mechanism and predicting NDMA yield of a precursor.

Statistical fluctuations in reactors (1960); Fluctuations statistiques dans les piles (1960)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1960-07-01

The theory of space dependent fluctuations is developed, taking into account the effect of delayed neutrons. The 'diffusion equation' or Fokker-Planck equation is worked out in the case of age and two group theory, but the first one because of in physical significance is used in this report. The theory is applied to the study of the spectral density of fluctuations and fluctuations of counting rate and current flowing through the charge resistor of an ionisation chamber, the effect of the entrance capacity is discussed. The space dependent theory shows that the fluctuations in the core and reflector of a near critical pile obey to the same law. The spectral densities in the core and reflector are similar, there is no sensible attenuation of high frequency fluctuations in the reflector. Compared to the space independent theory, this theory give better agreement with experience, one can use the simple space independent theory but in checking with experiment it is necessary to introduce numerical factors given by the space dependent theory. (author) [French] La theorie des fluctuations statistiques est developpee dans le cas spatial en tenant compte des neutrons retardes, et dans le cadre de la theorie de l'age vitesse. L'equation d'evolution de la probabilite est egalement etablie dans le cadre de la theorie a deux groupes. Ces considerations sont appliquees a l'etude de la densite spectrale des fluctuations et aux fluctuations des taux de comptage et du courant circulant dans la resistance de charge du detecteur. On etudie en particulier l'effet de la constante de temps introduite par la capacite d'entree. Cette theorie etablit que les fluctuations dans le coeur et le reflecteur suivent la meme loi pour une pile critique, il en est de meme pour la densite spectrale meme a frequence elevee. Par rapport a la theorie d'ensemble, la theorie spatiale donne des coefficients numeriques ou facteurs de forme, qui permettent d'obtenir un bon accord entre la theorie et l

Epitope targeting of tertiary protein structure enables target-guided synthesis of a potent in-cell inhibitor of botulinum neurotoxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrow, Blake; Wong, Michelle; Malette, Jacquie; Lai, Bert; Deyle, Kaycie M; Das, Samir; Nag, Arundhati; Agnew, Heather D; Heath, James R

2015-06-08

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotype A is the most lethal known toxin and has an occluded structure, which prevents direct inhibition of its active site before it enters the cytosol. Target-guided synthesis by in situ click chemistry is combined with synthetic epitope targeting to exploit the tertiary structure of the BoNT protein as a landscape for assembling a competitive inhibitor. A substrate-mimicking peptide macrocycle is used as a direct inhibitor of BoNT. An epitope-targeting in situ click screen is utilized to identify a second peptide macrocycle ligand that binds to an epitope that, in the folded BoNT structure, is active-site-adjacent. A second in situ click screen identifies a molecular bridge between the two macrocycles. The resulting divalent inhibitor exhibits an in vitro inhibition constant of 165 pM against the BoNT/A catalytic chain. The inhibitor is carried into cells by the intact holotoxin, and demonstrates protection and rescue of BoNT intoxication in a human neuron model. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Chemical Properties, Decomposition, and Methane Production of Tertiary Relict Plant Litters: Implications for Atmospheric Trace Gas Production in the Early Tertiary

Science.gov (United States)

Yavitt, J. B.; Bartella, T. M.; Williams, C. J.

2006-12-01

Throughout the early Tertiary (ca. 65-38 Ma) Taxodiaceae-dominated (redwood) wetland forests occupied the high latitudes and were circumpolar in their distribution. Many of these forests had high standing biomass with moderate primary productivity. The geographic extent and amount of Tertiary coals and fossil forests throughout Arctic Canada suggests large areas of wetland forests that may have cycled substantial quantities of carbon, particularly methane until they were replaced by cold tolerant Pinus, Picea, and Larix following climatic cooling associated with the Terminal Eocene Event. To test this hypothesis we compared physiochemical properties, decomposition, and trace gas production of litter from extant Metasequoia, Pinus, Picea, and Larix. Initial results from plantation-grown trees indicate Metasequoia litter is a better source of labile organic substrate than pinaceous litter. Metasequoia litter contained the least lignin and highest amounts of water-soluble compounds of the four litter types studied. Analysis of the lignin structure using cupric oxide oxidation indicates that Metasequoia lignin is enriched in 4'-hydroxyacetophenone and 4'- Hydroxy-3'-methoxyacetophenone relative to the pinaceous litter. In a 12-month decomposition study using litterbags, average litter mass loss was greater for Metasequoia litter (62%) compared to the pinaceous species (50%). Moreover, Metasequoia litter incubated under anoxic conditions produced nearly twice as much CO2 (ca. 4.2 umol/g.day) and CH4 (2.1 umol/g.day) as the pinaceous litter (2.4 umol/g.day for CO2; 1.2 umol/g.day for CH4). Our results support the idea of greater decomposability and palatability of Metasequoia litter as compared to Larix, Picea, or Pinus. Provided that the biochemical properties of Metasequoia have remained relatively stable through geologic time, it appears that early Tertiary Metasequoia-dominated wetland forests may have had higher microbial driven trace gas production than the

Facilities management: Structuring a body of knowledge for continuing and tertiary education in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. C. Hauptfleisch

2010-01-01

is exacerbated by the fact that very little is being done at the level of continuing education and formal tertiary education in South Africa. The limited attempts in this regard are furthermore taking place in isolation, with practically no dialogue between the limited facilities management industry and the providers of the limited education that is available.Although the study that was undertaken did not have the objective to create comprehensive interaction between the existing role-players, the stated problems were addressed by involving the industry, participants in continuing education programmes and other role-players in the condensed research problem as stated below. The problem at hand is firstly to extract, from the present practice of facilities management, a knowledge framework and secondly to formulate the results in terms of suitable continuing and tertiary education programmes to address the shortcomings in South Africa. Research was therefore undertaken to address the structuring of educational programmes. The methodology applied comprised a comprehensive literature survey and three quantified and qualified data surveys, the latter conducted amongst facilities management practitioners, primarily the perceived beneficiaries of such programmes. These surveys provided information that led to the resultant educational activities stated below. The most important aspects that were determined were the following: It was possible to create and test amongst facilities management practitioners a diagrammatic presentation that contextualised facilities management. The literature survey, including international and South African sources, contributed towards compiling a primary knowledge framework for facilities management. The perceived value of the contents of a continuing education programme that had been attended by numerous groups of delegates over a number of years was established. A proposed tertiary education programme was presented to practitioners

Quantifying fluctuations of resting state networks using arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Weiying; Varma, Gopal; Scheidegger, Rachel; Alsop, David C

2016-03-01

Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been widely used to investigate spontaneous low-frequency signal fluctuations across brain resting state networks. However, BOLD only provides relative measures of signal fluctuations. Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI holds great potential for quantitative measurements of resting state network fluctuations. This study systematically quantified signal fluctuations of the large-scale resting state networks using ASL data from 20 healthy volunteers by separating them from global signal fluctuations and fluctuations caused by residual noise. Global ASL signal fluctuation was 7.59% ± 1.47% relative to the ASL baseline perfusion. Fluctuations of seven detected resting state networks vary from 2.96% ± 0.93% to 6.71% ± 2.35%. Fluctuations of networks and residual noise were 6.05% ± 1.18% and 6.78% ± 1.16% using 4-mm resolution ASL data applied with Gaussian smoothing kernel of 6mm. However, network fluctuations were reduced by 7.77% ± 1.56% while residual noise fluctuation was markedly reduced by 39.75% ± 2.90% when smoothing kernel of 12 mm was applied to the ASL data. Therefore, global and network fluctuations are the dominant structured noise sources in ASL data. Quantitative measurements of resting state networks may enable improved noise reduction and provide insights into the function of healthy and diseased brain. © The Author(s) 2015.

Fluctuation spectroscopy: From Rayleigh-Jeans waves to Abrikosov vortex clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Varlamov, A. A.; Galda, A.; Glatz, A.

2018-01-01

Superconducting (SC) fluctuations, discovered in the late 1960s, have constituted an important research area in superconductivity as they are manifest in a variety of phenomena. Indeed, the underlying physics of SC fluctuations makes it possible to elucidate the fundamental properties of the superconducting state. The interest in SC fluctuation phenomena was further enhanced with the discovery of cuprate high-temperature superconductors (HTSs). In these materials, superconducting fluctuations appear over a wide range of temperatures due to the superconductors extremely short coherence lengths and low effective dimensionality of the electron systems. These strong fluctuations lead to anomalous properties of the normal state in some HTS materials. Within the framework of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory, and more extensively in the diagrammatic microscopic approach based on BCS theory, SC fluctuations as well as other quantum contributions (weak localization, etc.) enabled a new way to investigate and characterize disordered electron systems, granular metals, Josephson structures, artificial superlattices, and others. The characteristic feature of SC fluctuations is its strong dependence on temperature and magnetic field in the vicinity of the superconducting phase transition. This dependence allows the separation of fluctuation effects from other contributions and provides information about the microscopic parameters of a material, in particular, the critical temperature and the zero-temperature critical magnetic field. As such, SC fluctuations are very sensitive to the relaxation processes that break phase coherence and can be used as a versatile characterization instrument for SCs: Fluctuation spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for studying the properties of superconducting systems on a quantitative level. Here the physics of SC fluctuations is reviewed, commencing from a qualitative description of thermodynamic fluctuations close to the

Potential fluctuations due to the randomly distributed charges at the semiconductor-insulator interface in MIS-structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slavcheva, G.; Yanchev, I.

1991-01-01

A new expression for the Fourier transform of the binary correlation function of the random potential near the semiconductor-insulator interface is derived. The screening due to the image charge with respect to the metal electrode in MIS-structure is taken into account, introducing an effective insulator thickness. An essential advantage of this correlation function is the finite dispersion of the random potential Γ 2 to which it leads in distinction with the so far known correlation functions leading to divergent dispersion. The important characteristic of the random potential distribution Γ 2 determining the amplitude of the potential fluctuations is calculated. (author). 7 refs, 1 fig

Diversification Management at Tertiary Education Level: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Takwate, Kwaji Tizhe

2016-01-01

This paper examines the concept of management of diversification at tertiary education level in view of the growth of national secondary education system which vested high scramble for tertiary education was made in relation to question of access and expansion. This paper examines management of diversification at tertiary education level as a…

Role of band 3 in the erythrocyte membrane structural changes under thermal fluctuations -multi scale modeling considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pajic-Lijakovic, Ivana

2015-12-01

An attempt was made to discuss and connect various modeling approaches on various time and space scales which have been proposed in the literature in order to shed further light on the erythrocyte membrane rearrangement caused by the cortex-lipid bilayer coupling under thermal fluctuations. Roles of the main membrane constituents: (1) the actin-spectrin cortex, (2) the lipid bilayer, and (3) the trans membrane protein band 3 and their course-consequence relations were considered in the context of the cortex non linear stiffening and corresponding anomalous nature of energy dissipation. The fluctuations induce alternating expansion and compression of the membrane parts in order to ensure surface and volume conservation. The membrane structural changes were considered within two time regimes. The results indicate that the cortex non linear stiffening and corresponding anomalous nature of energy dissipation are related to the spectrin flexibility distribution and the rate of its changes. The spectrin flexibility varies from purely flexible to semi flexible. It is influenced by: (1) the number of band 3 molecules attached to single spectrin filaments, and (2) phosphorylation of the actin-junctions. The rate of spectrin flexibility changes depends on the band 3 molecules rearrangement.

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

Ion heating and MHD dynamo fluctuations in the reversed field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scime, E.; Hokin, S.; Watts, C.; Mattor, N.

1992-01-01

Ion temperature measurements, time resolved to 10 μs, have been made in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch with a five channel charge exchange analyzer. The ion temperature, T i ∼ 200 eV for I = 350 kA, increases by as much as 100% during discrete dynamo bursts in MST discharges. Magnetic field fluctuations in the range 0.5--5 MHz were also measured. Structure in the fluctuation frequency spectrum at the ion cyclotron frequency appears as the bursts terminate, suggesting that the mechanism of ion heating involves the dissipation of dynamo fluctuations at ion gyro-orbit scales

Fluctuations in the DNA double helix

Science.gov (United States)

Peyrard, M.; López, S. C.; Angelov, D.

2007-08-01

DNA is not the static entity suggested by the famous double helix structure. It shows large fluctuational openings, in which the bases, which contain the genetic code, are temporarily open. Therefore it is an interesting system to study the effect of nonlinearity on the physical properties of a system. A simple model for DNA, at a mesoscopic scale, can be investigated by computer simulation, in the same spirit as the original work of Fermi, Pasta and Ulam. These calculations raise fundamental questions in statistical physics because they show a temporary breaking of equipartition of energy, regions with large amplitude fluctuations being able to coexist with regions where the fluctuations are very small, even when the model is studied in the canonical ensemble. This phenomenon can be related to nonlinear excitations in the model. The ability of the model to describe the actual properties of DNA is discussed by comparing theoretical and experimental results for the probability that base pairs open an a given temperature in specific DNA sequences. These studies give us indications on the proper description of the effect of the sequence in the mesoscopic model.

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.

Genome-scale characterization of RNA tertiary structures and their functional impact by RNA solvent accessibility prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yuedong; Li, Xiaomei; Zhao, Huiying; Zhan, Jian; Wang, Jihua; Zhou, Yaoqi

2017-01-01

As most RNA structures are elusive to structure determination, obtaining solvent accessible surface areas (ASAs) of nucleotides in an RNA structure is an important first step to characterize potential functional sites and core structural regions. Here, we developed RNAsnap, the first machine-learning method trained on protein-bound RNA structures for solvent accessibility prediction. Built on sequence profiles from multiple sequence alignment (RNAsnap-prof), the method provided robust prediction in fivefold cross-validation and an independent test (Pearson correlation coefficients, r, between predicted and actual ASA values are 0.66 and 0.63, respectively). Application of the method to 6178 mRNAs revealed its positive correlation to mRNA accessibility by dimethyl sulphate (DMS) experimentally measured in vivo (r = 0.37) but not in vitro (r = 0.07), despite the lack of training on mRNAs and the fact that DMS accessibility is only an approximation to solvent accessibility. We further found strong association across coding and noncoding regions between predicted solvent accessibility of the mutation site of a single nucleotide variant (SNV) and the frequency of that variant in the population for 2.2 million SNVs obtained in the 1000 Genomes Project. Moreover, mapping solvent accessibility of RNAs to the human genome indicated that introns, 5' cap of 5' and 3' cap of 3' untranslated regions, are more solvent accessible, consistent with their respective functional roles. These results support conformational selections as the mechanism for the formation of RNA-protein complexes and highlight the utility of genome-scale characterization of RNA tertiary structures by RNAsnap. The server and its stand-alone downloadable version are available at http://sparks-lab.org. © 2016 Yang et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

Generalized noise terms for the quantized fluctuational electrodynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Partanen, Mikko; Hayrynen, Teppo; Tulkki, Jukka

2017-01-01

position-dependent quantum models for the photon number in resonant structures have only been formulated very recently and only for dielectric media. Here we present a general position-dependent quantized fluctuational electrodynamics (QFED) formalism that extends the consistent field quantization...

Radon entry into buildings: Effects of atmospheric pressure fluctuations and building structural factors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robinson, Allen Lantham [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1996-05-01

An improved understanding of the factors that control radon entry into buildings is needed in order to reduce the public health risks caused by exposure to indoor radon. This dissertation examines three issues associated with radon entry into buildings: (1) the influence of a subslab gravel layer and the size of the openings between the soil and the building interior on radon entry; (2) the effect of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on radon entry; and (3) the development and validation of mathematical models which simulate radon and soil-gas entry into houses. Experiments were conducted using two experimental basements to examine the influence of a subslab gravel layer on advective radon entry driven by steady indoor-outdoor pressure differences. These basement structures are identical except that in one the floor slab lies directly on native soil whereas in the other the slab lies on a high-permeability gravel layer. The measurements indicate that a high permeability subslab gravel layer increases the advective radon entry rate into the structure by as much as a factor of 30. The magnitude of the enhancement caused by the subslab gravel layer depends on the area of the openings in the structure floor; the smaller the area of these openings the larger the enhancement in the radon entry rate caused by the subslab gravel layer. A three-dimensional, finite-difference model correctly predicts the effect of a subslab gravel layer and open area configuration on advective radon entry driven by steady indoor-outdoor pressure differences; however, the model underpredicts the absolute entry rate into each structure by a factor of 1.5.

Radon entry into buildings: Effects of atmospheric pressure fluctuations and building structural factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, A.L.

1996-05-01

An improved understanding of the factors that control radon entry into buildings is needed in order to reduce the public health risks caused by exposure to indoor radon. This dissertation examines three issues associated with radon entry into buildings: (1) the influence of a subslab gravel layer and the size of the openings between the soil and the building interior on radon entry; (2) the effect of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on radon entry; and (3) the development and validation of mathematical models which simulate radon and soil-gas entry into houses. Experiments were conducted using two experimental basements to examine the influence of a subslab gravel layer on advective radon entry driven by steady indoor-outdoor pressure differences. These basement structures are identical except that in one the floor slab lies directly on native soil whereas in the other the slab lies on a high-permeability gravel layer. The measurements indicate that a high permeability subslab gravel layer increases the advective radon entry rate into the structure by as much as a factor of 30. The magnitude of the enhancement caused by the subslab gravel layer depends on the area of the openings in the structure floor; the smaller the area of these openings the larger the enhancement in the radon entry rate caused by the subslab gravel layer. A three-dimensional, finite-difference model correctly predicts the effect of a subslab gravel layer and open area configuration on advective radon entry driven by steady indoor-outdoor pressure differences; however, the model underpredicts the absolute entry rate into each structure by a factor of 1.5

Experiments and numerical simulations of fluctuating thermal stratification in a branch pipe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakamura, Akira; Murase, Michio; Sasaki, Toru [Inst. of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan); Takenaka, Nobuyuki; Hamatani, Daisuke [Kobe Univ. (Japan)

2002-09-01

Many pipes branch off from the main pipe in plants. When the main flow in the main pipe is hotter than a branch pipe that branches off downward, the hot water penetrates into the branch pipe with the cavity flow that is induced by the main flow and causes thermal stratification. If the interface of the stratification fluctuates in an occluded branch pipe, thermal fatigue may occur in pipe wall. Some experiments and numerical simulations were conducted to elucidate the mechanism of this fluctuating thermal stratification. The vortex structures were observed in the experiments of straight or bent branch pipes. When the main flow was heated and the thermal stratification interface was at the elbow, a ''burst'' phenomenon occurred in the interface in connection with large heat fluctuation. The effects of pipe shape on the length of penetration were investigated in order to modify simulation conditions. The vortex structures and the fluctuating thermal stratification at elbow in the numerical simulation showed good agreement with experiments. (author)

Quantifying fluctuations in reversible enzymatic cycles and clocks

Science.gov (United States)

Wierenga, Harmen; ten Wolde, Pieter Rein; Becker, Nils B.

2018-04-01

Biochemical reactions are fundamentally noisy at a molecular scale. This limits the precision of reaction networks, but it also allows fluctuation measurements that may reveal the structure and dynamics of the underlying biochemical network. Here, we study nonequilibrium reaction cycles, such as the mechanochemical cycle of molecular motors, the phosphorylation cycle of circadian clock proteins, or the transition state cycle of enzymes. Fluctuations in such cycles may be measured using either of two classical definitions of the randomness parameter, which we show to be equivalent in general microscopically reversible cycles. We define a stochastic period for reversible cycles and present analytical solutions for its moments. Furthermore, we associate the two forms of the randomness parameter with the thermodynamic uncertainty relation, which sets limits on the timing precision of the cycle in terms of thermodynamic quantities. Our results should prove useful also for the study of temporal fluctuations in more general networks.

Manifestly non-Gaussian fluctuations in superconductor-normal metal tunnel nanostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laakso, Matti [Institut fuer Theorie der Statistischen Physik, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Low Temperature Laboratory, Aalto University, Espoo (Finland); Heikkilae, Tero [Low Temperature Laboratory, Aalto University, Espoo (Finland); Nazarov, Yuli [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

2013-07-01

Recently, temperature fluctuation statistics has been studied in non-interacting islands and overheated single-electron transistors. We propose a mesoscopic setup which exhibits strong and manifestly non-Gaussian fluctuations of energy and temperature when suitably driven out of equilibrium. The setup consists of a normal metal island (N) coupled by tunnel junctions (I) to two superconducting leads (S), forming a SINIS structure, and is biased near the threshold voltage for quasiparticle tunneling, eV ∼ 2Δ. The fluctuations can be measured by monitoring the time-dependent electric current through the system, which makes the setup suitable for the realization of feedback schemes which allow to stabilize the temperature to the desired value.

Conditional analysis of floating potential fluctuations at the edge of the Texas Experimental Tokamak Upgrade (TEXT-U)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filippas, A.V.; Bengston, R.D.; Li, G.; Meier, M.; Ritz, C.P.; Powers, E.J.

1995-01-01

Fluctuations in floating potential in the scrape-off layer and plasma edge were analyzed using a conditional statistical analysis technique. The floating potential fluctuations had a nearly Gaussian probability density function with the largest deviation from a Gaussian at the shear layer. The conditional averaging technique followed the statistical evolution of selected conditions in the floating potential signal. The decay rate of a conditional feature in time or space showed a small systematic variation with the amplitude of condition chosen. Either long-lived coherent structures are not present in statistically significant numbers, or the fluctuations are dominated by a large number of coherent structures with a nearly Gaussian distribution of fluctuation amplitudes, or conditional analysis using the amplitude of the floating potential as a condition is not a sensitive technique for identifying coherent structures

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.

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

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.

Density Fluctuations in the Solar Wind Driven by Alfvén Wave Parametric Decay

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Trevor A.; Badman, Samuel; Hellinger, Petr; Bale, Stuart D.

2018-02-01

Measurements and simulations of inertial compressive turbulence in the solar wind are characterized by anti-correlated magnetic fluctuations parallel to the mean field and density structures. This signature has been interpreted as observational evidence for non-propagating pressure balanced structures, kinetic ion-acoustic waves, as well as the MHD slow-mode. Given the high damping rates of parallel propagating compressive fluctuations, their ubiquity in satellite observations is surprising and suggestive of a local driving process. One possible candidate for the generation of compressive fluctuations in the solar wind is the Alfvén wave parametric instability. Here, we test the parametric decay process as a source of compressive waves in the solar wind by comparing the collisionless damping rates of compressive fluctuations with growth rates of the parametric decay instability daughter waves. Our results suggest that generation of compressive waves through parametric decay is overdamped at 1 au, but that the presence of slow-mode-like density fluctuations is correlated with the parametric decay of Alfvén waves.

Heterophase fluctuation of omega phase and X-ray diffuse scattering from dual phase structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farjami, Susan; Kubo, Hiroshi

2003-01-01

Heterophase fluctuation of athermal omega embryos has been analyzed by assuming a dual phase structure of omega embryos composed of omega and bcc matrix phase. The two-dimensional modulation of dual phase was suggested from the quantitative estimation of coherent free energy of omega embryos using microscopic theory of elasticity and the Landau anharmonic theory for phase transformation. The X-ray diffraction theory was developed in connection to the formation of omega embryos having the dual phase structure. The offset of the diffuse peak position from the ideal omega point in the X-ray diffraction pattern is attributed to the dual phase (incommensurate phase) of omega embryos. It was also shown that the ellipsoidal shape of the diffuse intensity tailing toward the fundamental spot of the matrix phase is originated from the equilibrium shape of the omega embryo. The quantitative estimation of elastic energy modulus (EEM) in the disordered bcc matrix and in the ordered bcc matrix indicates a difference in the deviation amount of the minimum point k(q m ) from the ideal omega point k(q ω ) and a difference in the elliptical shape of embryos

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.

China; Sources of Real Exchange Rate Fluctuations

OpenAIRE

Tao Wang

2004-01-01

This paper reviews the evolution of China's real effective exchange rate between 1980 and 2002, and uses a structural vector autoregression model to study the relative importance of different types of macroeconomic shocks for fluctuations in the real exchange rate. The structural decomposition shows that relative real demand and supply shocks account for most of the variations in real exchange rate changes during the estimation period. The paper also finds that supply shocks are as important ...

Entropic fluctuations in DNA sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Thanos, Dimitrios; Li, Wentian; Provata, Astero

2018-03-01

The Local Shannon Entropy (LSE) in blocks is used as a complexity measure to study the information fluctuations along DNA sequences. The LSE of a DNA block maps the local base arrangement information to a single numerical value. It is shown that despite this reduction of information, LSE allows to extract meaningful information related to the detection of repetitive sequences in whole chromosomes and is useful in finding evolutionary differences between organisms. More specifically, large regions of tandem repeats, such as centromeres, can be detected based on their low LSE fluctuations along the chromosome. Furthermore, an empirical investigation of the appropriate block sizes is provided and the relationship of LSE properties with the structure of the underlying repetitive units is revealed by using both computational and mathematical methods. Sequence similarity between the genomic DNA of closely related species also leads to similar LSE values at the orthologous regions. As an application, the LSE covariance function is used to measure the evolutionary distance between several primate genomes.

Genomic evidence of demographic fluctuations and lack of genetic structure across flyways in a long distance migrant, the European turtle dove.

Science.gov (United States)

Calderón, Luciano; Campagna, Leonardo; Wilke, Thomas; Lormee, Hervé; Eraud, Cyril; Dunn, Jenny C; Rocha, Gregorio; Zehtindjiev, Pavel; Bakaloudis, Dimitrios E; Metzger, Benjamin; Cecere, Jacopo G; Marx, Melanie; Quillfeldt, Petra

2016-11-07

Understanding how past climatic oscillations have affected organismic evolution will help predict the impact that current climate change has on living organisms. The European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur, is a warm-temperature adapted species and a long distance migrant that uses multiple flyways to move between Europe and Africa. Despite being abundant, it is categorized as vulnerable because of a long-term demographic decline. We studied the demographic history and population genetic structure of the European turtle dove using genomic data and mitochondrial DNA sequences from individuals sampled across Europe, and performing paleoclimatic niche modelling simulations. Overall our data suggest that this species is panmictic across Europe, and is not genetically structured across flyways. We found the genetic signatures of demographic fluctuations, inferring an effective population size (Ne) expansion that occurred between the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, followed by a decrease in the Ne that started between the mid Holocene and the present. Our niche modelling analyses suggest that the variations in the Ne are coincident with recent changes in the availability of suitable habitat. We argue that the European turtle dove is prone to undergo demographic fluctuations, a trait that makes it sensitive to anthropogenic impacts, especially when its numbers are decreasing. Also, considering the lack of genetic structure, we suggest all populations across Europe are equally relevant for conservation.

Building the Nonuniversity, Tertiary Care Center Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Practice: Structural and Financial Considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Erin H; Siddiqui, Imran; Vrochides, Dionisios; Iannitti, David A; Martinie, John B; Rorabaugh, Lauren; Jeyarajah, D Rohan; Swan, Ryan Z

2016-12-01

Early in their careers, many new surgeons lack the background and experience to understand essential components needed to build a surgical practice. Surgical resident education is often devoid of specific instruction on the business of medicine and practice management. In particular, hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HPB) surgeons require many key components to build a successful practice secondary to significant interdisciplinary coordination and a scope of complex surgery, which spans challenging benign and malignant disease processes. In the following, we describe the required clinical and financial components for developing a successful HPB surgery practice in the nonuniversity tertiary care center. We discuss significant financial considerations for understanding community need and hospital investment, contract establishment, billing, and coding. We summarize the structural elements and key personnel necessary for establishing an effectual HPB surgical team. This article provides useful, essential information for a new HPB surgeon looking to establish a surgical practice. It also provides insight for health-care administrators as to the value an HPB surgeon can bring to a hospital or health-care system.

Automated and fast building of three-dimensional RNA structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yunjie; Huang, Yangyu; Gong, Zhou; Wang, Yanjie; Man, Jianfen; Xiao, Yi

2012-01-01

Building tertiary structures of non-coding RNA is required to understand their functions and design new molecules. Current algorithms of RNA tertiary structure prediction give satisfactory accuracy only for small size and simple topology and many of them need manual manipulation. Here, we present an automated and fast program, 3dRNA, for RNA tertiary structure prediction with reasonable accuracy for RNAs of larger size and complex topology.

Investigating the radial structure of axisymmetric fluctuations in the TCV tokamak with local and global gyrokinetic GENE simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Merlo, G.; Brunner, S.; Huang, Z.; Coda, S.; Görler, T.; Villard, L.; Bañón Navarro, A.; Dominski, J.; Fontana, M.; Jenko, F.; Porte, L.; Told, D.

2018-03-01

Axisymmetric (n = 0) density fluctuations measured in the TCV tokamak are observed to possess a frequency f 0 which is either varying (radially dispersive oscillations) or a constant over a large fraction of the plasma minor radius (radially global oscillations) as reported in a companion paper (Z Huang et al, this issue). Given that f 0 scales with the sound speed and given the poloidal structure of density fluctuations, these oscillations were interpreted as Geodesic Acoustic Modes, even though f 0 is in fact smaller than the local linear GAM frequency {f}{GAM}. In this work we employ the Eulerian gyrokinetic code GENE to simulate TCV relevant conditions and investigate the nature and properties of these oscillations, in particular their relation to the safety factor profile. Local and global simulations are carried out and a good qualitative agreement is observed between experiments and simulations. By varying also the plasma temperature and density profiles, we conclude that a variation of the edge safety factor alone is not sufficient to induce a transition from global to radially inhomogeneous oscillations, as was initially suggested by experimental results. This transition appears instead to be the combined result of variations in the different plasma profiles, collisionality and finite machine size effects. Simulations also show that radially global GAM-like oscillations can be observed in all fluxes and fluctuation fields, suggesting that they are the result of a complex nonlinear process involving also finite toroidal mode numbers and not just linear global GAM eigenmodes.

Introduction to multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis in matlab.

Science.gov (United States)

Ihlen, Espen A F

2012-01-01

Fractal structures are found in biomedical time series from a wide range of physiological phenomena. The multifractal spectrum identifies the deviations in fractal structure within time periods with large and small fluctuations. The present tutorial is an introduction to multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) that estimates the multifractal spectrum of biomedical time series. The tutorial presents MFDFA step-by-step in an interactive Matlab session. All Matlab tools needed are available in Introduction to MFDFA folder at the website www.ntnu.edu/inm/geri/software. MFDFA are introduced in Matlab code boxes where the reader can employ pieces of, or the entire MFDFA to example time series. After introducing MFDFA, the tutorial discusses the best practice of MFDFA in biomedical signal processing. The main aim of the tutorial is to give the reader a simple self-sustained guide to the implementation of MFDFA and interpretation of the resulting multifractal spectra.

Investigation of Parametric Instability of the Planetary Gear under Speed Fluctuations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinghui Qiu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Planetary gear is widely used in engineering and usually has symmetrical structure. As the number of teeth in contact changes during rotation, the time-varying mesh stiffness parametrically excites the planetary gear and may cause severe vibrations and instabilities. Taking speed fluctuations into account, the time-varying mesh stiffness is frequency modulated, and therefore sideband instabilities may arise and original instabilities are significantly affected. Considering two different speed fluctuations, original and sideband instabilities are numerically and analytically investigated. A rotational lumped-parameter model of the planetary gear is developed, in which the time-varying mesh stiffness, input speed fluctuations, and damping are considered. Closed-form approximations of instability boundaries for primary and combination instabilities are obtained by perturbation analysis and verified by numerical analysis. The effects of speed fluctuations and damping on parametric instability are systematically examined. Because of the frequency modulation, whether a parametric instability occurs cannot be simply predicted by the planet meshing phase which is applicable to constant speed. Besides adjusting the planet meshing phase, speed fluctuation supplies a new thought to minimize certain instability by adjusting the amplitude or frequency of the speed fluctuation. Both original and sideband instabilities are shrunken by damping, and speed fluctuation further shrinks the original instability.

Reflections on entrepreneurship education in African tertiary institutions

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K. Bawuah

2006-12-01

Full Text Available It is a well-established fact that several developed economies grew on the back of small businesses and entrepreneurial development. It stands to reason then that the development of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA can also be catalysed by a rise in the number of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity. In that general regard, this paper sought to investigate the state of entrepreneurship education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA. The method adopted in investigating this phenomenon was to critique the existing tertiary education entrepreneurship structures (where these existed at all and to proffer recommendations where anomalies were discovered. It came to light that despite the critical importance of entrepreneurs in the economic development of a nation, Sub-Saharan African (SSA countries have not fully developed strategies to tap this resource. What the countries have, are haphazard policies designed to promote the lesser or uneducated individuals in the informal sector into entrepreneurship. SSA educational leaders must find ways to structure their curricula so that all or most of their students can take courses in entrepreneurship. This is essential for SSA countries in order to move them from their present disadvantaged economic status, to greater economic and social development. A tentative syllabus for African tertiary education is proffered at the end of the article but its robustness needs to be tested.

Wage Inequalities: A Result of Different Levels and Fields of Tertiary Education?

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Darjan Petek

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In this article we examine the impact of tertiary education on the amounts of wages in Slovenia for 2011. We use micro data from the statistical survey Structure of Earnings Statistics and micro data from the survey of graduates from tertiary education. We found out that there are significant differences in the amounts of wages as regards the level and field of education. Region and activity of the company where the person is employed also plays an important role in wage determination. Also the effects of gender and public/private sector are statistically significant. Using the average wage per hour as dependent variable gives similar results as the average annual wages.

Multiscale probability distribution of pressure fluctuations in fluidized beds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghasemi, Fatemeh; Sahimi, Muhammad; Reza Rahimi Tabar, M; Peinke, Joachim

2012-01-01

Analysis of flow in fluidized beds, a common chemical reactor, is of much current interest due to its fundamental as well as industrial importance. Experimental data for the successive increments of the pressure fluctuations time series in a fluidized bed are analyzed by computing a multiscale probability density function (PDF) of the increments. The results demonstrate the evolution of the shape of the PDF from the short to long time scales. The deformation of the PDF across time scales may be modeled by the log-normal cascade model. The results are also in contrast to the previously proposed PDFs for the pressure fluctuations that include a Gaussian distribution and a PDF with a power-law tail. To understand better the properties of the pressure fluctuations, we also construct the shuffled and surrogate time series for the data and analyze them with the same method. It turns out that long-range correlations play an important role in the structure of the time series that represent the pressure fluctuation. (paper)

Stratigraphic structure of the B1 Tertiary tectonostratigraphic unit in eastern Slovenia

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Bogomir Jelen

2002-06-01

Full Text Available High inconsistency and incoherence in the stratigraphy of the Slovenian upper Paleogene and lower Miocene have remained unsolved in the past 150 years. To solve the problem, we tried to rigorously conduct the authentic Galilei’s scientific method. Steps of logical and empirical verification confirmed the existence of the posited B1 Tertiary tectonostratigraphic unit, and a general chronostratigraphic model of new positional relationships of lithologic units resulted from rather good biochronostratigraphic resolution achieved by nannoplankton and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy. The application of principles of newly developed fields in science helped us to avoid errors in transmission of messages (to reduce noise from the source (rock to the concept formation,which had been done previously. This in turn has strongly reduced inconsistency andincoherence (high information entropy = uncertainty. The released amount of information enabled us to answer also questions that reached beyond the original difficulty, e.g.: is the tectonostratigraphic structure of eastern Slovenia a manifestation of plate tectonics processes, and of which ones, are theories of continental escape in the Alps and associated dissection and offset of the formerly uniform Slovenian-Hungarian Paleogene basin tenableor not, are then there in the B1 stratigraphic equivalents of the Hungarian Paleogene basin formations, where are the important Eocene / Oligocene, Paleogene / Neogene, Rupelian / Chattian and Kiscellian / Egerian boundaries in Slovenia, and is there acontinuation of the B1 in Croatia and in the Mid-Hungarian tectonic zone?

A GDP fluctuation model based on interacting firms

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Honggang; Gao, Yan

2008-09-01

A distinctive feature of the market economies is the short-run fluctuations in output around the trend of long-run growth over time, and we regard this feature is internal to complex economic systems composed of interacting heterogeneous units. To explore such internal mechanisms of macroeconomic fluctuations, we present a multi-agent Keynesian theory-based model, which can provide a good approximation to the key empirical features of the western business cycles in the 20th Century, such as the structure of the autocorrelation function of overall output growth, correlations between the output growth of individual agents over time, the distribution of recessions, etc.

Effect of poly and mono-unsaturated fatty acids on stability and structure of recombinant S100A8/A9.

Science.gov (United States)

Asghari, Hamideh; Chegini, Koorosh Goodarzvand; Amini, Abbas; Gheibi, Nematollah

2016-03-01

Recombinant pET 15b vectors containing the coding sequences S100A8 and S100A9 are expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The structural changes of S100A8/A9 complex are analyzed upon interaction with poly/mono-unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). The thermodynamic values, Gibbs free energy and the protein melting point, are obtained through thermal denaturation of protein both with and without UFAs by thermal scanning of protein emission using the fluorescence spectroscopy technique. The far-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra show that all studied unsaturated fatty acids, including arachidonic, linoleic, alpha-linolenic and oleic acids, induce changes in the secondary structure of S100A8/A9 by reducing the α-helix and β-sheet structures. The tertiary structure of S100A8/A9 has fluctuations in the fluorescence emission spectra after the incubation of protein with UFAs. The blue-shift of emission maximum wavelength and the increase in fluorescence intensity of anilino naphthalene-8-sulfonic acid confirm that the partial unfolding is caused by the conformational changes in the tertiary structure in the presence of UFAs. The structural changes in S100A8/A9 and its lower stability in the presence of UFAs may be necessary for S100A8/A9 to play a biological role in the inflammatory milieu. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Probing gluon number fluctuation effects in future electron–hadron colliders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amaral, J.T.; Gonçalves, V.P. [Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Caixa Postal 354, CEP 96010-900, Pelotas, RS (Brazil); Kugeratski, M.S. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Joinville, Rua Presidente Prudente de Moraes, 406, CEP 89218-000, Joinville, SC (Brazil)

2014-10-15

The description of the QCD dynamics in the kinematical range which will be probed in the future electron–hadron colliders is still an open question. Although phenomenological studies indicate that the gluon number fluctuations, which are related to discreteness in the QCD evolution, are negligible at HERA, the magnitude of these effects for the next generation of colliders still should be estimated. In this paper we investigate inclusive and diffractive ep observables considering a model for the physical scattering amplitude which describes the HERA data. Moreover, we estimate, for the first time, the contribution of the fluctuation effects for the nuclear structure functions. Our results indicate that the study of these observables in the future colliders can be useful to constrain the presence of gluon number fluctuations.

Seepage characteristics of the second tertiary combined model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huan ZHAO

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The second tertiary combined model experiment zone has been developed in Block B, Field L. The percolation feature of the second tertiary combined develop model shows great importance to rational and efficient development of the reservoir. In order to clearly illuminate its percolation feature, the typical reservoir numerical model is built by Eclipse, which is a reservoir numerical simulation software. The percolation features of original and added perforation interval under the second tertiary combined model are studied, and the variation features of general water-cut, recovery percentage, wellbore pressure, reservoir pressure and water saturation on condition of higher injection rate under the second tertiary combined model are analyzed. The research indicates that the second tertiary combined enhances the recovery of remaining oil on top of thick reservoir by developing and enhancing original perforation interval under water drive, then improves development results by polymer flooding, and gains higher recovery rate by synthetic action of water driver and polymer flooding.

Conserved number fluctuations in a hadron resonance gas model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, P.; Mishra, D.K.; Netrakanti, P.K.; Mohanty, B.; Mohanty, A.K.; Singh, B.K.; Xu, N.

2013-01-01

Net-baryon, net-charge and net-strangeness number fluctuations in high energy heavy-ion collisions are discussed within the framework of a hadron resonance gas (HRG) model. Ratios of the conserved number susceptibilities calculated in HRG are being compared to the corresponding experimental measurements to extract information about the freeze-out condition and the phase structure of systems with strong interactions. We emphasize the importance of considering the actual experimental acceptances in terms of kinematics (pseudorapidity (η) and transverse momentum (p T )), the detected charge state, effect of collective motion of particles in the system and the resonance decay contributions before comparisons are made to the theoretical calculations. In this work, based on HRG model, we report that the net-baryon number fluctuations are least affected by experimental acceptances compared to the net-charge and net-strangeness number fluctuations

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

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.

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

Influence of longitudinal spin fluctuations on the phase transition features in chiral magnets

Science.gov (United States)

Belemuk, A. M.; Stishov, S. M.

2018-04-01

Using the classical Monte Carlo calculations, we investigate the effects of longitudinal spin fluctuations on the helimagnetic transition in a Heisenberg magnet with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We use variable spin amplitudes in the framework of the spin-lattice Hamiltonian. It is this kind of fluctuations that naturally occur in an itinerant system. We show that the basic features of the helical phase transition are not changed much by the longitudinal spin fluctuations though the transition temperature Tc and the fluctuation hump seen in specific heat at T >Tc is significantly affected. We report thermodynamic and structural effects of these fluctuations. By increasing the system size in the Monte Carlo modeling, we are able to reproduce the ring shape scattering intensity above the helimagnetic transition temperature Tc, which transforms into the spiral spots seen below Tc in the neutron scattering experiments.

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.

Structure and Function of Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations: Mind the Gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Battipaglia, Giovanna; Campelo, Filipe; Vieira, Joana; Grabner, Michael; De Micco, Veronica; Nabais, Cristina; Cherubini, Paolo; Carrer, Marco; Bräuning, Achim; Čufar, Katarina; Di Filippo, Alfredo; García-González, Ignacio; Koprowski, Marcin; Klisz, Marcin; Kirdyanov, Alexander V; Zafirov, Nikolay; de Luis, Martin

2016-01-01

Tree rings are natural archives of climate and environmental information with a yearly resolution. Indeed, wood anatomical, chemical, and other properties of tree rings are a synthesis of several intrinsic and external factors, and their interaction during tree growth. In particular, Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations (IADFs) can be considered as tree-ring anomalies that can be used to better understand tree growth and to reconstruct past climate conditions with intra-annual resolution. However, the ecophysiological processes behind IADF formation, as well as their functional impact, remain unclear. Are IADFs resulting from a prompt adjustment to fluctuations in environmental conditions to avoid stressful conditions and/or to take advantage from favorable conditions? In this paper we discuss: (1) the influence of climatic factors on the formation of IADFs; (2) the occurrence of IADFs in different species and environments; (3) the potential of new approaches to study IADFs and identify their triggering factors. Our final aim is to underscore the advantages offered by network analyses of data and the importance of high-resolution measurements to gain insight into IADFs formation processes and their relations with climatic conditions, including extreme weather events.

Structure and Function of Intra–Annual Density Fluctuations: Mind the Gaps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanna eBattipaglia

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Tree rings are natural archives of climate and environmental information with a yearly resolution. Indeed, wood anatomical, chemical and other properties of tree rings are a synthesis of several intrinsic, environmental factors, and interconnected processes acting during tree growth. In particular, Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations (IADFs can be considered as tree-ring anomalies that can be used to better understand tree growth and to reconstruct past climate conditions with intra-annual resolution. However, the ecophysiological processes behind IADF formation, as well as their functional impact, remain unclear. Are IADFs resulting from a prompt adjustment to fluctuations in environmental conditions to avoid stressful conditions and/or to take advantage from favorable conditions? In this paper we discuss: (1 the influence of climatic factors on the formation of IADFs; (2 the occurrence of IADFs in different species and environments; (3 the potential of new approaches to study IADFs and identify their triggering factors. Our final aim is to underscore the advantages offered by network analyses of data and the importance of high-resolution measurements to gain insight into IADFs formation processes and their relations with climatic conditions, including extreme weather events.

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

Edge fluctuations and global confinement with lower hybrid current drive in the ASDEX tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoeckel, J; Soeldner, F X; Giannone, L.; Leuterer, F; Steuer, K H [Association Euratom-Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); ASDEX Team

1992-03-01

Electrostatic edge fluctuations were investigated by means of Langmuir probes on the ASDEX tokamak in lower hybrid current drive regimes, simultaneously with the global particle and energy balances. It was found that the edge fluctuations are reduced and the global particle/energy confinement improves when the LH power is below the initial ohmic power. The maximum reduction of the fluctuations and the best confinement occur when the total power input (OH + LH) is minimum. With a LH power higher than the initial OH value, the fluctuation level increases noticeably, while no improvement of the global confinement is observed. The increase of the edge fluctuations seems to be poloidally localized and caused by local power deposition in front of the grill antenna. Therefore, the relative positions of the probe and antenna structure have to be taken account for correct interpretation of the fluctuation data. (orig.).

Edge fluctuations and global confinement with lower hybrid current drive in the ASDEX tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoeckel, J.; Soeldner, F.X.; Giannone, L.; Leuterer, F.; Steuer, K.H.

1992-03-01

Electrostatic edge fluctuations were investigated by means of Langmuir probes on the ASDEX tokamak in lower hybrid current drive regimes, simultaneously with the global particle and energy balances. It was found that the edge fluctuations are reduced and the global particle/energy confinement improves when the LH power is below the initial ohmic power. The maximum reduction of the fluctuations and the best confinement occur when the total power input (OH + LH) is minimum. With a LH power higher than the initial OH value, the fluctuation level increases noticeably, while no improvement of the global confinement is observed. The increase of the edge fluctuations seems to be poloidally localized and caused by local power deposition in front of the grill antenna. Therefore, the relative positions of the probe and antenna structure have to be taken account for correct interpretation of the fluctuation data. (orig.)

Factors influencing phase-disengagement rates in solvent-extraction systems employing tertiary amine extractants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moyer, B.A.; McDowell, W.J.

1981-01-01

The primary purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of amine size and structure on phase disengagement. Nine commercial tertiary amines were tested together with four laboratory-quality amines for uranium extraction and both organic-continuous (OC) and aqueous-continuous (AC) phase disengagement under Amex-type conditions. Synthetic acid sulfate solutions with and without added colloidal silica and actual ore leach solutions were used as the aqueous phases. Phase disengagement results were correlated with amine size and branching and solution wetting behavior on a silicate (glass) surface. The results suggest that the performance of some Amex systems may be improved by using branched chain tertiary amine extractants of higher molecular weight than are now normally used

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.

Evaluation of random temperature fluctuation problems with frequency response approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lejeail, Yves; Kasahara, Naoto

2000-01-01

Since thermal striping is a coupled thermohydraulic and thermomechanical phenomenon, sodium mock-up tests were usually required to confirm structural integrity. Authors have developed the frequency response function to establish design-by-analysis methodology for this phenomenon. Applicability of this method to sinusoidal fluctuation was validated through two benchmark problems with FAENA and TIFFSS facilities under EJCC contract. This report describes the extension of the frequency response method to random fluctuations. As an example of application, fatigue strength of a Tee junction of PHENIX secondary piping system was investigated. (author)

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

Molecular identification of aiiA homologous gene from endophytic Enterobacter species and in silico analysis of putative tertiary structure of AHL-lactonase.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajesh, P S; Rai, V Ravishankar

2014-01-03

The aiiA homologous gene known to encode AHL- lactonase enzyme which hydrolyze the N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) quorum sensing signaling molecules produced by Gram negative bacteria. In this study, the degradation of AHL molecules was determined by cell-free lysate of endophytic Enterobacter species. The percentage of quorum quenching was confirmed and quantified by HPLC method (pEnterobacter asburiae VT65, Enterobacter aerogenes VT66 and Enterobacter ludwigii VT70 strains. Sequence alignment analysis revealed the presence of two zinc binding sites, "HXHXDH" motif as well as tyrosine residue at the position 194. Based on known template available at Swiss-Model, putative tertiary structure of AHL-lactonase was constructed. The result showed that novel endophytic strains of Enterobacter genera encode the novel aiiA homologous gene and its structural importance for future study. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical parameter characteristics of gas-phase fluctuations for gas-liquid intermittent flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsui, G.; Monji, H.; Takaguchi, M. [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan)

1995-09-01

This study deals with theoretical analysis on the general behaviour of statistical parameters of gas-phase fluctuations and comparison of statistical parameter characteristics for the real void fraction fluctuations measured with those for the wave form modified the real fluctuations. In order to investigate the details of the relation between the behavior of the statistical parameters in real intermittent flow and analytical results obtained from information on the real flow, the distributions of statistical parameters for general fundamental wave form of gas-phase fluctuations are discussed in detail. By modifying the real gas-phase fluctuations to a trapezoidaly wave, the experimental results can be directly compared with the analytical results. The analytical results for intermittent flow show that the wave form parameter, and the total amplitude of void fraction fluctuations, affects strongly on the statistical parameter characteristics. The comparison with experiment using nitrogen gas-water intermittent flow suggests that the parameters of skewness and excess may be better as indicators of flow pattern. That is, the macroscopic nature of intermittent flow can be grasped by the skewness and the excess, and the detailed flow structure may be described by the mean and the standard deviation.

Statistical parameter characteristics of gas-phase fluctuations for gas-liquid intermittent flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, G.; Monji, H.; Takaguchi, M.

1995-01-01

This study deals with theoretical analysis on the general behaviour of statistical parameters of gas-phase fluctuations and comparison of statistical parameter characteristics for the real void fraction fluctuations measured with those for the wave form modified the real fluctuations. In order to investigate the details of the relation between the behavior of the statistical parameters in real intermittent flow and analytical results obtained from information on the real flow, the distributions of statistical parameters for general fundamental wave form of gas-phase fluctuations are discussed in detail. By modifying the real gas-phase fluctuations to a trapezoidaly wave, the experimental results can be directly compared with the analytical results. The analytical results for intermittent flow show that the wave form parameter, and the total amplitude of void fraction fluctuations, affects strongly on the statistical parameter characteristics. The comparison with experiment using nitrogen gas-water intermittent flow suggests that the parameters of skewness and excess may be better as indicators of flow pattern. That is, the macroscopic nature of intermittent flow can be grasped by the skewness and the excess, and the detailed flow structure may be described by the mean and the standard deviation

Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background on a 2.3 deg angular scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calzolari, P.; Cortiglioni, S.; Mandolesi, N.

1982-01-01

The study of fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background may provide important information on the origin of the large scale structures in the Universe. An experiment is in operation at Medicina (Bologna) for studying such temperature fluctuations on a 2 deg 3 angular scale at lambda=2.8 cm. Preliminary results seem to indicate ΔT/T -4

Role of stochastic fluctuations in the charge on macroscopic particles in dusty plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaulina, O.S.; Nefedov, A.P.; Petrov, O.F.; Khrapak, S.A.

1999-01-01

The currents which charge a macroscopic particle placed in a plasma consist of discrete charges; hence, the charge can undergo random fluctuations about its equilibrium value. These random fluctuations can be described by a simple model which, if the mechanisms for charging of macroscopic particles are known, makes it possible to determine the dependence of the temporal and amplitude characteristics of the fluctuations on the plasma parameters. This model can be used to study the effect of charge fluctuations on the dynamics of the macroscopic particles. The case of so-called plasma-dust crystals (i.e., highly ordered structures which develop because of strong interactions among macroscopic particles) in laboratory gaseous discharge plasmas is considered as an example. The molecular dynamics method shows that, under certain conditions, random fluctuations in the charge can effectively heat a system of macroscopic particles, thereby impeding the ordering process

Excitation and propagation of electromagnetic fluctuations with ion-cyclotron range of frequency in magnetic reconnection laboratory experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inomoto, Michiaki; Tanabe, Hiroshi; Ono, Yasushi; Kuwahata, Akihiro

2013-01-01

Large-amplitude electromagnetic fluctuations of ion-cyclotron-frequency range are detected in a laboratory experiment inside the diffusion region of a magnetic reconnection with a guide field. The fluctuations have properties similar to kinetic Alfvén waves propagating obliquely to the guide field. Temporary enhancement of the reconnection rate is observed during the occurrence of the fluctuations, suggesting a relationship between the modification in the local magnetic structure given by these fluctuations and the intermittent fast magnetic reconnection

Social media use profile, social skills, and nurse-patient interaction among Registered Nurses in tertiary hospitals: A structural equation model analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariano, Micah Celine O; Maniego, John Christian M; Manila, Hariette Lou Marie D; Mapanoo, Ram Cedrick C; Maquiran, Kerwin Miguel A; Macindo, John Rey B; Tejero, Lourdes Marie S; Torres, Gian Carlo S

2018-04-01

Social media has become increasingly important over the past decades and has been integrated in various environments, including the healthcare setting. Yet, the influence of social media use on the social skills and nurse-patient interaction of nurses is an area in nursing that requires further studies. This study determined the interrelationships among social media use profile, social skills, and nurse-patient interaction of Registered Nurses in tertiary hospitals. Employing structural equation modeling, a descriptive-correlational study was conducted among 212 consecutively-selected nurses from two tertiary hospitals. Consenting respondents completed a two-part survey composed of the respondent profile sheet and the Social Skills Inventory. The respondent profile sheet assessed demographic profile and social media use profile in terms of the mode, frequency, and duration of utilization. Three trained team members observed each nurse-patient dyad and completed the Nurse-Patient Bonding Instrument. A good fit model illustrated the negative effects of frequent social media use to patient openness (β = -0.18, p social media on a daily basis, however, positively affected both dimensions of social skills. Accessing social media platforms using non-handheld devices showed the most influential positive effects to social skills and nurse-patient interaction. Additionally, although verbal social skills positively affected most dimensions of nurse-patient interaction, non-verbal social skills negatively influenced patient engagement (β = -0.19, p = 0.019) and nurse openness (β = -0.38, p ≤ 0.05). The structural model illustrates the effects of using social media on the social skills and nurse-patient interaction of nurses and emphasizes the need for implementing institutional policies on the judicious use and application of social media in the workplace. Further, social skills development programs geared toward having a balanced social skill must

Cooperative effects in the structuring of fluoride water clusters: Ab initio hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical model incorporating polarizable fluctuating charge solvent

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce, Richard A.; Vincent, Mark A.; Malcolm, Nathaniel O. J.; Hillier, Ian H.; Burton, Neil A.

1998-08-01

A new hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical model of solvation is developed and used to describe the structure and dynamics of small fluoride/water clusters, using an ab initio wave function to model the ion and a fluctuating charge potential to model the waters. Appropriate parameters for the water-water and fluoride-water interactions are derived, with the fluoride anion being described by density functional theory and a large Gaussian basis. The role of solvent polarization in determining the structure and energetics of F(H2O)4- clusters is investigated, predicting a slightly greater stability of the interior compared to the surface structure, in agreement with ab initio studies. An extended Lagrangian treatment of the polarizable water, in which the water atomic charges fluctuate dynamically, is used to study the dynamics of F(H2O)4- cluster. A simulation using a fixed solvent charge distribution indicates principally interior, solvated states for the cluster. However, a preponderance of trisolvated configurations is observed using the polarizable model at 300 K, which involves only three direct fluoride-water hydrogen bonds. Ab initio calculations confirm this trisolvated species as a thermally accessible state at room temperature, in addition to the tetrasolvated interior and surface structures. Extension of this polarizable water model to fluoride clusters with five and six waters gave less satisfactory agreement with experimental energies and with ab initio geometries. However, our results do suggest that a quantitative model of solvent polarization is fundamental for an accurate understanding of the properties of anionic water clusters.

Fluctuations in a system depending on several random parameters. Application to reactors (1962); Fluctuations d'un systeme dependant de plusieurs parametres aleatoires. Application aux reacteurs nucleaires (1962)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blaquiere, A [Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 75 (France); Pachowska, R [Universite Technique de Varsovie (Poland)

1962-07-01

We have previously developed a method for studying neutronic fluctuations in nuclear reactors using the analogy between the behaviour of a reactor and that of certain common radioelectric circuits. The fluctuations may then be calculated by introducing into the circuit a suitable noise source. By this method we have been able to consider the overall fluctuations in a particularly simple form and we have provided a physical significance for certain results obtained more laboriously by other methods. The object of the present report is to generalise this method and in particular to extend it to the case of a reactor having a cellular structure and to apply it to fluctuations within a cell. It is thus shown that the fluctuations in a cell are the resultant of two terms: - a rapidly evolving Poissonian noise, not related to the overall fluctuations; - a slowly evolving noise, when the reactor is not too far from criticality, which is related to the overall fluctuations. The first term arises from a rapid 'ordering' of the system, during which time the cells come mutually into equilibrium. The second term is due to the coordinated evolution of all the cells, after the end of the first transitory phase. The conclusions reached show that it would be useful to complete the study with an analysis of non-linear phenomena which can considerably influence the transitory behaviour of the cells during the initial pre-equilibrium phase. This report also Stresses the relationship of the new method to the old methods. It tends also to place pile fluctuation theory in a more general framework, that of the fluctuations of a system depending on several random parameters; from this point of view, the method could easily be transposed and adapted to the study of other physical problems of this type. (authors) [French] Nous avons precedemment developpe une methode d'etude des fluctuations neutroniques des reacteurs nucleaires mettant a profit l'analogie entre le comportement d

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.

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.

Visualizing period fluctuations in strained-layer superlattices with scanning tunneling microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kanedy, K.; Lopez, F.; Wood, M. R.; Gmachl, C. F.; Weimer, M.; Klem, J. F.; Hawkins, S. D.; Shaner, E. A.; Kim, J. K.

2018-01-01

We show how cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) may be used to accurately map the period fluctuations throughout epitaxial, strained-layer superlattices based on the InAs/InAsSb and InGaAs/InAlAs material systems. The concept, analogous to Bragg's law in high-resolution x-ray diffraction, relies on an analysis of the [001]-convolved reciprocal-space satellite peaks obtained from discrete Fourier transforms of individual STM images. Properly implemented, the technique enables local period measurements that reliably discriminate vertical fluctuations localized to within ˜5 superlattice repeats along the [001] growth direction and orthogonal, lateral fluctuations localized to within ˜40 nm along directions in the growth plane. While not as accurate as x-ray, the inherent, single-image measurement error associated with the method may be made as small as 0.1%, allowing the vertical or lateral period fluctuations contributing to inhomogeneous energy broadening and carrier localization in these structures to be pinpointed and quantified. The direct visualization of unexpectedly large, lateral period fluctuations on nanometer length scales in both strain-balanced systems supports a common understanding in terms of correlated interface roughness.

2D image of local density and magnetic fluctuations from line-integrated interferometry-polarimetry measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, L; Ding, W X; Brower, D L

2014-11-01

Combined polarimetry-interferometry capability permits simultaneous measurement of line-integrated density and Faraday effect with fast time response (∼1 μs) and high sensitivity. Faraday effect fluctuations with phase shift of order 0.05° associated with global tearing modes are resolved with an uncertainty ∼0.01°. For physics investigations, local density fluctuations are obtained by inverting the line-integrated interferometry data. The local magnetic and current density fluctuations are then reconstructed using a parameterized fit of the polarimetry data. Reconstructed 2D images of density and magnetic field fluctuations in a poloidal cross section exhibit significantly different spatial structure. Combined with their relative phase, the magnetic-fluctuation-induced particle transport flux and its spatial distribution are resolved.

2D image of local density and magnetic fluctuations from line-integrated interferometry-polarimetry measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, L.; Ding, W. X.; Brower, D. L.

2014-01-01

Combined polarimetry-interferometry capability permits simultaneous measurement of line-integrated density and Faraday effect with fast time response (∼1 μs) and high sensitivity. Faraday effect fluctuations with phase shift of order 0.05° associated with global tearing modes are resolved with an uncertainty ∼0.01°. For physics investigations, local density fluctuations are obtained by inverting the line-integrated interferometry data. The local magnetic and current density fluctuations are then reconstructed using a parameterized fit of the polarimetry data. Reconstructed 2D images of density and magnetic field fluctuations in a poloidal cross section exhibit significantly different spatial structure. Combined with their relative phase, the magnetic-fluctuation-induced particle transport flux and its spatial distribution are resolved

Cosmophysical Factors in the Fluctuation Amplitude Spectrum of Brownian Motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaminsky A. V.

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Phenomenon of the regular variability of the fine structure of the fluctuation in the amplitude distributions (shapes of related histograms for the case of Brownian motion was investigated. We took an advantage of the dynamic light scattering method (DLS to get a stochastically fluctuated signal determined by Brownian motion. Shape of the histograms is most likely to vary, synchronous, in two proximally located independent cells containing Brownian particles. The synchronism persists in the cells distant at 2m from each other, and positioned meridionally. With a parallel-wise positioning of the cells, high probability of the synchronous variation in the shape of the histograms by local time has been observed. This result meets the previous conclusion about the dependency of histogram shapes ("fluctuation amplitudes" of the spectra of stochastic processes upon rotation of the Earth.

Cosmophysical Factors in the Fluctuation Amplitude Spectrum of Brownian Motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaminsky A. V.

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Phenomenon of the regular variability of the fine structure of the fluctuation in the am- plitude distributions (shapes of related histograms for the case of Brownian motion was investigated. We took an advantage of the dynamic light scattering method (DLS to get a stochastically fluctuated signal determined by Brownian motion. Shape of the histograms is most likely to vary, synchronous, in two proximally located independent cells containing Brownian particles. The synchronism persists in the cells distant at 2 m from each other, and positioned meridionally. With a parallel-wise positioning of the cells, high probability of the synchronous variation in the shape of the histograms by local time has been observed. This result meets the previous conclusion about the dependency of histogram shapes (“fluctuation amplitudes” of the spectra of stochastic processes upon rotation of the Earth.

Synthesis, structural characterization and fluctuation conductivity of HoBa2Cu3O7-δ-SrTiO3 composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uribe Laverde, M.A.; Landinez Tellez, D.A.; Roa-Rojas, J.

2010-01-01

Single-phase polycrystalline samples of HoBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ superconductor and SrTiO 3 isolator were produced by means of the solid state reaction technique. After structural characterization of both materials, superconductor-isolator composites were produced with nominal isolator volume percentages between 0% and 10%. Resistivity measurements for the composites and the HoBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ sample with different currents evidenced a superconducting transition with critical temperature T C = 92 K, with wider transitions with increasing either isolator content or measurement current. Fluctuation conductivity analyses were carried out to obtain the exponents characterizing the conductivity divergence. Above T C , apart from the typical Gaussian and critical fluctuations an atypical regime with critical exponent about 0.14 is observed as a precursor of the transition. Below T C , it is observed that the coherence transition characteristic exponent increases rapidly with increasing isolator percentage in the composites and does not show important changes when modifying the current in the pure superconductor sample.

On the possible effects of gluon number fluctuations on {gamma}{gamma} collisions at high energies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, V. P.; De Santana Amaral, J. T. [Instituto de Fisica e Matematica, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Caixa Postal 354, 96010-900, Pelotas, RS (Brazil)

2013-03-25

We investigate the effects of the fluctuations on the total {gamma}{gamma}, {gamma}*{gamma}* cross sections and the real photon structure function F{sup {gamma}}{sub 2}(x,Q{sup 2}), considering a saturation phenomenological model for the dipole-dipole cross section and scattering amplitude with fluctuations included.

Order parameter fluctuations and collective modes in superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, R.V.

1975-06-01

Measurements of the frequency and wave vector dependence of the pair-field susceptibility and the dynamical structure factor of homogeneous, short mean free path aluminum films have been carried out. These measurements critically probe the dynamical nature of order parameter fluctuations in the vicinity of the superconducting phase transition. Two important results are found. The first is that at temperatures higher than the transition temperature of the aluminum film, the fluctuations of the order parameter can be described by a diffusive time-dependent generalization of the Ginzburg-Landau equation. Detailed comparison of the data to the results of theoretical calculations of Scalapino, and Shenoy and Lee is carried out. Except in the immediate vicinity of the transition, there is excellent agreement with the theories. A major discrepancy between theory and experiment does exist in the vicinity of the superconducting transition, in that the pair relaxation frequency falls well below the theoretical predictions. Possible explanations of this behavior are discussed. Below the transition temperature measurements of the structure factor (Fourier transform of the order parameter-order parameter correlation function) provide the first clear cut demonstration of the existence of a propagating, low frequency, order parameter collective mode which appears as a finite frequency peak in the structure factor. This mode has been identified with fluctuations in the phase of the order parameter and has a linear dispersion relation over the range in which it is observed. A detailed comparison to some of the theoretical explanations is made, with the conclusion that at this time, existing theories do not adequately explain the behavior of the mode over the range of temperature and magnetic field in which it is observed. (4 figures, 4 tables, 86 references) (U.S.)

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

Tertiary Education in the Czech Republic: The Pathway to Change

Science.gov (United States)

Pesik, Richard; Gounko, Tatiana

2011-01-01

This article analyzes recent policy proposals to reform Czech tertiary education. A brief overview of the evolution of Czech tertiary education presents the background against which emerging policy trends in education are examined. We relate the changes in tertiary education to the policy framework and recommendations of the OECD, underpinned by…

Beam energy gain fluctuation in a linac caused by RF system noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakaki, H.; Yoshikawa, H.; Hori, T.; Yokomizo, H.

2002-01-01

In this paper, energy gain fluctuation caused by white noise in a linear accelerator is calculated. First, we formulate a computational procedure to determine the energy gain in the acceleration structure. Then, using this computational procedure, the size of the white noise of the gain is calculated. These noise sources are caused by various RF components, especially the thyratron. The calculated gain fluctuation per one RF system is ±0.054%∼±0.134%(±3σ). In general, it is difficult to control white noise. This gain fluctuation is composed only of the white noise. Therefore, this value has the same meaning as a 'Control threshold'. Thus, the control method can be evaluated based on this value

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

2. Tertiary Foraminifera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Umbgrove, J.H.F.

1931-01-01

In his review of the palaeozoology of Java, K. Martin could in 1919, record 49 foraminifera from tertiary strata of Java, on the strength of a critical study of the existant literature, and especially on the strength of his own studies and knowledge of the above mentioned fossils (Bibl. 49). In

Limits and opportunities of marketeering tertiary education in post-colonial Zimbabwe

OpenAIRE

Patrick Sibanda

2016-01-01

This paper intended to assess the impact of marketeering tertiary education in Zimbabwe. The paper revealed that marketeering of tertiary education in Zimbabwe has drastically impacted on access to higher education and training. Poor and vulnerable students have found it difficult to access tertiary education due to escalating commercialized fees. Literature indicates that, even in developed countries like UK, marketeering tertiary education has led to decreased enrolments, diminishing prospe...

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

Edge transport and mode structure of a QCM-like fluctuation driven by the Shoelace antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Golfinopoulos, T.; LaBombard, B.; Brunner, D.; Terry, J. L.; Baek, S. G.; Ennever, P.; Edlund, E.; Han, W.; Burke, W. M.; Wolfe, S. M.; Irby, J. H.; Hughes, J. W.; Fitzgerald, E. W.; Granetz, R. S.; Greenwald, M. J.; Leccacorvi, R.; Marmar, E. S.; Pierson, S. Z.; Porkolab, M.; Vieira, R. F.; Wukitch, S. J.; The Alcator C-Mod Team

2018-05-01

The Shoelace antenna was built to drive edge fluctuations in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, matching the wavenumber (k\\perp≈1.5 cm‑1) and frequency (30≲ f ≲ 200 kHz) of the quasi-coherent mode (QCM), which is responsible for regulating transport across the plasma boundary in the steady-state, ELM-free Enhanced D α (EDA) H-mode. Initial experiments in 2012 demonstrated that the antenna drove a resonant response in the edge plasma in steady-state EDA and transient, non-ELMy H-modes, but transport measurements were unavailable. In 2016, the Shoelace antenna was relocated to enable direct measurements of driven transport by a reciprocating Mirror Langmuir Probe, while also making available gas puff imaging and reflectometer data to provide additional radial localization of the driven fluctuation. This new data suggests a  ∼4 mm-wide mode layer centered on or just outside the separatrix. Fluctuations coherent with the antenna produced a radial electron flux with {Γ_e}/{n_e}∼4 m s‑1 in EDA H-mode, smaller than but comparable to the QCM level. But in transient ELM-free H-mode, {Γ_e}/{n_e} was an order of magnitude smaller, and driven fluctuations reduced by a factor of ≳ 3. The driven mode is quantitatively similar to the intrinsic QCM across measured spectral quantities, except that it is more coherent and weaker. This work informs the prospect of achieving control of edge transport by direct coupling to edge modes, as well as the use of such active coupling for diagnostic purposes.

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)

Suppression of alloy fluctuations in GaAs-AlGaAs core-shell nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loitsch, Bernhard; Winnerl, Julia; Parzinger, Eric; Matich, Sonja; Wurstbauer, Ursula; Riedl, Hubert; Abstreiter, Gerhard; Finley, Jonathan J.; Koblmüller, Gregor [Walter Schottky Institut and Physik Department, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Jeon, Nari; Lauhon, Lincoln J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208 (United States); Döblinger, Markus [Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, 81377 München (Germany)

2016-08-29

Probing localized alloy fluctuations and controlling them by growth kinetics have been relatively limited so far in nanoscale structures such as semiconductor nanowires (NWs). Here, we demonstrate the tuning of alloy fluctuations in molecular beam epitaxially grown GaAs-AlGaAs core-shell NWs by modifications of shell growth temperature, as investigated by correlated micro-photoluminescence, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography. By reducing the shell growth temperature from T > 600 °C to below 400 °C, we find a strong reduction in alloy fluctuation mediated sharp-line luminescence, concurrent with a decrease in the non-randomness of the alloy distribution in the AlGaAs shell. This trend is further characterized by a change in the alloy compositional structure from unintentional quasi-superlattices of Ga- and Al-rich AlGaAs layers at high T to a nearly homogeneous random alloy distribution at low T.

Recent results of studies of plasma fluctuations in stellarators by microwave scattering technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skvortsova, N.N.; Batanov, G.M.; Kolik, L.V.; Petrov, A.E.; Pshenichnikov, A.A.; Sarksyan, K.A.; Kharchev, N.K.; Khol'nov, Yu.V.; Kubo, S.; Sanchez, J.

2005-01-01

Microwave scattering diagnostics are described that allow direct measurements of the turbulent processes in a high-temperature plasma of magnetic confinement systems. Plasma density fluctuations in the heating region of the L-2M stellarator were measured from microwave scattering at the fundamental and the second harmonics of the heating gyrotron radiation. In the TJ-II stellarator, a separate 2-mm microwave source was used to produce a probing beam; the measurements were performed at the middle of the plasma radius. Plasma density fluctuations in the axial (heating) region of the LHD stellarator were measured from microwave scattering at the fundamental harmonic of the heating gyrotron radiation. Characteristic features of fluctuations, common for all three devices, are revealed with the methods of statistical and spectral analysis. These features are the wide frequency Fourier and wavelet spectra, autocorrelation functions with slowly decreasing tails, and non-Gaussian probability distributions of the magnitudes and the increments of the magnitude of fluctuations. The drift-dissipative instability and the instability driven by trapped electrons are examined as possible sources of turbulence in a high-temperature plasma. Observations showed the high level of coherence between turbulent fluctuations in the central region and at the edge of the plasma in L-2M. It is shown in L-2M that the relative intensity of the second harmonic of gyrotron radiation on the axis of a microwave beam after quasi-optical filtering in a four-mirror quasi-optical transmission line is about -50 dB of the total radiation intensity. Spatiotemporal structures in plasma density fluctuations were observed in the central region of the plasma column. The correlation time between the structures was found to be on the order of 1 ms. It is shown that, the spectrum of the signal from the second-harmonic scattering extends to higher frequencies in comparison with that from the fundamental

General framework for fluctuating dynamic density functional theory

Science.gov (United States)

Durán-Olivencia, Miguel A.; Yatsyshin, Peter; Goddard, Benjamin D.; Kalliadasis, Serafim

2017-12-01

We introduce a versatile bottom-up derivation of a formal theoretical framework to describe (passive) soft-matter systems out of equilibrium subject to fluctuations. We provide a unique connection between the constituent-particle dynamics of real systems and the time evolution equation of their measurable (coarse-grained) quantities, such as local density and velocity. The starting point is the full Hamiltonian description of a system of colloidal particles immersed in a fluid of identical bath particles. Then, we average out the bath via Zwanzig’s projection-operator techniques and obtain the stochastic Langevin equations governing the colloidal-particle dynamics. Introducing the appropriate definition of the local number and momentum density fields yields a generalisation of the Dean-Kawasaki (DK) model, which resembles the stochastic Navier-Stokes description of a fluid. Nevertheless, the DK equation still contains all the microscopic information and, for that reason, does not represent the dynamical law of observable quantities. We address this controversial feature of the DK description by carrying out a nonequilibrium ensemble average. Adopting a natural decomposition into local-equilibrium and nonequilibrium contribution, where the former is related to a generalised version of the canonical distribution, we finally obtain the fluctuating-hydrodynamic equation governing the time-evolution of the mesoscopic density and momentum fields. Along the way, we outline the connection between the ad hoc energy functional introduced in previous DK derivations and the free-energy functional from classical density-functional theory. The resultant equation has the structure of a dynamical density-functional theory (DDFT) with an additional fluctuating force coming from the random interactions with the bath. We show that our fluctuating DDFT formalism corresponds to a particular version of the fluctuating Navier-Stokes equations, originally derived by Landau and Lifshitz

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

Mixed La-Li heterobimetallic complexes for tertiary nitroaldol resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Tosaki, Shin-ya; Hara, Keiichi; Gnanadesikan, Vijay; Morimoto, Hiroyuki; Harada, Shinji; Sugita, Mari; Yamagiwa, Noriyuki; Matsunaga, Shigeki; Shibasaki, Masakatsu

2006-09-13

A kinetic resolution of tertiary nitroaldols derived from simple ketones is described. Mixed BINOL/biphenol La-Li heterobimetallic complexes gave the best selectivity in retro-nitroaldol reactions of racemic tertiary nitroaldols. By using a mixture of La-Li3-(1a)3 complex (LLB 2a) and La-Li3-(1b)3 (LLB* 2b) complex in a ratio of 2/1, chiral tertiary nitroaldols were obtained in 80-97% ee and 30-47% recovery yield.

Massification and Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education: The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study sets out to examine massification and its impact on quality assurance in tertiary education and the extent to which lecturer–student ratio, adequacy of infrastructure and pedagogical resources affect quality in tertiary institutions. Two research questions and one hypothesis were posed to guide the investigation.

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)

Steady-state structural fluctuation is a predictor of the necessity of pausing-mediated co-translational folding for small proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wenxi; Liu, Wanting; Jin, Jingjie; Xiao, Qilan; Lu, Ruibin; Chen, Wei; Xiong, Sheng; Zhang, Gong

2018-03-25

Translational pausing coordinates protein synthesis and co-translational folding. It is a common factor that facilitates the correct folding of large, multi-domain proteins. For small proteins, pausing sites rarely occurs in the gene body, and the 3'-end pausing sites are only essential for the folding of a fraction of proteins. The determinant of the necessity of the pausings remains obscure. In this study, we demonstrated that the steady-state structural fluctuation is a predictor of the necessity of pausing-mediated co-translational folding for small proteins. Validated by experiments with 5 model proteins, we found that the rigid protein structures do not, while the flexible structures do need 3'-end pausings to fold correctly. Therefore, rational optimization of translational pausing can improve soluble expression of small proteins with flexible structures, but not the rigid ones. The rigidity of the structure can be quantitatively estimated in silico using molecular dynamic simulation. Nevertheless, we also found that the translational pausing optimization increases the fitness of the expression host, and thus benefits the recombinant protein production, independent from the soluble expression. These results shed light on the structural basis of the translational pausing and provided a practical tool for industrial protein fermentation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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

Challenges with Tertiary-Level Mechatronic Fluid Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dransfield, Peter; Conrad, Finn

1996-01-01

As authors we take the view that mechatronics, as it relates to fluid power, has three levels which we designate as primary, secondary and tertiary. A brief review of the current status of fluid power, hydraulic and pneumatic, and of electronic control of it is presented and discussed. The focus...... is then on tertiary-level mechatronic fluid power and the challenges to it being applied successfully....

Temporal step fluctuations on a conductor surface: electromigration force, surface resistivity and low-frequency noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, E D; Bondarchuk, O; Tao, C G; Yan, W; Cullen, W G; Rous, P J; Bole, T

2007-01-01

Scattering of charge carriers from surface structures will become an increasing factor in the resistivity as the structure decreases in size to the nanoscale. The effects of scattering at the most basic surface defect, a kink in a step edge, are here analyzed using the continuum step model. Using a Langevin analysis, it has been shown that the electromigration force on the atoms at the step edge causes changes in the temporal evolution of the step-edge. For an electromigration force acting perpendicular to the average step edge and mass-transport dominated by step-edge diffusion, significant deviations from the usual t 1/4 scaling of the displacement correlation function occur dependent on a critical time τ and the direction of the force relative to the step edge (i.e. uphill or downhill). Experimental observations of step fluctuations on Ag(111) show the predicted changes among step fluctuations without current, and with current in the up- and down-hill directions for a current density of order 10 5 A cm -2 . The results yield the magnitude of the electromigration force acting on kinked sites at the step-edge. This in turn yields the contribution of the fluctuating steps to the surface resistivity, which exceeds 1% of the bulk resistivity as wire diameters decrease below 10s of nanometres. The temporal fluctuations of kink density can thus also be related to resistivity noise. Relating the known fluctuation spectrum of the step displacements to fluctuations in their lengths, the corresponding resistivity noise is predicted to show spectral signatures of ∼f -1/2 for step fluctuations governed by random attachment/detachment, and ∼f -3/4 for step fluctuations governed by step-edge diffusion

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.

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

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

Role of model structure on the response of soil biogeochemistry to hydro-climatic fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Manzoni, S.; Porporato, A.

2005-05-01

Soil carbon and nutrient cycles are strongly affected by hydro-climatic variability, which interacts with the internal ecosystem structure. Here we test the implications of biogeochemical model structure on such dynamics by extending an existing model by the authors and coworkers. When forced by hydro-climatic fluctuations, the different model structures induce specific preferential nutrient paths among the soil pools, which in turn affect nutrient distribution and availability to microbes and plants. In particular, if it is assumed that microbes can directly assimilate organic nitrogen, plants tend to be inferior competitors for nutrients even in well-watered conditions, while if a certain amount of organic nitrogen is assumed to be mineralized without being first incorporated into microbial cells, vegetation can be advantaged over a wide range of soil moisture values. We also investigate the intensification of competition for nutrients (e.g., nitrogen) between plant and soil microbial communities under extreme hydrologic conditions, such as droughts and intense storms. Frequent rainfall events may determine ideal soil moisture conditions for plant uptake, enhancing nitrogen leaching while lowering oxygen concentration and inhibiting microbial activity. During droughts, the soil water potential often drops to the point of hampering the plant nutrient uptake while still remaining high enough for microbial decomposition and nitrogen immobilization. The interplay of microbe and vegetation water stress is investigated in depth as it controls the ability of one community (e.g., plants or soil microbes) to establish competitive advantage on the other. The long-term effects of these dynamics of competition and nutrient allocation are explored under steady-state and stochastic soil moisture conditions to analyze the feedbacks between soil organic matter and vegetation dynamics.

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)].

Nonlinear growth dynamics and the origin of fluctuating asymmetry

Science.gov (United States)

Emlen, J.M.; Freeman, D.C.; Graham, J.H.

1993-01-01

The nonlinear, complex nature of biosynthesis magnifies the impacts of small, random perturbations on organism growth, leading to distortions in adaptive allometries and, in particular, to fluctuating asymmetry. These distortions can be partly checked by cell-cell and inter-body part feedback during growth and development, though the latter mechanism also may lead to complex patterns in right-left asymmetry. Stress can be expected to increase the degree to which random growth perturbations are magnified and may also result in disruption of the check mechanisms, thus exaggerating fluctuating asymmetry.The processes described not only provide one explanation for the existence of fluctuating asymmetry and its augmentation under stress, but suggest additional effects of stress as well. Specifically, stress is predicted to lead to decreased fractal dimension of bone sutures and branching structures in animals, and in increased dimension of growth trace patterns such as those found in mollusc shells and fish otoliths and scales.A basic yet broad primer on fractals and chaos is provided as background for the theoretical development in this manuscript.

Driving reconnection in sheared magnetic configurations with forced fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Pongkitiwanichakul, Peera; Makwana, Kirit D.; Ruffolo, David

2018-02-01

We investigate reconnection of magnetic field lines in sheared magnetic field configurations due to fluctuations driven by random forcing by means of numerical simulations. The simulations are performed with an incompressible, pseudo-spectral magnetohydrodynamics code in 2D where we take thick, resistively decaying, current-sheet like sheared magnetic configurations which do not reconnect spontaneously. We describe and test the forcing that is introduced in the momentum equation to drive fluctuations. It is found that the forcing does not change the rate of decay; however, it adds and removes energy faster in the presence of the magnetic shear structure compared to when it has decayed away. We observe that such a forcing can induce magnetic reconnection due to field line wandering leading to the formation of magnetic islands and O-points. These reconnecting field lines spread out as the current sheet decays with time. A semi-empirical formula is derived which reasonably explains the formation and spread of O-points. We find that reconnection spreads faster with stronger forcing and longer correlation time of forcing, while the wavenumber of forcing does not have a significant effect. When the field line wandering becomes large enough, the neighboring current sheets with opposite polarity start interacting, and then the magnetic field is rapidly annihilated. This work is useful to understand how forced fluctuations can drive reconnection in large scale current structures in space and astrophysical plasmas that are not susceptible to reconnection.

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

An investigation of characteristics of thermal stress caused by fluid temperature fluctuation at a T-junction pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyoshi, Koji; Nakamura, Akira; Utanohara, Yoichi

2014-01-01

Thermal fatigue cracking may initiate at a T-junction pipe where high and low temperature fluids flow in from different directions and mix. Thermal stress is caused by a temperature gradient in a structure and by its variation. It is possible to obtain stress distributions if the temperature distributions at the pipe inner surface are obtained by experiments. The wall temperature distributions at a T-junction pipe were measured by experiments. The thermal stress distributions were calculated using the experimental data. The circumferential and axial stress fluctuations were larger than the radial stress fluctuation range. The stress fluctuation at the position of the maximum stress fluctuation had 10sec period. The distribution of the stress fluctuation was similar to that of the temperature fluctuation. The large stress fluctuations were caused by the time variation of the heating region by the hot jet flow. (author)

Geometric and energetic considerations of surface fluctuations during ion transfer across the water-immiscible organic liquid interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karnes, John J.; Benjamin, Ilan, E-mail: benjamin@chemistry.ucsc.edu [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 (United States)

2016-07-07

Molecular dynamics simulations and umbrella sampling free energy calculations are used to examine the thermodynamics, energetics, and structural fluctuations that accompany the transfer of a small hydrophilic ion (Cl{sup −}) across the water/nitrobenzene interface. By examining several constrained interface structures, we isolate the energetic costs of interfacial deformation and co-transfer of hydration waters during the ion transfer. The process is monitored using both energy-based solvation coordinates and a geometric coordinate recently introduced by Morita and co-workers to describe surface fluctuations. Our simulations show that these coordinates provide a complimentary description of the water surface fluctuations during the transfer and are necessary for elucidating the mechanism of the ion transfer.

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

Impact of domestic and tertiary buildings heating by natural gas in the Italian context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aste, Niccolò; Del Pero, Claudio

2012-01-01

Natural Gas (NG) is commonly used for satisfying population needs for heating, domestic hot water production and cooking, particularly in countries where the price of electricity is high. Typically, NG is extensively distributed on urbanized territory and can be exploited by using different technologies. As a consequence, primary energy is usually consumed directly in buildings, allowing high efficiency conversion but also producing pollutants in urban areas. In this paper a comprehensive analysis on NG use in the Italian domestic and tertiary building sector has been carried out, in order to evaluate energy and environmental impact of this fuel on different climatic and geographical contexts, also considering the temporal fluctuation of consumption. The aim of the work is to trace a reliable and up-to-date scenario of NG employment for building heating in Italy, which is one of the EU countries where this source is more widely used. The study was carried out under the research program “Analysis and evaluation of the current status of the reduction measures of environmental impacts due to heating energy consumption in Italy”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment. The data presented are an essential basis for the development of building energy efficiency and consumption rationalization policies. - Highlights: ► Detailed assessment of natural gas consumption and emission for residential and tertiary buildings heating in Italy. ► Estimation of the average specific primary energy consumption for households heating in different climatic contexts. ► Nationwide, it is the first study on the whole country with this level of detail.

Fluctuation Flooding Method (FFM) for accelerating conformational transitions of proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Ryuhei; Takano, Yu; Shigeta, Yasuteru

2014-03-01

A powerful conformational sampling method for accelerating structural transitions of proteins, "Fluctuation Flooding Method (FFM)," is proposed. In FFM, cycles of the following steps enhance the transitions: (i) extractions of largely fluctuating snapshots along anisotropic modes obtained from trajectories of multiple independent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and (ii) conformational re-sampling of the snapshots via re-generations of initial velocities when re-starting MD simulations. In an application to bacteriophage T4 lysozyme, FFM successfully accelerated the open-closed transition with the 6 ns simulation starting solely from the open state, although the 1-μs canonical MD simulation failed to sample such a rare event.

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)

EXPLORING THE TERTIARY EFL STUDENTS' ACADEMIC WRITING COMPETENCIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aunurrahman Aunurrahman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available For tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL students, academic writing is not an easy task. It requires knowledge of the academic writing genres with their particular linguistic features. Moreover, academic writing demands good critical thinking. This research aims to explore the students' academic writing competencies that also focus on critical thinking. The research involved thirty-six first-year tertiary EFL students from a regular class of a private university in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The source for data collection was the students’ texts. Three texts were selected and the students were categorized into low, medium, and high levels of writing achievement. The text analysis utilized functional grammar rooted in systemic functional linguistics (Emilia, 2014. The analysis shows that the students, regardless of their levels of writing achievement, have little control over the schematic structure and linguistic features of an argumentative writing. The text analysis also shows that the students’ texts have some limitations as regards their critical thinking capacity. Still, a few examples of academic language were detected in the texts. The findings suggest that the lecturer should incorporate explicit teaching and cooperative learning activities to alleviate the students' difficulties and develop their academic writing and critical thinking capacity.

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)

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.)

Crime and Crime Management in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Adebanjo, Margaret Adewunmi

2014-01-01

This paper examines crime and its management in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Tertiary institutions today have become arenas for crime activities such as rape, cultism, murder, theft, internet fraud, drug abuse, and examination malpractices. This paper delves into what crime is, and its causes; and the positions of the law on crime management.…

10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

Instantaneous fluctuation velocity and skewness distributions upstream of transition onset

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernon, D.; Walsh, E.J.; McEligot, D.M.

2007-01-01

The development of streamwise orientated disturbances through the boundary layer thickness prior to transition onset for zero-pressure gradient boundary layer flow under the influence %Tu = 4.2 is presented. The analysis concentrates on the development of the maximum positive and negative of the fluctuation velocity in order to gain further insight into the transition process. The average location of the peak negative fluctuation velocity over a range of Reynolds numbers was measured in the upper portion of the boundary layer at y/δ ∼ 0.6, whereas the location of the peak positive value was measured at y/δ ∼ 0.3. The disturbance magnitude of the negative fluctuation velocity increased beyond that of the positive as transition onset approached. The distribution and disturbance magnitude of the maximum positive and negative fluctuation velocities indicate that the initiation of transition may occur on the low-speed components of the flow that are lifted up to the upper region of the boundary layer. This is in qualitative agreement with recent direct numerical simulations on the breakdown of the flow on the lifted low-speed streaks near the boundary layer edge. The results presented in this investigation also demonstrate the increased physical insight gained by examining the distributions of the maximum positive and negative of the streamwise fluctuation velocity component associated with the low- and high-speed streaks, compared to time-averaged values, in determining what structures cause the breakdown to turbulence

Halitosis amongst students in tertiary institutions in Lagos state.

Science.gov (United States)

Arinola, J E; Olukoju, O O

2012-12-01

Halitosis is defined as a noticeable unpleasant odor from the mouth. It is a medico-social problem that affects a significant number of people around the world. Research reveals that nearly 50% of the adult population has halitosis. To determine level of awareness of halitosis and prevalence of the condition amongst students in tertiary institutions as a baseline survey. For this project, 100 students from three tertiary institutions in Lagos state were chosen: University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Ojo campus and Yaba College of Technology. A semi-structured questionnaire and practical testing/diagnostic tool were utilized. Data collected was collated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS statistical software. Most of the respondents were single and Christian. Level of awareness of halitosis was high. Results showed that 15%, 2% and 22% from UNILAG, LASU and YCT respectively said they had halitosis. Using the diagnostic tool, 6%, 8% and 2% respectively were positive for halitosis. There is high level of awareness of halitosis among the respondents. The prevalence of the disorder is low, however, it is recommended that enlightenment campaigns be mounted in schools to improve level of awareness and treatment seeking.

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.

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....

Fluctuations effects in diblock copolymer fluids: Comparison of theories and experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guenza, M.; Schweizer, K.S.

1997-01-01

The analytic Polymer Reference Interaction Site Model (PRISM) theory of structurally and interaction symmetric Gaussian diblock copolymer fluids is reformulated, extended, and applied to make predictions for experimentally observable equilibrium properties of the disordered state. These include the temperature, degree of polymerization, copolymer composition, and polymer density or concentration dependences of the peak scattering intensity, effective chi-parameter, and heat capacity. The location of the order-disorder transition is empirically estimated based on the disordered, strongly fluctuating state scattering function. Detailed numerical applications of PRISM theory demonstrates it provides an excellent description of the data. An in depth comparison of the mathematical structure and predictions of PRISM theory with the highly coarse-grained, incompressible Brazovski endash Leibler endash Fredrickson endash Helfand (BLFH) fluctuation corrected field theory is also carried out. Under some conditions (nearly symmetric composition, high melt densities, moderate temperatures) there are striking mathematical similarities between the predictions of the physically very different theories, although quantitative differences always persist. However, for strongly asymmetric copolymer compositions, short chains, compressible copolymer solutions, and low temperatures many qualitative differences emerge. The possibility of multiple, self-consistent fluctuation feedback mechanisms within the most general PRISM approach are identified, their qualitative features discussed, and contrasted with alternative versions of the fluctuation-corrected incompressible field theories due to BLFH and Stepanow. The predictions of PRISM and BLFH theory for the composition, copolymer density, temperature, and molecular weight dependence of the effective chi-parameter are presented and qualitatively compared with recent experiments. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Geology of drill hole UE25p No. 1: A test hole into pre-Tertiary rocks near Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, M.D.; Waddell, S.J.; Vick, G.S.; Stock, J.M.; Monsen, S.A.; Harris, A.G.; Cork, B.W.; Byers, F.M. Jr.

1986-01-01

Yucca Mountain in southern Nye County, Nevada, has been proposed as a potential site for the underground disposal of high-level nuclear waste. An exploratory drill hole designated UE25p No. 1 was drilled 3 km east of the proposed repository site to investigate the geology and hydrology of the rocks that underlie the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rock sequence forming Yucca Mountain. Silurian dolomite assigned to the Roberts Mountain and Lone Mountain Formations was intersected below the Tertiary section between a depth of approximately 1244 m (4080 ft) and the bottom of the drill hole at 1807 m (5923 ft). These formations are part of an important regional carbonate aquifer in the deep ground-water system. Tertiary units deeper than 1139 m (3733 ft) in drill hole UE25p No. 1 are stratigraphically older than any units previously penetrated by drill holes at Yucca Mountain. These units are, in ascending order, the tuff of Yucca Flat, an unnamed calcified ash-flow tuff, and a sequence of clastic deposits. The upper part of the Tertiary sequence in drill hole UE25p No. 1 is similar to that found in other drill holes at Yucca Mountain. The Tertiary sequence is in fault contact with the Silurian rocks. This fault between Tertiary and Paleozoic rocks may correlate with the Fran Ridge fault, a steeply westward-dipping fault exposed approximately 0.5 km east of the drill hole. Another fault intersects UE25p No. 1 at 873 m (2863 ft), but its surface trace is concealed beneath the valley west of the Fran Ridge fault. The Paintbrush Canyon fault, the trace of which passes less than 100 m (330 ft) east of the drilling site, intersects drill hole UE25p No. 1 at a depth of approximately 78 m (255 ft). The drill hole apparently intersected the west flank of a structural high of pre-Tertiary rocks, near the eastern edge of the Crater Flat structural depression

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.)

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

Tertiary Technical Education and Youth Integration in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Jacinto

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Vocational training versus a traditional university education. This chapter seeks to answer the question of whether ‘tertiary technical education’ has contributed to increasing economic and social opportunity for young people in Latin America, using three case studies from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. It examines the extent to which tertiary technical education has contributed towards democratising access to education through institutional diversification, expanded enrolment and, at least theoretically, improved access to quality employment. The analysis shows that tertiary technical education has contributed to widening of opportunities by offering an alternative form of education to new generations of young people. Tertiary technical education is more accessible, shorter in duration, has a vocational orientation, and tends to be cheaper than a university education. However, the case studies also reveal that while a tertiary technical education diploma is an asset for young people seeking employment, it nonetheless does not have the same perceived value as a traditional university education. Available data appear to indicate that graduates of tertiary technical education earn less on average than university graduates and face several challenges in the labour market. Furthermore, the studies reveal that despite the presence of highly regarded tertiary technical education institutions in all three countries, these carry less prestige and status than universities.

On the distribution of energy versus Alfvénic correlation for polar wind fluctuations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Bavassano

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Previous analyses have shown that polar wind fluctuations at MHD scales appear as a mixture of Alfvénic fluctuations and variations with an energy imbalance in favour of the magnetic term. In the present study, by separately examining the behaviour of kinetic and magnetic energies versus the Alfvénic correlation level, we unambiguously confirm that the second population is essentially related to a large increase of the magnetic energy with respect to that of the Alfvénic population. The relevant new result is that this magnetic population, though of secondary importance in terms of occurrence frequency, corresponds to a primary peak in the distribution of total energy. The fact that this holds in the case of polar wind, which is the least structured type of interplanetary plasma flow and with the slowest evolving Alfvénic turbulence, strongly suggests the general conclusion that magnetic structures cannot be neglected when modeling fluctuations for all kinds of wind regime.

Environmental fluctuations restrict eco-evolutionary dynamics in predator-prey system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiltunen, Teppo; Ayan, Gökçe B; Becks, Lutz

2015-06-07

Environmental fluctuations, species interactions and rapid evolution are all predicted to affect community structure and their temporal dynamics. Although the effects of the abiotic environment and prey evolution on ecological community dynamics have been studied separately, these factors can also have interactive effects. Here we used bacteria-ciliate microcosm experiments to test for eco-evolutionary dynamics in fluctuating environments. Specifically, we followed population dynamics and a prey defence trait over time when populations were exposed to regular changes of bottom-up or top-down stressors, or combinations of these. We found that the rate of evolution of a defence trait was significantly lower in fluctuating compared with stable environments, and that the defence trait evolved to lower levels when two environmental stressors changed recurrently. The latter suggests that top-down and bottom-up changes can have additive effects constraining evolutionary response within populations. The differences in evolutionary trajectories are explained by fluctuations in population sizes of the prey and the predator, which continuously alter the supply of mutations in the prey and strength of selection through predation. Thus, it may be necessary to adopt an eco-evolutionary perspective on studies concerning the evolution of traits mediating species interactions. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. 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

Tertiary recovery and tritide injection equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Lin

1989-01-01

The exploitation of an oil field is a continously developing process, undergoing seveal stages, such as the low production, the high production, the stable production and the decline. The tertiary recovery is an important means of the enhanced oil recovery. Since the object of the tertiary recovery is to treat the oil in micropores which is difficult to be produced, it is more necessary to know further the reservoir. Tritide can be used as a tracer and is an ideal marker of knowing the reservoir and the state of the fluid movement. The paper presents the tritide injection equipment

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.

Inverse heat conduction estimation of inner wall temperature fluctuations under turbulent penetration

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zhouchao; Lu, Tao; Liu, Bo

2017-04-01

Turbulent penetration can occur when hot and cold fluids mix in a horizontal T-junction pipe at nuclear plants. Caused by the unstable turbulent penetration, temperature fluctuations with large amplitude and high frequency can lead to time-varying wall thermal stress and even thermal fatigue on the inner wall. Numerous cases, however, exist where inner wall temperatures cannot be measured and only outer wall temperature measurements are feasible. Therefore, it is one of the popular research areas in nuclear science and engineering to estimate temperature fluctuations on the inner wall from measurements of outer wall temperatures without damaging the structure of the pipe. In this study, both the one-dimensional (1D) and the two-dimensional (2D) inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) were solved to estimate the temperature fluctuations on the inner wall. First, numerical models of both the 1D and the 2D direct heat conduction problem (DHCP) were structured in MATLAB, based on the finite difference method with an implicit scheme. Second, both the 1D IHCP and the 2D IHCP were solved by the steepest descent method (SDM), and the DHCP results of temperatures on the outer wall were used to estimate the temperature fluctuations on the inner wall. Third, we compared the temperature fluctuations on the inner wall estimated by the 1D IHCP with those estimated by the 2D IHCP in four cases: (1) when the maximum disturbance of temperature of fluid inside the pipe was 3°C, (2) when the maximum disturbance of temperature of fluid inside the pipe was 30°C, (3) when the maximum disturbance of temperature of fluid inside the pipe was 160°C, and (4) when the fluid temperatures inside the pipe were random from 50°C to 210°C.

Nonstandard primordial fluctuations from a polynomial inflation potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodges, H.M.; Kofman, L.A.; Primack, J.R.; California Univ., Santa Cruz, CA; California Univ., Berkeley, CA

1990-01-01

We examine in detail the properties of inflation determined from the most general renormalizable potential for a single real scalar field Φ: V(Φ)=AΦ 4 /4+BΦ 3 /3+CΦ 2 /2+V 0 . We find sets of parameters that can strongly break scale invariance, with a valley in the usual Zel'dovich spectrum. Such a valley can lead to earlier galaxy formation and more large scale structure in the Universe than in the usual scale-invariant cold dark matter scenario. We also find that the parameters of the potential can be many orders of magnitude larger than what would be allowed without the inclusion of the cubic term, which can lead to high reheat temperatures T reh ≅ 10 15 GeV. We have mapped out all regions of parameter space and have identified those regions that produce interesting behavior, as well as the entire region that leads to an acceptable inflationary scenario with small enough fluctuations. We further explore the possibility of generating interesting non-gaussian adiabatic density fluctuations from this potential, and find that it is unlikely for general single scalar field potentials that do not contain false vacua in the path of the inflaton, as significant non-gaussian behavior implies too large a fluctuation amplitude. (orig.)

Application of Tryptophan Fluorescence Bandwidth-Maximum Plot in Analysis of Monoclonal Antibody Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Cheng-Yen; Hsieh, Ming-Ching; Zhou, Qinwei

2017-04-01

Monoclonal antibodies have become the fastest growing protein therapeutics in recent years. The stability and heterogeneity pertaining to its physical and chemical structures remain a big challenge. Tryptophan fluorescence has been proven to be a versatile tool to monitor protein tertiary structure. By modeling the tryptophan fluorescence emission envelope with log-normal distribution curves, the quantitative measure can be exercised for the routine characterization of monoclonal antibody overall tertiary structure. Furthermore, the log-normal deconvolution results can be presented as a two-dimensional plot with tryptophan emission bandwidth vs. emission maximum to enhance the resolution when comparing samples or as a function of applied perturbations. We demonstrate this by studying four different monoclonal antibodies, which show the distinction on emission bandwidth-maximum plot despite their similarity in overall amino acid sequences and tertiary structures. This strategy is also used to demonstrate the tertiary structure comparability between different lots manufactured for one of the monoclonal antibodies (mAb2). In addition, in the unfolding transition studies of mAb2 as a function of guanidine hydrochloride concentration, the evolution of the tertiary structure can be clearly traced in the emission bandwidth-maximum plot.

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.)

Searching for gluon number fluctuations effects in eA collisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kugeratski, M. S. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Joinville, Rua Presidente Prudente de Moraes, 406, CEP 89218-000, Joinville, SC (Brazil); Gonçalves, V. P.; Santana Amaral, J. T. de [Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Caixa Postal 354, CEP 96010-900, Pelotas, RS (Brazil)

2014-11-11

We propose to investigate the gluon number fluctuations effects in deep inelastic electron-ion scattering at high energies. We estimate the nuclear structure function F{sub 2}{sup A}(x,Q{sup 2}), as well the longitudinal and charm contributions, using a generalization for nuclear targets of the Golec-Biernat-Wusthoff (GBW) model which describes the electron proton HERA data. Here we consider that the nucleus at high energies acts as an amplifier of the physics of high parton densities. For a first investigation we study the scattering with Ca and Pb nuclei. Our preliminary results predict that the effects of gluon number fluctuations are small in the region of the future electron ion collider.

Localization of fluctuation measurement by wave scattering close to a cut off layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zou, X.L.; Laurent, L.; Rax, J.M.; Lehner, T.

1990-01-01

The diagnostic of plasma fluctuations in tokamaks based on the scattering of an electromagnetic wave close to a cut off layer is investigated. A linear density profile is considered. An one-dimensional exact analysis is performed. Spatial and spectral localization of scattering process close to the cut off layer is studied and a modified Bragg rule is derived. The structure of pump and of scattered waves is analyzed. The diagnostic seems to be local and sensitive for low R fluctuations

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.

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.

Solvent effects on the magnetic shielding of tertiary butyl alcohol

African Journals Online (AJOL)

)4 and tetramethyl ammonium cation N(CH3)4(+) have also been presented. KEY WORDS: Solvent effects, Magnetic shielding, Tertiary butyl alcohol, Tertiary butyl amine, Continuum solvation calculations, Chemical shift estimation methods

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.

Ensuring Effective Mentoring in Tertiary Institutions in Anambra State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper concerns itself only with ascertaining the strategies that could ensure effective mentoring in tertiary institutions. The survey method was employed. The study population comprised 78 teacher educators in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. One research question guided the study while one null hypothesis was ...

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

A Case Series of the Probability Density and Cumulative Distribution of Laryngeal Disease in a Tertiary Care Voice Center.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Fuente, Jaime; Garrett, C Gaelyn; Ossoff, Robert; Vinson, Kim; Francis, David O; Gelbard, Alexander

2017-11-01

To examine the distribution of clinic and operative pathology in a tertiary care laryngology practice. Probability density and cumulative distribution analyses (Pareto analysis) was used to rank order laryngeal conditions seen in an outpatient tertiary care laryngology practice and those requiring surgical intervention during a 3-year period. Among 3783 new clinic consultations and 1380 operative procedures, voice disorders were the most common primary diagnostic category seen in clinic (n = 3223), followed by airway (n = 374) and swallowing (n = 186) disorders. Within the voice strata, the most common primary ICD-9 code used was dysphonia (41%), followed by unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) (9%) and cough (7%). Among new voice patients, 45% were found to have a structural abnormality. The most common surgical indications were laryngotracheal stenosis (37%), followed by recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (18%) and UVFP (17%). Nearly 55% of patients presenting to a tertiary referral laryngology practice did not have an identifiable structural abnormality in the larynx on direct or indirect examination. The distribution of ICD-9 codes requiring surgical intervention was disparate from that seen in clinic. Application of the Pareto principle may improve resource allocation in laryngology, but these initial results require confirmation across multiple institutions.

Spectroscopic interpretation and velocimetry analysis of fluctuations in a cylindrical plasma recorded by a fast camera

Science.gov (United States)

Oldenbürger, S.; Brandt, C.; Brochard, F.; Lemoine, N.; Bonhomme, G.

2010-06-01

Fast visible imaging is used on a cylindrical magnetized argon plasma produced by thermionic discharge in the Mirabelle device. To link the information collected with the camera to a physical quantity, fast camera movies of plasma structures are compared to Langmuir probe measurements. High correlation is found between light fluctuations and plasma density fluctuations. Contributions from neutral argon and ionized argon to the overall light intensity are separated by using interference filters and a light intensifier. Light emitting transitions are shown to involve a metastable neutral argon state that can be excited by thermal plasma electrons, thus explaining the good correlation between light and density fluctuations. The propagation velocity of plasma structures is calculated by adapting velocimetry methods to the fast camera movies. The resulting estimates of instantaneous propagation velocity are in agreement with former experiments. The computation of mean velocities is discussed.

Spectroscopic interpretation and velocimetry analysis of fluctuations in a cylindrical plasma recorded by a fast camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oldenbuerger, S.; Brandt, C.; Brochard, F.; Lemoine, N.; Bonhomme, G.

2010-01-01

Fast visible imaging is used on a cylindrical magnetized argon plasma produced by thermionic discharge in the Mirabelle device. To link the information collected with the camera to a physical quantity, fast camera movies of plasma structures are compared to Langmuir probe measurements. High correlation is found between light fluctuations and plasma density fluctuations. Contributions from neutral argon and ionized argon to the overall light intensity are separated by using interference filters and a light intensifier. Light emitting transitions are shown to involve a metastable neutral argon state that can be excited by thermal plasma electrons, thus explaining the good correlation between light and density fluctuations. The propagation velocity of plasma structures is calculated by adapting velocimetry methods to the fast camera movies. The resulting estimates of instantaneous propagation velocity are in agreement with former experiments. The computation of mean velocities is discussed.

Detecting method for crude oil price fluctuation mechanism under different periodic time series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Xiangyun; Fang, Wei; An, Feng; Wang, Yue

2017-01-01

Highlights: • We proposed the concept of autoregressive modes to indicate the fluctuation patterns. • We constructed transmission networks for studying the fluctuation mechanism. • There are different fluctuation mechanism under different periodic time series. • Only a few types of autoregressive modes control the fluctuations in crude oil price. • There are cluster effects during the fluctuation mechanism of autoregressive modes. - Abstract: Current existing literatures can characterize the long-term fluctuation of crude oil price time series, however, it is difficult to detect the fluctuation mechanism specifically under short term. Because each fluctuation pattern for one short period contained in a long-term crude oil price time series have dynamic characteristics of diversity; in other words, there exhibit various fluctuation patterns in different short periods and transmit to each other, which reflects the reputedly complicate and chaotic oil market. Thus, we proposed an incorporated method to detect the fluctuation mechanism, which is the evolution of the different fluctuation patterns over time from the complex network perspective. We divided crude oil price time series into segments using sliding time windows, and defined autoregressive modes based on regression models to indicate the fluctuation patterns of each segment. Hence, the transmissions between different types of autoregressive modes over time form a transmission network that contains rich dynamic information. We then capture transmission characteristics of autoregressive modes under different periodic time series through the structure features of the transmission networks. The results indicate that there are various autoregressive modes with significantly different statistical characteristics under different periodic time series. However, only a few types of autoregressive modes and transmission patterns play a major role in the fluctuation mechanism of the crude oil price, and these

Population structure, fluctuating asymmetry and genetic variability in an endemic and highly isolated Astyanax fish population (Characidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Claudia Gross

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Morphological and chromosomal markers were used to infer the structure and genetic variability of a population of fish of the genus Astyanax, geographically isolated at sinkhole 2 of Vila Velha State Park, Paraná, Brazil. Two morphotypes types were observed, the standard phenotype I and phenotype II which showed an anatomical alteration probably due to an inbreeding process. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA analysis of different characters showed low levels of morphological variation among the population from sinkhole 2 and in another population from the Tibagi river (Paraná, Brazil. The Astyanax karyotype was characterized in terms of chromosomal morphology, constitutive heterochromatin and nucleolar organizer regions. Males and females presented similar karyotypes (2n=48, 6M+18SM+14ST+10A with no evidence of a sex chromosome system. One female from sinkhole 2 was a natural triploid with 2n=3x=72 chromosomes (9M+27SM+21ST+15A. The data are discussed regarding the maintenance of population structure and their evolutionary importance, our data suggesting that Astyanax from the Vila Velha State Park sinkhole 2 is a recently isolated population.

Fluctuations around classical solutions for gauge theories in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miskovic, Olivera; Pons, Josep M

2006-01-01

We analyse the dynamics of gauge theories and constrained systems in general under small perturbations around a classical solution in both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms. We prove that a fluctuations theory, described by a quadratic Lagrangian, has the same constraint structure and number of physical degrees of freedom as the original non-perturbed theory, assuming the non-degenerate solution has been chosen. We show that the number of Noether gauge symmetries is the same in both theories, but that the gauge algebra in the fluctuations theory becomes Abelianized. We also show that the fluctuations theory inherits all functionally independent rigid symmetries from the original theory and that these symmetries are generated by linear or quadratic generators according to whether the original symmetry is preserved by the background or is broken by it. We illustrate these results with examples

Parathyroid carcinoma in tertiary hyperparathyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byung Seup; Ryu, Han Suk; Kang, Kyung Ho; Park, Sung Jun

2016-10-01

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease of unknown etiology. This study presents a case of parathyroid carcinoma in a patient with tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Despite a successful kidney transplantation, the intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level of the patient was elevated consistently and could not be controlled by medical therapy. Due to the development of tertiary hyperparathyroidism with bone pain and osteoporosis, subtotal parathyroidectomy was performed 4 months after the kidney transplantation. Histological evaluation revealed that one of four parathyroid lesions was a parathyroid carcinoma, while the others were diffuse hyperplasia. Postoperative laboratory studies indicated a decreased level of iPTH. A positron emission tomography-computed tomography performed 6 months after the operation revealed no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Taiwan.

Spatio-temporal observations of the tertiary ozone maximum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. F. Sofieva

2009-07-01

Full Text Available We present spatio-temporal distributions of the tertiary ozone maximum (TOM, based on GOMOS (Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars ozone measurements in 2002–2006. The tertiary ozone maximum is typically observed in the high-latitude winter mesosphere at an altitude of ~72 km. Although the explanation for this phenomenon has been found recently – low concentrations of odd-hydrogen cause the subsequent decrease in odd-oxygen losses – models have had significant deviations from existing observations until recently. Good coverage of polar night regions by GOMOS data has allowed for the first time to obtain spatial and temporal observational distributions of night-time ozone mixing ratio in the mesosphere.

The distributions obtained from GOMOS data have specific features, which are variable from year to year. In particular, due to a long lifetime of ozone in polar night conditions, the downward transport of polar air by the meridional circulation is clearly observed in the tertiary ozone maximum time series. Although the maximum tertiary ozone mixing ratio is achieved close to the polar night terminator (as predicted by the theory, TOM can be observed also at very high latitudes, not only in the beginning and at the end, but also in the middle of winter. We have compared the observational spatio-temporal distributions of the tertiary ozone maximum with that obtained using WACCM (Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model and found that the specific features are reproduced satisfactorily by the model.

Since ozone in the mesosphere is very sensitive to HO_x concentrations, energetic particle precipitation can significantly modify the shape of the ozone profiles. In particular, GOMOS observations have shown that the tertiary ozone maximum was temporarily destroyed during the January 2005 and December 2006 solar proton events as a result of the HO_x enhancement from the increased ionization.

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...

The spectrum of small-scale density fluctuations in the solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Readhead, A.C.S.; Kemp, M.C.; Hewish, A.

1978-01-01

Interplanetary scintillation observations at frequencies between 74 and 1400 MHz and solar elongations in the range 10 to 90 0 are combined to determine the form of the wavenumber spectrum of electron density fluctuations in the range 10 -3 -1 /km (where k = 2π/lambda). The data are best explained by a spectrum in which there is a genuine scale-length; they are not consistent with a simple power-law spectrum. This suggests that turbulence may be less important than some kind of plasma instability in generating small-scale density fluctuations. The relevance of these conclusions to the use of IPS for determining radio source structure is discussed. (author)

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)

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.

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.

PROCESS FEATURES OF FLUCTUATIONS PROPAGATION AT STRESS-STRAIN WORK OF THE RAILWAY TRACK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. O. Bondarenko

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Scientific work aims at the determination the basic laws of fluctuations propagation process from exitation of rolling stock in the design system of permanent way and substructures of the railway lines for studing the deformation processes as the basis for a regulatory framework of the track operation in the conditions of ensuring the reliability of railways. Methodology. To achieve the aim the principles of elasticity theories and wave propagation process in describing the interaction track and rolling stock were applied. Findings. The kinds of fluctuations and system which should be used when considering the fluctuations in the deformation process of rail track were established. The general view of the displacement function was determined. Originality. The theoretical concepts and principles to consider fluctuations of a structures system of permanent way and substructures of the railway track, energised by rolling stock were grounded. This will allow studing the process of deformation work of the mentioned system, which changes its state. That in turn will allow us to determine the parameters of the trains functional reliability, as part of the security passes of rolling stock on the track section with regard to its technical condition. Practical value. Usually for safe crossing of rolling stock parameters of fluctuation process in the system «vehicle-track» are determined. Existing models or carefully consider fluctuations of rolling stock in generalized characteristics of the structures of permanent way and substructures of the railway tracks or view of quasi-dynamic fluctuations rails with general characteristics of under rail base. This review process of oscillations, energised by rolling stock and delivered to all the elements of the permanent way and substructures of the railway track do not allow determining both the reliability parameters of elements in the system of track construction and parameters of functional

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.

Determinants of propensity of tertiary agricultural students in Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study aimed to identify factors that affect the decision of tertiary agricultural students in Ghana to enter agribusiness as a self-employment venture after graduation. The results showed that tertiary agricultural students in Ghana were predominantly males with little or no farming background. They had a rather moderate ...

Structure discrimination for the C-terminal domain of Escherichia coli trigger factor in solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Yong; Bhabha, Gira; Kroon, Gerard; Landes, Mindy; Dyson, H. Jane

2008-01-01

overall rather flexible. These results indicate that the structure of this domain in solution resembles the X-ray crystal structure of the E. coli protein in secondary structure and at least some tertiary contacts, but that the overall topology differs in solution, probably due to structural fluctuation

Planets in other universes: habitability constraints on density fluctuations and galactic structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, Fred C.; Coppess, Katherine R. [Physics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Bloch, Anthony M., E-mail: fca@umich.edu, E-mail: kcoppess@umich.edu, E-mail: abloch@umich.edu [Mathematics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2015-09-01

Motivated by the possibility that different versions of the laws of physics could be realized within other universes, this paper delineates the galactic structure parameters that allow for habitable planets and revisits constraints on the amplitude Q of the primordial density fluctuations. Previous work indicates that large values of Q lead to galaxies so dense that planetary orbits cannot survive long enough for life to develop. Small values of Q lead to delayed star formation, loosely bound galaxies, and compromised heavy element retention. This work generalizes previous treatments in the following directions: [A] We consider models for the internal structure of the galaxies, including a range of stellar densities, and find the fraction of the resulting galactic real estate that allows for stable, long-lived planetary orbits. [B] For high velocity encounters, we perform a large ensemble of numerical simulations to estimate cross sections for the disruption of planetary orbits due to interactions with passing stars. [C] We consider the background radiation fields produced by the galaxies: if a galaxy is too compact, the night sky seen from a potentially habitable planet can provide more power than the host star. [D] One consequence of intense galactic background radiation fields is that some portion of the galaxy, denoted as the Galactic Habitable Zone, will provide the right flux levels to support habitable planets for essentially any planetary orbit including freely floating bodies (but excluding close-in planets). As the value of Q increases, the fraction of stars in a galaxy that allow for (traditional) habitable planets decreases due to both orbital disruption and the intense background radiation. However, the outer parts of the galaxy always allow for habitable planets, so that the value of Q does not have a well-defined upper limit (due to scattering or radiation constraints). Moreover, some Galactic Habitable Zones are large enough to support more

Planets in other universes: habitability constraints on density fluctuations and galactic structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, Fred C.; Coppess, Katherine R.; Bloch, Anthony M.

2015-01-01

Motivated by the possibility that different versions of the laws of physics could be realized within other universes, this paper delineates the galactic structure parameters that allow for habitable planets and revisits constraints on the amplitude Q of the primordial density fluctuations. Previous work indicates that large values of Q lead to galaxies so dense that planetary orbits cannot survive long enough for life to develop. Small values of Q lead to delayed star formation, loosely bound galaxies, and compromised heavy element retention. This work generalizes previous treatments in the following directions: [A] We consider models for the internal structure of the galaxies, including a range of stellar densities, and find the fraction of the resulting galactic real estate that allows for stable, long-lived planetary orbits. [B] For high velocity encounters, we perform a large ensemble of numerical simulations to estimate cross sections for the disruption of planetary orbits due to interactions with passing stars. [C] We consider the background radiation fields produced by the galaxies: if a galaxy is too compact, the night sky seen from a potentially habitable planet can provide more power than the host star. [D] One consequence of intense galactic background radiation fields is that some portion of the galaxy, denoted as the Galactic Habitable Zone, will provide the right flux levels to support habitable planets for essentially any planetary orbit including freely floating bodies (but excluding close-in planets). As the value of Q increases, the fraction of stars in a galaxy that allow for (traditional) habitable planets decreases due to both orbital disruption and the intense background radiation. However, the outer parts of the galaxy always allow for habitable planets, so that the value of Q does not have a well-defined upper limit (due to scattering or radiation constraints). Moreover, some Galactic Habitable Zones are large enough to support more

Studying the ICM in clusters of galaxies via surface brightness fluctuations of the cosmic X-ray background

Science.gov (United States)

Kolodzig, Alexander; Gilfanov, Marat; Hütsi, Gert; Sunyaev, Rashid

2018-02-01

We study surface brightness fluctuations of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) using Chandra data of XBOOTES. After masking out resolved sources we compute the power spectrum of fluctuations of the unresolved CXB for angular scales from {≈ } 2 arcsec to ≈3°. The non-trivial large-scale structure (LSS) signal dominates over the shot noise of unresolved point sources on angular scales above {˜ } 1 arcmin and is produced mainly by the intracluster medium (ICM) of unresolved clusters and groups of galaxies, as shown in our previous publication. The shot-noise-subtracted power spectrum of CXB fluctuations has a power-law shape with the slope of Γ = 0.96 ± 0.06. Their energy spectrum is well described by the redshifted emission spectrum of optically thin plasma with the best-fitting temperature of T ≈ 1.3 keV and the best-fitting redshift of z ≈ 0.40. These numbers are in good agreement with theoretical expectations based on the X-ray luminosity function and scaling relations of clusters. From these values we estimate the typical mass and luminosity of the objects responsible for CXB fluctuations, M500 ∼ 1013.6 M⊙ h-1 and L0.5-2.0 keV ∼ 1042.5 erg s-1. On the other hand, the flux-weighted mean temperature and redshift of resolved clusters are T ≈ 2.4 keV and z ≈ 0.23 confirming that fluctuations of unresolved CXB are caused by cooler (i.e. less massive) and more distant clusters, as expected. We show that the power spectrum shape is sensitive to the ICM structure all the way to the outskirts, out to ∼few × R500. We also searched for possible contribution of the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) to the observed CXB fluctuations. Our results underline the significant diagnostic potential of the CXB fluctuation analysis in studying the ICM structure in clusters.

Approximate bilateral symmetry in evaporation-induced polycrystalline structures from droplets of wheat grain leakages and fluctuating asymmetry as quality indicator

Science.gov (United States)

Kokornaczyk, Maria Olga; Dinelli, Giovanni; Betti, Lucietta

2013-01-01

The present paper reports on an observation that dendrite-like polycrystalline structures from evaporating droplets of wheat grain leakages exhibit bilateral symmetry. The exactness of this symmetry, measured by means of fluctuating asymmetry, varies depending on the cultivar and stress factor influence, and seems to correspond to the seed germination rate. In the bodies of plants, animals, and humans, the exactness of bilateral symmetry is known to reflect the environmental conditions of an organism's growth, its health, and its success in sexual selection. In polycrystalline structures, formed under the same conditions, the symmetry exactness depends on the properties of the crystallizing solution such as the composition and viscosity; however, it has never been associated with sample quality. We hypothesize here that, as in living nature, the exactness of approximate bilateral symmetry might be considered a quality indicator also in crystallographic methods applied to food quality analysis.

American Tertiary mollusks of the genus Clementia

Science.gov (United States)

Woodring, W.P.

1927-01-01

Aside from its value as an aid in determining the age of Tertiary beds, the chief interest of the genus Clementia lies in the anomalous features of its present and former distribution. An attempt is made in this paper to trace its geologic history, to point out its paleobiologic significance, and to describe all the known American Tertiary species. The fossils from Colombia used in preparing this report were collected during explorations made under the direction of Dr. 0. B. Hopkins, chief geologist of the Imperial Oil Co. (Ltd.), who kindly donated them to the United States National Museum. Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, furnished information relating to specimens collected by him in Mexico. Dr. Bruce L. Clark, of the University of California; Dr. G. Dallas Hanna, of the California Academy of Sciences; Dr. H. A. Pilsbry, of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences; and Dr. W. D. Matthew, of the American Museum of Natural History, generously loaned type specimens and other material. Doctor Clark and Doctor Hanna also gave information concerning the Tertiary species from California. Mr. Ralph B. Stewart, of the University of California, read the manuscript, and I have taken advantage of his suggestions. I am also indebted to Mr. L. R. Cox, of the British Museum, for information relating to the fossil species from Persia, Zanzibar, and Burma, and to Dr. Axel A. Olsson, of the International Petroleum Co., for data concerning undescribed Tertiary species from Peru.

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

Amphibian and reptile road-kills on tertiary roads in relation to landscape structure: using a citizen science approach with open-access land cover data.

Science.gov (United States)

Heigl, Florian; Horvath, Kathrin; Laaha, Gregor; Zaller, Johann G

2017-06-26

Amphibians and reptiles are among the most endangered vertebrate species worldwide. However, little is known how they are affected by road-kills on tertiary roads and whether the surrounding landscape structure can explain road-kill patterns. The aim of our study was to examine the applicability of open-access remote sensing data for a large-scale citizen science approach to describe spatial patterns of road-killed amphibians and reptiles on tertiary roads. Using a citizen science app we monitored road-kills of amphibians and reptiles along 97.5 km of tertiary roads covering agricultural, municipal and interurban roads as well as cycling paths in eastern Austria over two seasons. Surrounding landscape was assessed using open access land cover classes for the region (Coordination of Information on the Environment, CORINE). Hotspot analysis was performed using kernel density estimation (KDE+). Relations between land cover classes and amphibian and reptile road-kills were analysed with conditional probabilities and general linear models (GLM). We also estimated the potential cost-efficiency of a large scale citizen science monitoring project. We recorded 180 amphibian and 72 reptile road-kills comprising eight species mainly occurring on agricultural roads. KDE+ analyses revealed a significant clustering of road-killed amphibians and reptiles, which is an important information for authorities aiming to mitigate road-kills. Overall, hotspots of amphibian and reptile road-kills were next to the land cover classes arable land, suburban areas and vineyards. Conditional probabilities and GLMs identified road-kills especially next to preferred habitats of green toad, common toad and grass snake, the most often found road-killed species. A citizen science approach appeared to be more cost-efficient than monitoring by professional researchers only when more than 400 km of road are monitored. Our findings showed that freely available remote sensing data in combination with a

Yb(OTf){sub 3}-catalyzed one-pot three component synthesis for tertiary amines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Bum Seok; Kim, Ji Hye; Nam, Tae Kyu; Jang, Doo Ok [Dept. of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Wonju (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

Tertiary amine functionality is found in many natural bioactive products such as alkaloids, amino acids, nucleic acids, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals. Tertiary amines have also been used as building blocks for nitrogen-containing organic compounds and synthetic polymers. A one-pot method for direct reductive amination of aldehydes has been developed to synthesize tertiary amines using HMDS as a nitrogen source in the presence of Yb(OTf ){sub 3}. With a stoichiometric amount of HMDS, the reaction afforded the desired tertiary amines without competitive reduction of the parent carbonyl compounds. This reaction offers a convenient and efficient protocol for synthesizing aromatic and aliphatic tertiary amines under mild reaction conditions.

Curriculum Development in Outdoor Education: Tasmanian Teachers' Perspectives on the New Pre-Tertiary Outdoor Leadership Course

Science.gov (United States)

Dyment, Janet; Morse, Marcus; Shaw, Simon; Smith, Heidi

2014-01-01

The paper examines how outdoor education teachers in Tasmania, Australia have implemented and perceive a new pre-tertiary Outdoor Leadership curriculum document. It draws on an analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 outdoor education teachers. The results revealed that teachers were generally welcoming of the new higher-order…

Void fraction fluctuations in two-phase gas-liquid flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulbrich, R.

1987-01-01

Designs of the apparatus in which two-phase gas-liquid flow occurs are usually based on the mean value of parameters such as pressure drop and void fraction. The flow of two-phase mixtures generally presents a very complicated flow structure, both in terms of the unsteady formation on the interfacial area and in terms of the fluctuations of the velocity, pressure and other variables within the flow. When the gas void fraction is near 0 or 1 / bubble or dispersed flow regimes / then oscillations of void fraction are very small. The intermittent flow such as plug and slug/ froth is characterized by alternately flow portions of liquid and gas. It influences the change of void fractions in time. The results of experimental research of gas void fraction fluctuations in two-phase adiabatic gas-liquid flow in a vertical pipe are presented

Electronic structure, superconductivity, and spin fluctuations in the A15 compounds A3B: A = V, Nb; B = Ir,Pt,Au

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarlborg, T.; Junod, A.; Peter, M.

1983-01-01

The electronic structure of six A15 compounds V 3 Ir, V 3 Pt, V 3 Au, Nb 3 Ir, Nb 3 Pt, and Nb 3 Au has been determined by means of self-consistent semirelativistic linear muffin-tin orbital band calculations. Parameters related to superconductivity such as electron-phonon coupling, transition temperature, electronic specific heat, and magnetic exchange enhancement are derived from the electronic-structure results. Generally the results obtained agree well with experimental values, with the exception of Nb 3 Pt and V 3 Au. In the former compound the density of states (DOS) has a sharp increase at E/sub F/ making the exact DOS value uncertain. In V 3 Au the high calculated T/sub c/ and the Stoner factor indicate that spin fluctuations may be limiting the T/sub c/. .AE

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

Productivity and species composition of algal mat communities exposed to a fluctuating thermal regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tison, D.L.; Wilde, E.W.; Pope, D.H.; Fliermans, C.B.

1981-01-01

Algal mat communities growing in thermal effluents of production nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant, near Aiken, SC, are exposed to large temperature fluctuations resulting from reactor operations. Rates of primary production and species composition were monitored at 4 sites along a thermal gradient in a trough microcosm to determine how these large temperature fluctuations affected productivity and algal community structure. Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) were the only phototrophic primary producers growing in water above 45 0 C. These thermophiles were able to survive and apparently adapt to ambient temperatures when the reactor was shut down. The algal mat communities exposed to 14 C-labeled dissolved organic compounds and a decrease in primary production were observed during periods of thermal fluctuation. The results show that the dominant phototrophs in this artificially heated aquatic habitat have been selected for their abiity to survive large temperature fluctuations and are similar to those of natural hot springs

Barrancaceae: A new green algal lineage with structural and behavioral adaptations to a fluctuating environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Caisová, Lenka; Reyes, Carolina Pérez; Álamo, Virginia Cruz; Quintana, Antera Martel; Surek, Barbara; Melkonian, Michael

2015-09-01

To enhance our knowledge of the diversity of microalgae, a phycological survey of the Canary Islands (Spain) was undertaken. Here we report the discovery of a (semi)terrestrial green filamentous alga isolated from a steep volcanic canyon on La Palma. This alga is continually exposed to changing weather conditions (floods vs. droughts) and thus provides a good opportunity to investigate possible adaptations to a semiterrestrial habitat with large fluctuations of environmental parameters. We used axenic cultures, simulated flood and drought stresses and studied their effect on the life history of the alga using light, confocal laser scanning and scanning electron microscopy including fluorescent staining. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses using rDNA sequence comparisons were performed. Three specific life-history traits that likely represent adaptations to the fluctuating environment of the canyon were observed: (1) fragmentation through "filament splitting", a unique branching mechanism not reported before in algae and initiated by formation of oblique cross walls, (2) aplanospore formation, and (3) reproduction by multiflagellate zoospores with 4-24 flagella arranged in groups of four. Phylogenetic analyses identified the alga as Barranca multiflagellata gen. et sp. nov. (Barrancaceae fam. nov., Chaetophorales, Chlorophyceae). Moreover, the Chaetophoraceae Greville, 1824 was emended and a new family, Uronemataceae (fam. nov.) erected. The discovery of Barrancaceae fam. nov. highlights the importance of investigating nonconventional habitats to explore microalgal diversity. The reproductive versatility demonstrated by Barranca suggests adaptation to a semiterrestrial habitat with large fluctuations in water availability. © 2015 Botanical Society of America.

Current fluctuation of electron and hole carriers in multilayer WSe{sub 2} field effect transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ko, Seung-Pil; Shin, Jong Mok; Jang, Ho-Kyun; Jin, Jun Eon; Kim, Gyu-Tae, E-mail: gtkim@korea.ac.kr [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02481 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yong Jin; Kim, Young Keun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02481 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Minju [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02481 (Korea, Republic of); IMEP-LAHC, Grenoble INP-MINATEC, 3 Parvis Louis Neel, 38016 Grenoble (France)

2015-12-14

Two-dimensional materials have outstanding scalability due to their structural and electrical properties for the logic devices. Here, we report the current fluctuation in multilayer WSe{sub 2} field effect transistors (FETs). In order to demonstrate the impact on carrier types, n-type and p-type WSe{sub 2} FETs are fabricated with different work function metals. Each device has similar electrical characteristics except for the threshold voltage. In the low frequency noise analysis, drain current power spectral density (S{sub I}) is inversely proportional to frequency, indicating typical 1/f noise behaviors. The curves of the normalized drain current power spectral density (NS{sub I}) as a function of drain current at the 10 Hz of frequency indicate that our devices follow the carrier number fluctuation with correlated mobility fluctuation model. This means that current fluctuation depends on the trapping-detrapping motion of the charge carriers near the channel interface. No significant difference is observed in the current fluctuation according to the charge carrier type, electrons and holes that occurred in the junction and channel region.

Surface and finite size effect on fluctuations dynamics in nanoparticles with long-range order

Science.gov (United States)

Morozovska, A. N.; Eliseev, E. A.

2010-02-01

The influence of surface and finite size on the dynamics of the order parameter fluctuations and critical phenomena in the three-dimensional (3D)-confined systems with long-range order was not considered theoretically. In this paper, we study the influence of surface and finite size on the dynamics of the order parameter fluctuations in the particles of arbitrary shape. We consider concrete examples of the spherical and cylindrical ferroic nanoparticles within Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach. Allowing for the strong surface energy contribution in micro and nanoparticles, the analytical expressions derived for the Ornstein-Zernike correlator of the long-range order parameter spatial-temporal fluctuations, dynamic generalized susceptibility, relaxation times, and correlation radii discrete spectra are different from those known for bulk systems. Obtained analytical expressions for the correlation function of the order parameter spatial-temporal fluctuations in micro and nanosized systems can be useful for the quantitative analysis of the dynamical structural factors determined from magnetic resonance diffraction and scattering spectra. Besides the practical importance of the correlation function for the analysis of the experimental data, derived expressions for the fluctuations strength determine the fundamental limits of phenomenological theories applicability for 3D-confined systems.

Exploiting intrinsic fluctuations to identify model parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmer, Christoph; Sahle, Sven; Pahle, Jürgen

2015-04-01

Parameterisation of kinetic models plays a central role in computational systems biology. Besides the lack of experimental data of high enough quality, some of the biggest challenges here are identification issues. Model parameters can be structurally non-identifiable because of functional relationships. Noise in measured data is usually considered to be a nuisance for parameter estimation. However, it turns out that intrinsic fluctuations in particle numbers can make parameters identifiable that were previously non-identifiable. The authors present a method to identify model parameters that are structurally non-identifiable in a deterministic framework. The method takes time course recordings of biochemical systems in steady state or transient state as input. Often a functional relationship between parameters presents itself by a one-dimensional manifold in parameter space containing parameter sets of optimal goodness. Although the system's behaviour cannot be distinguished on this manifold in a deterministic framework it might be distinguishable in a stochastic modelling framework. Their method exploits this by using an objective function that includes a measure for fluctuations in particle numbers. They show on three example models, immigration-death, gene expression and Epo-EpoReceptor interaction, that this resolves the non-identifiability even in the case of measurement noise with known amplitude. The method is applied to partially observed recordings of biochemical systems with measurement noise. It is simple to implement and it is usually very fast to compute. This optimisation can be realised in a classical or Bayesian fashion.

Spherical harmonics analysis of surface density fluctuations of spherical ionic SDS and nonionic C12E8 micelles: A molecular dynamics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshii, Noriyuki; Nimura, Yuki; Fujimoto, Kazushi; Okazaki, Susumu

2017-07-21

The surface structure and its fluctuation of spherical micelles were investigated using a series of density correlation functions newly defined by spherical harmonics and Legendre polynomials based on the molecular dynamics calculations. To investigate the influence of head-group charges on the micelle surface structure, ionic sodium dodecyl sulfate and nonionic octaethyleneglycol monododecylether (C 12 E 8 ) micelles were investigated as model systems. Large-scale density fluctuations were observed for both micelles in the calculated surface static structure factor. The area compressibility of the micelle surface evaluated by the surface static structure factor was tens-of-times larger than a typical value of a lipid membrane surface. The structural relaxation time, which was evaluated from the surface intermediate scattering function, indicates that the relaxation mechanism of the long-range surface structure can be well described by the hydrostatic approximation. The density fluctuation on the two-dimensional micelle surface has similar characteristics to that of three-dimensional fluids near the critical point.

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.

Analysis of Tide and Offshore Storm-Induced Water Table Fluctuations for Structural Characterization of a Coastal Island Aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Trglavcnik, Victoria; Morrow, Dean; Weber, Kela P.; Li, Ling; Robinson, Clare E.

2018-04-01

Analysis of water table fluctuations can provide important insight into the hydraulic properties and structure of a coastal aquifer system including the connectivity between the aquifer and ocean. This study presents an improved approach for characterizing a permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifer system through analysis of the propagation of the tidal signal, as well as offshore storm pulse signals through a coastal aquifer. Offshore storms produce high wave activity, but are not necessarily linked to significant onshore precipitation. In this study, we focused on offshore storm events during which no onshore precipitation occurred. Extensive groundwater level data collected on a sand barrier island (Sable Island, NS, Canada) show nonuniform discontinuous propagation of the tide and offshore storm pulse signals through the aquifer with isolated inland areas showing enhanced response to both oceanic forcing signals. Propagation analysis suggests that isolated inland water table fluctuations may be caused by localized leakage from a confined aquifer that is connected to the ocean offshore but within the wave setup zone. Two-dimensional groundwater flow simulations were conducted to test the leaky confined-unconfined aquifer conceptualization and to identify the effect of key parameters on tidal signal propagation in leaky confined-unconfined coastal aquifers. This study illustrates that analysis of offshore storm signal propagation, in addition to tidal signal propagation, provides a valuable and low resource approach for large-scale characterization of permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifers. Such an approach is needed for the effective management of coastal environments where water resources are threatened by human activities and the changing climate.

Characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a tertiary care hospital: a 2-year study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kotsikoris Ioannis

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The structure of health care in Greece is receiving increased attention to improve its cost-effectiveness. We sought to examine the epidemiological characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a Greek tertiary care hospital during a 2-year period. We studied all patients presenting to the emergency department of vascular surgery at Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece between 1st January 2009 and 31st December 2010. Results Overall, 2452 (49.4% out of 4961 patients suffered from pathologies that should have been treated in primary health care. Only 2509 (50.6% needed vascular surgical intervention. Conclusions The emergency department of vascular surgery in a Greek tertiary care hospital has to treat a remarkably high percentage of patients suitable for the primary health care level. These results suggest that an improvement in the structure of health care is needed in Greece.

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)

Theory of spin-fluctuation induced superconductivity in iron-based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Junhua

2011-01-01

In this dissertation we focus on the investigation of the pairing mechanism in the recently discovered high-temperature superconductor, iron pnictides. Due to the proximity to magnetic instability of the system, we considered short-range spin fluctuations as the major mediating source to induce superconductivity. Our calculation supports the magnetic fluctuations as a strong candidate that drives Cooper-pair formation in this material. We find the corresponding order parameter to be of the so-called ss-wave type and show its evolution with temperature as well as the capability of supporting high transition temperature up to several tens of Kelvin. On the other hand, our itinerant model calculation shows pronounced spin correlation at the observed antiferromagnetic ordering wave vector, indicating the underlying electronic structure in favor of antiferromagnetic state. Therefore, the electronic degrees of freedom could participate both in the magnetic and in the superconducting properties. Our work shows that the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity plays an important role to the understanding of the rich physics in this material. The magnetic-excitation spectrum carries important information on the nature of magnetism and the characteristics of superconductivity. We analyze the spin excitation spectrum in the normal and superconducting states of iron pnictides in the magnetic scenario. As a consequence of the sign-reversed gap structure obtained in the above, a spin resonance mode appears below the superconducting transition temperature. The calculated resonance energy, scaled with the gap magnitude and the magnetic correlation length, agrees well with the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements. More interestingly, we find a common feature of those short-range spin fluctuations that are capable of inducing a fully gapped ss state is the momentum anisotropy with elongated span along the direction transverse to the antiferromagnetic momentum

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Response of bacterial community structure to seasonal fluctuation and anthropogenic pollution on coastal water of Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard, Bhavnagar, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Vilas; Munot, Hitendra; Shouche, Yogesh S; Madamwar, Datta

2014-06-01

Bacterial community structure was analyzed from coastal water of Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard (ASSBY), world's largest ship breaking yard, near Bhavnagar, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (cultured dependent and culture independent). In clone libraries, total 2324 clones were retrieved from seven samples (coastal water of ASSBY for three seasons along with one pristine coastal water) which were grouped in 525 operational taxonomic units. Proteobacteria was found to be dominant in all samples. In pristine samples, Gammaproteobacteria was found to be dominant, whereas in polluted samples dominancy of Gammaproteobacteria has shifted to Betaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria. Richness and diversity indices also indicated that bacterial community in pristine sample was the most diverse followed by summer, monsoon and winter samples. To the best of knowledge, this is the first study describing bacterial community structure from coastal water of ASSBY, and it suggests that seasonal fluctuation and anthropogenic pollutions alters the bacterial community structure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disentangling the effects of feedback structure and climate on Poaceae annual airborne pollen fluctuations and the possible consequences of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

García de León, David; García-Mozo, Herminia; Galán, Carmen; Alcázar, Purificación; Lima, Mauricio; González-Andújar, José L

2015-10-15

Pollen allergies are the most common form of respiratory allergic disease in Europe. Most studies have emphasized the role of environmental processes, as the drivers of airborne pollen fluctuations, implicitly considering pollen production as a random walk. This work shows that internal self-regulating processes of the plants (negative feedback) should be included in pollen dynamic systems in order to give a better explanation of the observed pollen temporal patterns. This article proposes a novel methodological approach based on dynamic systems to investigate the interaction between feedback structure of plant populations and climate in shaping long-term airborne Poaceae pollen fluctuations and to quantify the effects of climate change on future airborne pollen concentrations. Long-term historical airborne Poaceae pollen data (30 years) from Cordoba city (Southern Spain) were analyzed. A set of models, combining feedback structure, temperature and actual evapotranspiration effects on airborne Poaceae pollen were built and compared, using a model selection approach. Our results highlight the importance of first-order negative feedback and mean annual maximum temperature in driving airborne Poaceae pollen dynamics. The best model was used to predict the effects of climate change under two standardized scenarios representing contrasting temporal patterns of economic development and CO2 emissions. Our results predict an increase in pollen levels in southern Spain by 2070 ranging from 28.5% to 44.3%. The findings from this study provide a greater understanding of airborne pollen dynamics and how climate change might impact the future evolution of airborne Poaceae pollen concentrations and thus the future evolution of related pollen allergies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Literacy Skills Development for Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Literacy Skills Development for Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study of the University of Calabar. ... These were drawn from five faculties, namely Education, Social Sciences, Law, Arts and Agriculture. The study observed that there is a ... more literacy skills. Key Words: Literacy skills, university, Nigeria, tertiary institution ...

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

Corot 310266512: A Light Curve With Primary, Secondary And Tertiary Eclipses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernández Fernández Javier

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present the photometric study of an interesting target in the CoRoT exoplanet database: CoRoT 310266512. Its light curve shows primary, secondary and tertiary eclipses that suggests the presence of at least three celestial bodies. The primary and secondary eclipses have the same orbital period, 7.42 days, and the tertiary eclipse has an orbital period of 3.27 days. Two of the tertiary eclipses fall within a primary eclipse and a secondary eclipse. The properties of the light curve indicate the presence of two physically separated systems. The primary and secondary eclipses corresponds to a binary system (System I. The tertiary eclipses correspond to a star-planet system or a star-dwarf system (System II. Some parameters of these two systems are obtained from JKTEBOP [1] program.

Understanding Financial Fluctuations and Their Relation to Macroeconomic Stability

OpenAIRE

Nora Guarata; Carolina Pagliacci

2017-01-01

This paper examines how financial fluctuations and macroeconomic stability interact in the case of Venezuela, acknowledging that financial conditions deteriorating the macroeconomic environment can arise with both good and bad macroeconomic performance. An empirical methodology is provided that constructs two indexes, which are fully interpretable and are constructed with a minimum set of assumptions applied to a large number of financial time series. Structural interpretation of indexes is p...

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.

Stability of synchrony against local intermittent fluctuations in tree-like power grids

Science.gov (United States)

Auer, Sabine; Hellmann, Frank; Krause, Marie; Kurths, Jürgen

2017-12-01

90% of all Renewable Energy Power in Germany is installed in tree-like distribution grids. Intermittent power fluctuations from such sources introduce new dynamics into the lower grid layers. At the same time, distributed resources will have to contribute to stabilize the grid against these fluctuations in the future. In this paper, we model a system of distributed resources as oscillators on a tree-like, lossy power grid and its ability to withstand desynchronization from localized intermittent renewable infeed. We find a remarkable interplay of the network structure and the position of the node at which the fluctuations are fed in. An important precondition for our findings is the presence of losses in distribution grids. Then, the most network central node splits the network into branches with different influence on network stability. Troublemakers, i.e., nodes at which fluctuations are especially exciting the grid, tend to be downstream branches with high net power outflow. For low coupling strength, we also find branches of nodes vulnerable to fluctuations anywhere in the network. These network regions can be predicted at high confidence using an eigenvector based network measure taking the turbulent nature of perturbations into account. While we focus here on tree-like networks, the observed effects also appear, albeit less pronounced, for weakly meshed grids. On the other hand, the observed effects disappear for lossless power grids often studied in the complex system literature.

Effects of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education on Conflict Intensity in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julius A. Agbor

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the impact of different schooling dimensions (primary, secondary and tertiary on the intensity of intra-state conflicts in 25 African states during the period 1989–2008. It uses fixed-effects and Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM estimators in an annualized panel data framework. Parameter estimates suggest the following (1 primary schooling broadly mitigates conflicts in Africa. However, in environments with high natural resource rents, it could ignite conflicts; (2 there is evidence, although not overwhelming, that secondary schooling potentially drives conflicts in Africa. There is also evidence that urbanization potentially drives conflicts in Africa. However, although secondary schooling and urbanization potentially drives conflicts, in environments where secondary schooling (urbanization is high, urbanization (secondary schooling mitigates conflicts; (3 there is no evidence of a strong direct positive impact of tertiary education on conflicts and conditioning on tertiary schooling, income inequality potentially drives conflicts in African states. However, in contexts where income inequality (tertiary schooling is high, tertiary schooling (inequality mitigates conflict. Two important policy implications follow from this study. First, in contexts where income inequality is high (for instance, in South Africa, governments should strive to foster tertiary education in order to reduce conflict. Second, where urbanization rates are high, they should foster both secondary and tertiary education. This study contributes to existing knowledge by clearly demonstrating the utility of distinguishing between different educational dimensions and the contexts wherein they matter for conflict mitigation in Africa.

Thermodynamic fluctuations and the monopole density of the early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diosi, L.; Lukacs, B.

1984-10-01

The probability of thermodynamic fluctuations is calculated by explicitly using the Riemannian structure of the thermodynamic state space. By means of this probability distribution, a correlation volume can be defined. Identifying this volume with one domain in the GUT continuum at the symmetry breaking phase transition in the early Universe, a prediction can be obtained for the primordial monopole density. (author)

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

The Discrete Beverton-Holt Model with Periodic Harvesting in a Periodically Fluctuating Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziyad AlSharawi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate the effect of constant and periodic harvesting on the Beverton-Holt model in a periodically fluctuating environment. We show that in a periodically fluctuating environment, periodic harvesting gives a better maximum sustainable yield compared to constant harvesting. However, if one can also fix the environment, then constant harvesting in a constant environment can be a better option, especially for sufficiently large initial populations. Also, we investigate the combinatorial structure of the periodic sequence of carrying capacities and its effect on the maximum sustainable yield. Finally, we leave some questions worth further investigations.

Effective interactions between concentration fluctuations and charge transfer in chemically ordering liquid alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akdeniz, Z.; Tosi, M.P.

1992-08-01

The correlations between long-wavelength fluctuations of concentration in a liquid binary alloy are determined by a balance between an elastic strain free energy and an Ornstein-Zernike effective interaction. The latter is extracted from thermodynamic data in the case of the Li-Pb system, which is well known to chemically order with stoichiometric composition corresponding to Li 4 Pb. Strong attractive interactions between concentration fluctuations near the composition of chemical ordering originate from electronic charge transfer, which is estimated from the electron-ion partial structure factors as functions of composition in the liquid alloy. (author). 20 refs, 2 figs

Academic mentoring and the future of tertiary education in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tertiary education is a major outlet for the provision of high manpower for national development. This paper therefore highlighted the challenges of tertiary education in Nigeria, early perspectives of mentoring undergraduates, the rationale for academic mentoring, the role of a mentor, and the role of library as catalyst in the ...

Investigating Non-Equilibrium Fluctuations of Nanocolloids in a Magnetic Field Using Direct Imaging Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Ashley; Oprisan, Ana; Oprisan, Sorinel; Rice-Oprisan College of Charleston Team

Nanoparticles of iron oxide have a high surface area and can be controlled by an external magnetic field. Since they have a fast response to the applied magnetic field, these systems have been used for numerous in vivo applications, such as MRI contrast enhancement, tissue repair, immunoassay, detoxification of biological fluids, hyperthermia, drug delivery, and cell separation. We performed three direct imaging experiments in order to investigate the concentration-driven fluctuations using magnetic nanoparticles in the absence and in the presence of magnetic field. Our direct imaging experimental setup involved a glass cell filled with magnetic nanocolloidal suspension and water with the concentration gradient oriented against the gravitational field and a superluminescent diode (SLD) as the light source. Nonequilibrium concentration-driven fluctuations were recorded using a direct imaging technique. We used a dynamic structure factor algorithm for image processing in order to compute the structure factor and to find the power law exponents. We saw evidence of large concentration fluctuations and permanent magnetism. Further research will use the correlation time to approximate the diffusion coefficient for the free diffusion experiment. Funded by College of Charleston Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities SURF grant.

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.

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

West Hackberry Tertiary Project. Annual report, September 3, 1997--September 2, 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gillham, T.H.

1997-09-10

The following report is the Project Management Plan for the fifth year of the West Hackberry Tertiary Project. The West Hackberry Tertiary Project is one of four mid-term projects selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the DOE`s Class 1 Program for the development of advance recovery technologies in fluvial dominated deltaic reservoirs. The West Hackberry Tertiary Project is a field test of the idea that air injection can be combined with the Double Displacement Process to produce a low cost tertiary recovery process which is economic at current oil prices. The Double Displacement Process is the gas displacement of a water invaded oil column for the purpose of recovering tertiary oil by gravity drainage. The Double Displacement Process is based upon the concept that in fields such as West Hackberry waterdrive recoveries are typically 50%-60% of the original oil in place while gravity drainage recoveries average 80%-90% of the original oil in place. Therefore, by injecting a gas into a watered out reservoir, a gas cap will form an additional oil can be recovered due to gravity drainage. Although the Double Displacement Process has been shown to be successful in recovering tertiary oil in other fields, this project will be the first to utilize air injection in the Double Displacement Process. The use of air injection in this process combines the benefits of air`s low cost and universal accessibility with the potential for accelerated oil recovery due to the combustion process. If successful, this project will demonstrate that the use of air injection in the Double Displacement Process will result in an economically viable tertiary process in reservoirs where tertiary oil recovery is presently uneconomical.

Small-scale angular fluctuations in the microwave background radiation and the existence of isolated large-scale structures in the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goicoechea, L.J.; Sanz, J.L.

1985-01-01

The relative fluctuation of the present temperature associated with the microwave background radiation (MBR) on a small angular scale, (deltaT/T) 0 , can be related for a general inhomogeneous cosmological model to the kinematical quantities, their gradients, and the Weyl tensor through the geodesic deviation equation. We apply this result to calculate the induction of temperature fluctuations in the MBR by a spherically symmetric cluster (or void) of matter or radiation or both, considered as a perturbation in a flat Friedmann universe, with negligible pressure. For an isolated object (void or cluster) with radius roughly-equal10 3 h -1 Mpc and located outside our present horizon, we have found, taking into account recent data on the anisotropies of the MBR at an angular scale 6 0 , that the relative mass fluctuation is bounded by deltaVertical BarM/MVertical Bar 2 h -1 Mpc and distance from the observer to the center approx. =10h -1 Mpc), the observational angular fluctuations of the MBR imply that deltaVertical BarM/MVertical Bar< or approx. =10%

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.

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)

Tertiary-amine-containing thermo- and pH-sensitive hydrophilic ABA triblock copolymers: effect of different tertiary amines on thermally induced sol-gel transitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Henn, Daniel M; Wright, Roger A E; Woodcock, Jeremiah W; Hu, Bin; Zhao, Bin

2014-03-11

This Article reports on the synthesis of a series of well-defined, tertiary-amine-containing ABA triblock copolymers, composed of a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) central block and thermo- and pH-sensitive outer blocks, and the study of the effect of different tertiary amines on thermally induced sol-gel transition temperatures (T(sol-gel)) of their 10 wt % aqueous solutions. The doubly responsive ABA triblock copolymers were prepared from a difunctional PEO macroinitiator by atom transfer radical polymerization of methoxydi(ethylene glycol) methacrylate and ethoxydi(ethylene glycol) methacrylate at a feed molar ratio of 30:70 with ∼5 mol % of either N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA), N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl methacrylate, or N,N-di(n-butyl)aminoethyl methacrylate. The chain lengths of thermosensitive outer blocks and the molar contents of tertiary amines were very similar for all copolymers. Using rheological measurements, we determined the pH dependences of T(sol-gel) of 10 wt % aqueous solutions of these copolymers in a phosphate buffer. The T(sol-gel) versus pH curves of all polymers exhibited a sigmoidal shape. The T(sol-gel) increased with decreasing pH; the changes were small on both high and low pH sides. At a specific pH, the T(sol-gel) decreased with increasing the hydrophobicity of the tertiary amine, and upon decreasing pH the onset pH value for the T(sol-gel) to begin to increase noticeably was lower for the more hydrophobic tertiary amine-containing copolymer. In addition, we studied the effect of different tertiary amines on the release behavior of FITC-dextran from 10 wt % micellar gels in an acidic medium at 37 and 27 °C. The release profiles for three studied hydrogels at 37 °C were essentially the same, suggesting that the release was dominated by the diffusion of FITC-dextran. At 27 °C, the release was significantly faster for the DEAEMA-containing copolymer, indicating that both diffusion and gel dissolution contributed to the

Hospital-acquired infections in a Nigerian tertiary health facility: An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hospital-acquired infections in a Nigerian tertiary health facility: An audit of surveillance reports. ... This study evaluated the occurrence of HAI in a foremost tertiary health facility over a 5-year period for the purpose of reinforcing control efforts. Materials and Methods: A retrospective survey of records from the infection control ...

Magnetic fluctuations in the quantized vacuum of the Georgi-Glashow model on the lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitryushkin, V.K.; Zadorozhnyj, A.M.

1987-01-01

Influence of (electro)magnetic fluctuations on the phase structure of the 4D-Georgi-Glashow model on the lattice. The distributions of (electro)magnetic fluxes and different correlations were measured using the Monte-Carlo method

Synthesis, structural characterization and fluctuation conductivity of HoBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}-}SrTiO{sub 3} composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uribe Laverde, M.A., E-mail: mauribel@bt.unal.edu.c [Grupo de Fisica de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota (Colombia); Landinez Tellez, D.A.; Roa-Rojas, J. [Grupo de Fisica de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota (Colombia)

2010-12-15

Single-phase polycrystalline samples of HoBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} superconductor and SrTiO{sub 3} isolator were produced by means of the solid state reaction technique. After structural characterization of both materials, superconductor-isolator composites were produced with nominal isolator volume percentages between 0% and 10%. Resistivity measurements for the composites and the HoBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} sample with different currents evidenced a superconducting transition with critical temperature T{sub C} = 92 K, with wider transitions with increasing either isolator content or measurement current. Fluctuation conductivity analyses were carried out to obtain the exponents characterizing the conductivity divergence. Above T{sub C}, apart from the typical Gaussian and critical fluctuations an atypical regime with critical exponent about 0.14 is observed as a precursor of the transition. Below T{sub C}, it is observed that the coherence transition characteristic exponent increases rapidly with increasing isolator percentage in the composites and does not show important changes when modifying the current in the pure superconductor sample.

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

Interactive Intranet Portal for effective Management in Tertiary Institution

OpenAIRE

Idogho O. Philipa; Akpado Kenneth; James Agajo

2011-01-01

Interactive Intranet Portal for effective management in Tertiary Institution is an enhanced and interactive method of managing and processing key issues in Tertiary Institution, Problems of result processing, tuition fee payment, library resources management are analyzed in this work. An interface was generated to handle this problem; the software is an interactive one. Several modules are involved in the paper, like: LIBRARY CONSOLE, ADMIN, STAFF, COURSE REGISTRATION, CHECKING OF RESULTS and...

Assessment Quality in Tertiary Education: An Integrative Literature Review

OpenAIRE

Gerritsen-van Leeuwenkamp, Karin; Joosten-ten Brinke, Desirée; Kester, Liesbeth

2018-01-01

In tertiary education, inferior assessment quality is a problem that has serious consequences for students, teachers, government, and society. A lack of a clear and overarching conceptualization of assessment quality can cause difficulties in guaranteeing assessment quality in practice. Thus, the aim of this study is to conceptualize assessment quality in tertiary education by providing an overview of the assessment quality criteria, their influences, the evaluation of the assessment quality ...

Tertiary Treatment Process of Preserved Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Qingyu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of the composite coagulants on coagulation sedimentation for the preserved wastewater was investigated by changing the composite coagulant dosages, and the coagulant was composed of polymeric ferric sulfate (PFS, polyaluminium chloride (PAC, and polyaluminum ferric silicate (PAFSC, while the effect of the tertiary treatment process on the preserved wastewater was tested, which was exceeded the standard seriously. The results showed that 400 mg/L was the optimum composite coagulant dosage. The removal rates of salt and sugar were as high as 99.1% and 99.5% respectively, and the removal rates of CODCr and SS were 99.3% and 96.0%, respectively after the preserved wastewater was treated by the tertiary treatment technology, which both reached the primary standard of “The Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard” (GB8978-1996.

Environment surveillance of filamentous fungi in two tertiary care hospitals in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Zhen-feng; Ao, Jun-hong; Hao, Fei; Yang, Rong-ya; Zhu, He; Zhang, Jie

2011-07-05

Invasive fungal infections have constituted an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. In this study, a surveillance project was conducted in three different intensive care units of two large tertiary hospitals in China. A one-year surveillance project was conducted in two tertiary hospitals which located in northern China and southwest China respectively. Air, surfaces and tap water were sampled twice a month in a central intensive care unit, a bone marrow transplant unit, a neurosurgery intensive care unit and a live transplant department. Environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature and events taking place, for example the present of the visitors, healthcare staff and cleaning crew were also recorded at the time of sampling. The air fungal load was 91.94 cfu/m(3) and 71.02 cfu/m(3) in the southwest China hospital and the northern China hospital respectively. The five most prevalent fungi collected from air and surfaces were Penicillium spp., Cladospcrium spp., Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp. and Saccharomyces spp. in the southwest China hospital, meanwhile Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp. and Cladospcrium spp. in the northern China hospital. The least contaminated department was intensive care units, and the heaviest contaminated department was neurosurgery intensive care unit. Seventy-three percent of all surfaces examined in the northern China hospital and eighty-six percent in the southwest China hospital yielded fungi. Fifty-four percent of water samples from the northern China hospital and forty-nine percent from the southwest China hospital yielded fungi. These findings suggested that the fungus exist in the environment of the hospital including air, surface and water. Air and surface fungal load fluctuated over the year. Air fungal load was lower in winter and higher in summer and autumn, but seldom exceeded acceptable level. The higher values were created during

Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities I: parametric amplification of linear fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braden, Jonathan [CITA, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H8 (Canada); Department of Physics, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H8 (Canada); Bond, J. Richard [CITA, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H8 (Canada); Mersini-Houghton, Laura [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 (United States)

2015-03-03

This is the first paper in a series where we study collisions of nucleated bubbles taking into account the effects of small initial (quantum) fluctuations in a fully 3+1-dimensional setting. In this paper, we consider the evolution of linear fluctuations around highly symmetric though inhomogeneous backgrounds. In particular, we demonstrate that a large degree of asymmetry develops over time from tiny initial fluctuations superposed upon planar and SO(2,1) symmetric backgrounds. These fluctuations are inevitable consequences of zero-point vacuum oscillations, so excluding them by enforcing a high degree of spatial symmetry is inconsistent in a quantum treatment. To simplify the analysis we consider the limit of two colliding planar walls, with mode functions for the fluctuations characterized by the wavenumber transverse to the collision direction and a longitudinal shape along the collision direction x, which we solve for. In the linear regime, the fluctuations obey a linear wave equation with a time- and space-dependent mass m{sub eff}(x,t). In situations where the walls collide multiple times, m{sub eff} oscillates in time. We use Floquet theory to study the evolution of the fluctuations and generalize the calculations familiar from the preheating literature to the case with many coupled degrees of freedom. The inhomogeneous case has bands of unstable transverse wavenumbers k{sub ⊥} whose corresponding mode functions grow exponentially. By examining the detailed spatial structure of the mode functions in x, we identify both broad and narrow parametric resonance generalizations of the homogeneous m{sub eff}(t) case of preheating. The unstable k{sub ⊥} modes are longitudinally localized, yet can be described as quasiparticles in the Bogoliubov sense. We define an effective occupation number and show they are created in bursts for the case of well-defined collisions in the background. The transverse-longitudinal coupling accompanying nonlinearity radically

Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities I: parametric amplification of linear fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braden, Jonathan; Bond, J. Richard; Mersini-Houghton, Laura

2015-01-01

This is the first paper in a series where we study collisions of nucleated bubbles taking into account the effects of small initial (quantum) fluctuations in a fully 3+1-dimensional setting. In this paper, we consider the evolution of linear fluctuations around highly symmetric though inhomogeneous backgrounds. In particular, we demonstrate that a large degree of asymmetry develops over time from tiny initial fluctuations superposed upon planar and SO(2,1) symmetric backgrounds. These fluctuations are inevitable consequences of zero-point vacuum oscillations, so excluding them by enforcing a high degree of spatial symmetry is inconsistent in a quantum treatment. To simplify the analysis we consider the limit of two colliding planar walls, with mode functions for the fluctuations characterized by the wavenumber transverse to the collision direction and a longitudinal shape along the collision direction x, which we solve for. In the linear regime, the fluctuations obey a linear wave equation with a time- and space-dependent mass m eff (x,t). In situations where the walls collide multiple times, m eff oscillates in time. We use Floquet theory to study the evolution of the fluctuations and generalize the calculations familiar from the preheating literature to the case with many coupled degrees of freedom. The inhomogeneous case has bands of unstable transverse wavenumbers k ⊥ whose corresponding mode functions grow exponentially. By examining the detailed spatial structure of the mode functions in x, we identify both broad and narrow parametric resonance generalizations of the homogeneous m eff (t) case of preheating. The unstable k ⊥ modes are longitudinally localized, yet can be described as quasiparticles in the Bogoliubov sense. We define an effective occupation number and show they are created in bursts for the case of well-defined collisions in the background. The transverse-longitudinal coupling accompanying nonlinearity radically breaks this localized

Favorability for uranium in tertiary sedimentary rocks, southwestern Montana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wopat, M.A.; Curry, W.E.; Robins, J.W.; Marjaniemi, D.K.

1977-10-01

Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the basins of southwestern Montana were studied to determine their favorability for potential uranium resources. Uranium in the Tertiary sedimentary rocks was probably derived from the Boulder batholith and from silicic volcanic material. The batholith contains numerous uranium occurrences and is the most favorable plutonic source for uranium in the study area. Subjective favorability categories of good, moderate, and poor, based on the number and type of favorable criteria present, were used to classify the rock sequences studied. Rocks judged to have good favorability for uranium deposits are (1) Eocene and Oligocene strata and undifferentiated Tertiary rocks in the western Three Forks basin and (2) Oligocene rocks in the Helena basin. Rocks having moderate favorability consist of (1) Eocene and Oligocene strata in the Jefferson River, Beaverhead River, and lower Ruby River basins, (2) Oligocene rocks in the Townsend and Clarkston basins, (3) Miocene and Pliocene rocks in the Upper Ruby River basin, and (4) all Tertiary sedimentary formations in the eastern Three Forks basin, and in the Grasshopper Creek, Horse Prairie, Medicine Lodge Creek, Big Sheep Creek, Deer Lodge, Big Hole River, and Bull Creek basins. The following have poor favorability: (1) the Beaverhead Conglomerate in the Red Rock and Centennial basins, (2) Eocene and Oligocene rocks in the Upper Ruby River basin, (3) Miocene and Pliocene rocks in the Townsend, Clarkston, Smith River, and Divide Creek basins, (4) Miocene through Pleistocene rocks in the Jefferson River, Beaverhead River, and Lower Ruby River basins, and (5) all Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the Boulder River, Sage Creek, Muddy Creek, Madison River, Flint Creek, Gold Creek, and Bitterroot basins

Bursty fluctuation characteristics in SOL/divertor plasmas of large helical device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohno, N.

2006-01-01

Full text: Fluctuation properties in the SOL plasmas were intensively studied to understand the crossfield plasma transport, which determines the SOL structure and heat/particle deposition onto the first wall. Recent studies in tokamaks showed that the SOL density fluctuation is highly intermittent. Convective cross-field transport associated with the intermittent events would have strong influence on recycling processes and impurity generation from the first wall. On the other hand, in helical devices, there are few systematic studies on the SOL fluctuation property focusing on the intermittent bursty fluctuations related to plasma blob transport. Recent theory predicts that the blobs propagate toward a low field side in tokamaks. On the other hand, in the Large Helical Device (LHD), the direction of the gradient in B is not uniform because the high-field and the low-field sides rotates poloidally along the torus in the helical system. Comparison between the intermittent bursty fluctuations in the edge plasma of tokamaks and helical devices makes it possible to understand the essential physics of the blob transport. Recently, fast camera observation showed the radial motion of filaments in the edge of the LHD, suggesting the convective cross-field transport. In this paper, bursty fluctuation properties in the edge of the LHD have been investigated by analyzing the ion saturation currents measured with a probe array embedded in an outboard divertor plate. Statistical analysis based on probability distribution function was employed to determine the intermittent evens in the density fluctuation. Large positive bursty events were often observed in the ion saturation current measured with a divertor probe near a divertor leg at which the magnetic line of force connected to the area of a low-field side with a short connection length. Condition averaging result of the positive bursty events indicates the intermittent feature with a rapid increase and a slow decay is

Electron diffusion in tokamaks due to electromagnetic fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horton, W.; Choi, D.-I.; Yushmanov, P.N.; Parail, V.V.

1987-01-01

Calculations for the stochastic diffusion of electrons in Tokamaks due to a spectrum of electromagnetic drift fluctuations are presented. The parametric dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the amplitude and phase velocity of the spectrum, and the bounce frequency for the electrons is studied. The wavenumber spectrum is taken to be a low order (5 x 5) randomly-phased, isotropic, monotonic spectrum extending from k sub(perpendicular to min) ≅ ωsub(ci)/Csub(s) to k sub(perpendicular to max) ≅ 3ωsub(pe)/C with different power laws of decrease φsub(k) ≅ φ 1 /ksup(m), 1 ≤ m ≤ 3. A nonlinear Ohm's law is derived for the self-consistent relation between the electrostatic and parallel vector potentials. The parallel structure of the fluctuations is taken to be such that ksup(nl)sub(parallel to)Vsub(e) < ωsub(k) due to the nonlinear perpendicular motion of the electrons described in the nonlinear Ohm's law. The diffusion coefficient scales approximately as the neo-Alcator and Merezhkin-Mukhovatov empirical formulas for plasma densities below a critical density. (author)

Tertiary syphilis in the lumbar spine: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Yang; Niu, Feng; Liu, Lidi; Sha, Hui; Wang, Yimei; Zhao, Song

2017-07-24

The incidence of tertiary syphilis involvement in the spinal column with destructive bone lesions is very rare. It is difficult to establish the correct diagnosis from radiographs and histological examination alone. Limited data are available on surgical treatment to tertiary syphilitic spinal lesions. In this article, we report a case of tertiary syphilis in the lumbar spine with osteolytic lesions causing cauda equina compression. A 44-year-old man who suffered with low back pain for 6 months and progressive radiating pain at lower extremity for 1 week. Radiologic findings showed osteolytic lesion and new bone formation in the parts of the bodies of L4 and L5. Serum treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) test was positive. A surgery of posterior debridement, interbody and posterolateral allograft bone fusion with instrumentation from L3 to S1 was performed. The low back pain and numbness abated after operation. But the follow-up radiographs showed absorption of the bone grafts and failure of instrumentation. A Charcot's arthropathy was formed between L4 and L5. It is challenging to diagnose the tertiary syphilis in the spine. Surgery is a reasonable auxiliary method to antibiotic therapy for patients who suffered with neuropathy. Charcot's arthropathy should be considered as an operative complication.

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.

The Effect of Quantum Fluctuations in Compact Star Observables

Science.gov (United States)

Pósfay, P.; Barnaföldi, G. G.; Jakovác, A.

2018-05-01

Astrophysical measurements regarding compact stars are just ahead of a big evolution jump, since the NICER experiment deployed on ISS on 2017 June 14. This will provide soon data that would enable the determination of compact star radius with less than 10% error. This can be further constrained by the new observation of gravitational waves originated from merging neutron stars, GW170817. This poses new challenges to nuclear models aiming to explain the structure of super dense nuclear matter found in neutron stars. Detailed studies of the QCD phase diagram show the importance of bosonic quantum fluctuations in the cold dense matter equation of state. Here we used a demonstrative model with one bosonic and one fermionic degree of freedom coupled by Yukawa coupling, we show the effect of bosonic quantum fluctuations on compact star observables such as mass, radius, and compactness. We have also calculated the difference in the value of compressibility which is caused by quantum fluctuations. The above-mentioned quantities are calculated in the mean field, one-loop, and in high order many loop approximation. The results show that the magnitude of these effects is in the range of 4-5%, which place it into the region where modern measurements may detect it. This forms a base for further investigations that how these results carry over to more complicated models.

Analysis of colonoscopic perforations at a local clinic and a tertiary hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagawa, Toshihiko; Kakizaki, Satoru; Iizuka, Haruhisa; Onozato, Yasuhiro; Sohara, Naondo; Okamura, Shinichi; Mori, Masatomo

2012-09-21

To define the clinical characteristics, and to assess the management of colonoscopic complications at a local clinic. A retrospective review of the medical records was performed for the patients with iatrogenic colon perforations after endoscopy at a local clinic between April 2006 and December 2010. Data obtained from a tertiary hospital in the same region were also analyzed. The underlying conditions, clinical presentations, perforation locations, treatment types (operative or conservative) and outcome data for patients at the local clinic and the tertiary hospital were compared. A total of 10  826 colonoscopies, and 2625 therapeutic procedures were performed at a local clinic and 32  148 colonoscopies, and 7787 therapeutic procedures were performed at the tertiary hospital. The clinic had no perforations during diagnostic colonoscopy and 8 (0.3%) perforations were determined to be related to therapeutic procedures. The perforation rates in each therapeutic procedure were 0.06% (1/1609) in polypectomy, 0.2% (2/885) in endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), and 3.8% (5/131) in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Perforation rates for ESD were significantly higher than those for polypectomy or EMR (P hospital. Six perforations occurred with therapeutic endoscopy (perforation rate, 0.08%; 1 per 1298 procedures). Perforation rates for specific procedure types were 0.02% (1 per 5500) for polypectomy, 0.17% (1 per 561) for EMR, 2.3% (1 per 43) for ESD in the tertiary hospital. There were no differences in the perforation rates for each therapeutic procedure between the clinic and the tertiary hospital. The incidence of iatrogenic perforation requiring surgical treatment was quite low in both the clinic and the tertiary hospital. No procedure-related mortalities occurred. Performing closure with endoscopic clipping reduced the C-reactive protein (CRP) titers. The mean maximum CRP titer was 2.9 ± 1.6 mg/dL with clipping and 9.7 ± 6.2 mg/dL without clipping

Spontaneous fluctuations in a zero-noise model of flocking

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Abhijit; Bhattacharya, Kunal

2016-11-01

Investigations into the complex structure and dynamics of collectively moving groups of living organisms have provided valuable insights. Understanding the emergent features, especially, the origin of fluctuations, appears to be challenging in the current scheme of models. It has been argued that flocks are poised at criticality. We present a two-dimensional self-propelled particle model where neighbourhoods and forces are defined through topology-based rules. The attractive forces are modeled in order to maintain cohesion in the flock in open-boundary conditions. We find that fluctuations occur spontaneously in the absence of any external noise. For certain values of the parameters the flock shows a high degree of order as well as scale-free decay of spatial correlations in velocity and speed. We characterize the dynamical behaviour of the system using the Lyapunov spectrum. Largest exponents being positive but small in magnitude suggest that the apparent high susceptibility may result from the system operating near the borderline of order and chaos.

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

Tertiary colleges: a study of perspectives on organizational innovation

OpenAIRE

Preedy, Margaret

1998-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to explore organisational innovation in education with reference to one particular type of organisation - the tertiary college. The research sought to examine the extent to which the intended objectives for new educational organisations are realised in practice, and how far the goals and ethos which organisational leaders seek to promote are shared by organisational members. The study focused on eleven tertiary colleges, comparing the 'official' view of ...

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.

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

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

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 ...

Quantum fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynaud, S.; Giacobino, S.; Zinn-Justin, J.

1997-01-01

This course is dedicated to present in a pedagogical manner the recent developments in peculiar fields concerned by quantum fluctuations: quantum noise in optics, light propagation through dielectric media, sub-Poissonian light generated by lasers and masers, quantum non-demolition measurements, quantum electrodynamics applied to cavities and electrical circuits involving superconducting tunnel junctions. (A.C.)

Multi moment cancellation of participant fluctuations

OpenAIRE

Begun, Viktor; Mackowiak-Pawlowska, Maja

2017-01-01

We summarize the new method for the correction of participant fluctuations in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. It allows to estimate a fluctuation baseline in comparison to a useful signal. In particular cases of a weak signal compared to baseline, it allows to cancel the baseline contribution from participants.

Rethinking the Tertiary Mathematics Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Petocz, Peter; Reid, Anna

2005-01-01

Mathematics curriculum at the tertiary level is located within a range of social and cultural theories, and is often constructed by academics seeking to promulgate a particular view of mathematics. We argue that such a curriculum should incorporate a real acknowledgement of the different ways in which students understand the nature of mathematics…

General Allylic C–H Alkylation with Tertiary Nucleophiles

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

A general method for intermolecular allylic C–H alkylation of terminal olefins with tertiary nucleophiles has been accomplished employing palladium(II)/bis(sulfoxide) catalysis. Allylic C–H alkylation furnishes products in good yields (avg. 64%) with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity (>20:1 linear:branched, >20:1 E:Z). For the first time, the olefin scope encompasses unactivated aliphatic olefins as well as activated aromatic/heteroaromatic olefins and 1,4-dienes. The ease of appending allyl moieties onto complex scaffolds is leveraged to enable this mild and selective allylic C–H alkylation to rapidly diversify phenolic natural products. The tertiary nucleophile scope is broad and includes latent functionality for further elaboration (e.g., aliphatic alcohols, α,β-unsaturated esters). The opportunities to effect synthetic streamlining with such general C–H reactivity are illustrated in an allylic C–H alkylation/Diels–Alder reaction cascade: a reactive diene is generated via intermolecular allylic C–H alkylation and approximated to a dienophile contained within the tertiary nucleophile to furnish a common tricyclic core found in the class I galbulimima alkaloids. PMID:24641574

General allylic C-H alkylation with tertiary nucleophiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Jennifer M; Liu, Wei; Young, Andrew J; White, M Christina

2014-04-16

A general method for intermolecular allylic C-H alkylation of terminal olefins with tertiary nucleophiles has been accomplished employing palladium(II)/bis(sulfoxide) catalysis. Allylic C-H alkylation furnishes products in good yields (avg. 64%) with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity (>20:1 linear:branched, >20:1 E:Z). For the first time, the olefin scope encompasses unactivated aliphatic olefins as well as activated aromatic/heteroaromatic olefins and 1,4-dienes. The ease of appending allyl moieties onto complex scaffolds is leveraged to enable this mild and selective allylic C-H alkylation to rapidly diversify phenolic natural products. The tertiary nucleophile scope is broad and includes latent functionality for further elaboration (e.g., aliphatic alcohols, α,β-unsaturated esters). The opportunities to effect synthetic streamlining with such general C-H reactivity are illustrated in an allylic C-H alkylation/Diels-Alder reaction cascade: a reactive diene is generated via intermolecular allylic C-H alkylation and approximated to a dienophile contained within the tertiary nucleophile to furnish a common tricyclic core found in the class I galbulimima alkaloids.

Phase space fluctuations and dynamics of fluctuations of collective variables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benhassine, B.; Farine, M.; Idier, D.; Remaud, B.; Sebille, F. (Lab. de Physique Nucleaire, IN2P3/CNRS, 44 - Nantes (France) Nantes Univ., 44 (France)); Hernandez, E.S. (Dept. de Fisica, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires (Argentina))

1992-08-03

Within the framework of theoretical approaches based on stochastic transport equation of one-body distribution function, a numerical treatment of the fluctuations of collective observables is studied and checked in comparison with analytical results either at equilibrium or close to it. (orig.).

Phase space fluctuations and dynamics of fluctuations of collective variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benhassine, B.; Farine, M.; Idier, D.; Remaud, B.; Sebille, F.; Hernandez, E.S.

1992-01-01

Within the framework of theoretical approaches based on stochastic transport equation of one-body distribution function, a numerical treatment of the fluctuations of collective observables is studied and checked in comparison with analytical results either at equilibrium or close to it. (orig.)

Electrostatic fluctuation in Low-{beta} plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krane, B

1997-11-01

The thesis gives an overview, which by no means is complete, to two dimensional plasma flows. The plasma is taken to be strongly magnetized such that magnetic fields generated by internal currents are small compared to the background magnetic field. This requires that the magnetic pressure exerted by the ambient magnetic field is large compared to the pressure due to thermal fluctuations, i.e. low-{beta} plasma. The author also assume low frequency electrostatic fluctuations with {omega}<<{omega}{sub c}i where {omega}{sub c}i is the ion gyro frequency. A brief introduction to nonlinear phenomena in two dimensional plasma flows has been presented. Particular attention was given to simple models describing flute and drift modes. Although the derivations of the model equations are based on different assumptions regarding the plasma conditions, the resulting equations exhibit similar behavior in some respects. For instance, both the simple guiding center model and the Hasegawa-Mima model have stable dipolar structures. The inverse cascade was also found in both models. However, it is evident that there are significant differences, first of all the Hasegawa-Mima model assumes a background density gradient which makes it an inhomogeneous model. Secondly, in this model the electrons respond instantaneously to variations in the ion density by moving along the magnetic field, thereby introducing Debye shielding.

Electrostatic fluctuation in Low-β plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krane, B

1997-11-01

The thesis gives an overview, which by no means is complete, to two dimensional plasma flows. The plasma is taken to be strongly magnetized such that magnetic fields generated by internal currents are small compared to the background magnetic field. This requires that the magnetic pressure exerted by the ambient magnetic field is large compared to the pressure due to thermal fluctuations, i.e. low-β plasma. The author also assume low frequency electrostatic fluctuations with ω c i where ω c i is the ion gyro frequency. A brief introduction to nonlinear phenomena in two dimensional plasma flows has been presented. Particular attention was given to simple models describing flute and drift modes. Although the derivations of the model equations are based on different assumptions regarding the plasma conditions, the resulting equations exhibit similar behavior in some respects. For instance, both the simple guiding center model and the Hasegawa-Mima model have stable dipolar structures. The inverse cascade was also found in both models. However, it is evident that there are significant differences, first of all the Hasegawa-Mima model assumes a background density gradient which makes it an inhomogeneous model. Secondly, in this model the electrons respond instantaneously to variations in the ion density by moving along the magnetic field, thereby introducing Debye shielding

Fluctuation conductivity of thin superconductive vanadium films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dmitrenko, I.M.; Sidorenko, A.S.; Fogel, N.Y.

1982-01-01

Resistive transitions into the superconductive state are studied in thin [d >T/sub c/ the experimental data on the excess conductivity of the films agree qualitatively and quantitively with Aslamazov--Larkin theory. There is no Maki--Thompson contribution to fluctuation conductivity. Near T/sub c/ the excess conductivity sigma' changes exponentially with temperature in accordance with the predictions of the theory of the critical fluctuations of the order parameter. The values of the effective charge carrier mass defined from data on sigma' for the low fluctuation and critical fluctuation regions differ markedly. This difference is within the spread of effective masses for various charge carrier groups already known for vanadium. Causes of the difference in resistive behavior for the regions T >T/sub c/ are considered

Anode spot patterns and fluctuations in an atmospheric-pressure glow discharge in helium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arkhipenko, V I; Safronau, Y A; Simonchik, L V; Tsuprik, I M; Callegari, Th

2013-01-01

Oscillations of the main parameters (voltage on electrodes, potential, light intensity and discharge current) in a dc atmospheric-pressure glow discharge in helium are investigated in a range of currents from milliamperes to several amperes. It is established that these oscillations are connected with the existence of anode spots. In the case of a single spot, fluctuations of discharge light intensity are observed when the supply voltage exceeds the breakdown voltage for the interelectrode gap. At the same time, voltage fluctuations have the form of relaxation oscillations with a frequency that depends on the electrical parameters of the external circuit. With an increase in discharge gap and current, the number of spots increases. They form a stable structure, and the fluctuations of current and voltage stay harmonic. The brightness of the spots seems to be determined by the frequency of their blinking. The amplitude of current fluctuation increases with the increase in discharge current and can be up to 15% of its average value. The frequency of current oscillations, which is about 0.75 MHz at a current of 0.5 A, depends weakly on the discharge gap (it varies within ±10% for the gap interval from 1 to 10 mm). The oscillation frequency is maximal (about 0.85 MHz) at a current of about 0.4 A. At higher currents (2–4 A, depending on the discharge gap), the fluctuations disappear when a contraction of the anode region into one anode spot occurs. (paper)

Fluctuating dynamics of nematic liquid crystals using the stochastic method of lines

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, A. K.; Menon, Gautam I.; Adhikari, R.

2010-07-01

We construct Langevin equations describing the fluctuations of the tensor order parameter Qαβ in nematic liquid crystals by adding noise terms to time-dependent variational equations that follow from the Ginzburg-Landau-de Gennes free energy. The noise is required to preserve the symmetry and tracelessness of the tensor order parameter and must satisfy a fluctuation-dissipation relation at thermal equilibrium. We construct a noise with these properties in a basis of symmetric traceless matrices and show that the Langevin equations can be solved numerically in this basis using a stochastic version of the method of lines. The numerical method is validated by comparing equilibrium probability distributions, structure factors, and dynamic correlations obtained from these numerical solutions with analytic predictions. We demonstrate excellent agreement between numerics and theory. This methodology can be applied to the study of phenomena where fluctuations in both the magnitude and direction of nematic order are important, as for instance, in the nematic swarms which produce enhanced opalescence near the isotropic-nematic transition or the problem of nucleation of the nematic from the isotropic phase.

Large-scale structure of the Taurus molecular complex. II. Analysis of velocity fluctuations and turbulence. III. Methods for turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleiner, S.C.; Dickman, R.L.

1985-01-01

The velocity autocorrelation function (ACF) of observed spectral line centroid fluctuations is noted to effectively reproduce the actual ACF of turbulent gas motions within an interstellar cloud, thereby furnishing a framework for the study of the large scale velocity structure of the Taurus dark cloud complex traced by the present C-13O J = 1-0 observations of this region. The results obtained are discussed in the context of recent suggestions that widely observed correlations between molecular cloud widths and cloud sizes indicate the presence of a continuum of turbulent motions within the dense interstellar medium. Attention is then given to a method for the quantitative study of these turbulent motions, involving the mapping of a source in an optically thin spectral line and studying the spatial correlation properties of the resulting velocity centroid map. 61 references

Event-by-Event Elliptic Flow Fluctuations from PHOBOS

Science.gov (United States)

Wosiek, B.; Alver, B.; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Chai, Z.; Chetluru, V.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harnarine, I.; Hauer, M.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Li, W.; Lin, W. T.; Loizides, C.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Reed, C.; Richardson, E.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Seals, H.; Sedykh, I.; Smith, C. E.; Stankiewicz, M. A.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Szostak, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Vaurynovich, S. S.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Walters, P.; Wenger, E.; Willhelm, D.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Woźniak, K.; Wyngaardt, S.; Wysłouch, B.

2009-04-01

Recently PHOBOS has focused on the study of fluctuations and correlations in particle production in heavy-ion collisions at the highest energies delivered by the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). In this report, we present results on event-by-event elliptic flow fluctuations in (Au+Au) collisions at sqrt {sNN}=200 GeV. A data-driven method was used to estimate the dominant contribution from non-flow correlations. Over the broad range of collision centralities, the observed large elliptic flow fluctuations are in agreement with the fluctuations in the initial source eccentricity.

Number fluctuations of cold, spatially split bosonic objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakmann, Kaspar; Streltsov, Alexej I.; Cederbaum, Lorenz S.; Alon, Ofir E.

2011-01-01

We investigate the number fluctuations of spatially split many-boson systems employing a theorem about the maximally and minimally attainable variances of an observable. The number fluctuations of many-boson systems are given for different numbers of lattice sites and both mean-field and many-body wave functions. It is shown which states maximize the particle number fluctuations, both in lattices and double wells. The fragmentation of the states is discussed, and it is shown that the number fluctuations of some fragmented states are identical to those of fully condensed states.

Derivation of stochastic differential equations for scrape-off layer plasma fluctuations from experimentally measured statistics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mekkaoui, Abdessamad [IEK-4 Forschungszentrum Juelich 52428 (Germany)

2013-07-01

A method to derive stochastic differential equations for intermittent plasma density dynamics in magnetic fusion edge plasma is presented. It uses a measured first four moments (mean, variance, Skewness and Kurtosis) and the correlation time of turbulence to write a Pearson equation for the probability distribution function of fluctuations. The Fokker-Planck equation is then used to derive a Langevin equation for the plasma density fluctuations. A theoretical expectations are used as a constraints to fix the nonlinearity structure of the stochastic differential equation. In particular when the quadratically nonlinear dynamics is assumed, then it is shown that the plasma density is driven by a multiplicative Wiener process and evolves on the turbulence correlation time scale, while the linear growth is quadratically damped by the fluctuation level. Strong criteria for statistical discrimination of experimental time series are proposed as an alternative to the Kurtosis-Skewness scaling. This scaling is broadly used in contemporary literature to characterize edge turbulence, but it is inappropriate because a large family of distributions could share this scaling. Strong criteria allow us to focus on the relevant candidate distribution and approach a nonlinear structure of edge turbulence model.

Non-Gaussian probability distributions of solar wind fluctuations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Marsch

Full Text Available The probability distributions of field differences ∆x(τ=x(t+τ-x(t, where the variable x(t may denote any solar wind scalar field or vector field component at time t, have been calculated from time series of Helios data obtained in 1976 at heliocentric distances near 0.3 AU. It is found that for comparatively long time lag τ, ranging from a few hours to 1 day, the differences are normally distributed according to a Gaussian. For shorter time lags, of less than ten minutes, significant changes in shape are observed. The distributions are often spikier and narrower than the equivalent Gaussian distribution with the same standard deviation, and they are enhanced for large, reduced for intermediate and enhanced for very small values of ∆x. This result is in accordance with fluid observations and numerical simulations. Hence statistical properties are dominated at small scale τ by large fluctuation amplitudes that are sparsely distributed, which is direct evidence for spatial intermittency of the fluctuations. This is in agreement with results from earlier analyses of the structure functions of ∆x. The non-Gaussian features are differently developed for the various types of fluctuations. The relevance of these observations to the interpretation and understanding of the nature of solar wind magnetohydrodynamic (MHD turbulence is pointed out, and contact is made with existing theoretical concepts of intermittency in fluid turbulence.

bilingualism in the english of tertiary students: a sine-qua-non

African Journals Online (AJOL)

REV YOUNG EZENWA OBIOHA

questions were used to investigate the effects of Bilingualism on the English of tertiary students. A total of three hundred students from two tertiary institutions were used. ... thoughts, inner feelings, personal psychological ... Chinese migration to the U.S.A (Akindele & ... child is taught Mathematical multiplication and division ...

Kinematics of Post-obduction Deformation of the Tertiary Ridge at Al-Khod Village (Muscat, Oman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Scharf

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Structural investigations in post-obductional Paleocene to Eocene limestones of the Tertiary Ridge reveal a ~1 km long WNW-ESE striking strike-slip fault system within the ridge, consisting of two main sub-parallel, strike-slip faults. Considering the geometry of the Harding Strain Ellipse, the orientation of structures between the two strike-slip faults (e.g., Riedel shears, folds, reverse faults point to left-lateral motion. The abundance of large-scale folds (up to 100 m in wave length and amplitude between the two strike-slip faults led us to the interpretation of transpressive conditions in a first approximation. Moreover, the Tertiary Ridge of the study area consists of three distinct structural domains. The faults of Domain A and C are oriented WNW-ESE, but the trend of the faults in the central Domain B differs by ~10°. The left-lateral strike-slip fault system exists only in Domain B. We propose that the direction of greatest stress during Miocene plate convergence (sigma 1 was oriented 032°/212°. Considering the trend of the strike-slip zone and the orientation of sigma 1, the left-lateral motion must have been transpressive. Sigma 1 is perpendicularly oriented to the domains A and C. Prior to the Miocene D2 compressional event the study area was affected by a D1 extensional event, related to the opening of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden or to gravity-driven normal faulting. The D2 compressional/transpressional structures of the Miocene are reactivating the D1 structures of the Oligocene.

Electronic zero-point fluctuation forces inside circuit components

Science.gov (United States)

Leonhardt, Ulf

2018-01-01

One of the most intriguing manifestations of quantum zero-point fluctuations are the van der Waals and Casimir forces, often associated with vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. We study generalized fluctuation potentials acting on internal degrees of freedom of components in electrical circuits. These electronic Casimir-like potentials are induced by the zero-point current fluctuations of any general conductive circuit. For realistic examples of an electromechanical capacitor and a superconducting qubit, our results reveal the possibility of tunable forces between the capacitor plates, or the level shifts of the qubit, respectively. Our analysis suggests an alternative route toward the exploration of Casimir-like fluctuation potentials, namely, by characterizing and measuring them as a function of parameters of the environment. These tunable potentials may be useful for future nanoelectromechanical and quantum technologies. PMID:29719863

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

Electronic zero-point fluctuation forces inside circuit components.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahmoon, Ephraim; Leonhardt, Ulf

2018-04-01

One of the most intriguing manifestations of quantum zero-point fluctuations are the van der Waals and Casimir forces, often associated with vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. We study generalized fluctuation potentials acting on internal degrees of freedom of components in electrical circuits. These electronic Casimir-like potentials are induced by the zero-point current fluctuations of any general conductive circuit. For realistic examples of an electromechanical capacitor and a superconducting qubit, our results reveal the possibility of tunable forces between the capacitor plates, or the level shifts of the qubit, respectively. Our analysis suggests an alternative route toward the exploration of Casimir-like fluctuation potentials, namely, by characterizing and measuring them as a function of parameters of the environment. These tunable potentials may be useful for future nanoelectromechanical and quantum technologies.

Epilepsy in Ireland: towards the primary-tertiary care continuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Varley, Jarlath; Delanty, Norman; Normand, Charles; Coyne, Imelda; McQuaid, Louise; Collins, Claire; Boland, Michael; Grimson, Jane; Fitzsimons, Mary

2010-01-01

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease affecting people of every age, gender, race and socio-economic background. The diagnosis and optimal management relies on contribution from a number of healthcare disciplines in a variety of healthcare settings. To explore the interface between primary care and specialist epilepsy services in Ireland. Using appreciative inquiry, focus groups were held with healthcare professionals (n=33) from both primary and tertiary epilepsy specialist services in Ireland. There are significant challenges to delivering a consistent high standard of epilepsy care in Ireland. The barriers that were identified are: the stigma of epilepsy, unequal access to care services, insufficient human resources, unclear communication between primary-tertiary services and lack of knowledge. Improving the management of people with epilepsy requires reconfiguration of the primary-tertiary interface and establishing clearly defined roles and formalised clinical pathways. Such initiatives require resources in the form of further education and training and increased usage of information communication technology (ICT). Epilepsy services across the primary-tertiary interface can be significantly enhanced through the implementation of a shared model of care underpinned by an electronic patient record (EPR) system and information communication technology (ICT). Better chronic disease management has the potential to halt the progression of epilepsy with ensuing benefits for patients and the healthcare system. Copyright 2009 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geometry of river networks. I. Scaling, fluctuations, and deviations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodds, Peter Sheridan; Rothman, Daniel H.

2001-01-01

This paper is the first in a series of three papers investigating the detailed geometry of river networks. Branching networks are a universal structure employed in the distribution and collection of material. Large-scale river networks mark an important class of two-dimensional branching networks, being not only of intrinsic interest but also a pervasive natural phenomenon. In the description of river network structure, scaling laws are uniformly observed. Reported values of scaling exponents vary, suggesting that no unique set of scaling exponents exists. To improve this current understanding of scaling in river networks and to provide a fuller description of branching network structure, here we report a theoretical and empirical study of fluctuations about and deviations from scaling. We examine data for continent-scale river networks such as the Mississippi and the Amazon and draw inspiration from a simple model of directed, random networks. We center our investigations on the scaling of the length of a subbasin's dominant stream with its area, a characterization of basin shape known as Hack's law. We generalize this relationship to a joint probability density, and provide observations and explanations of deviations from scaling. We show that fluctuations about scaling are substantial, and grow with system size. We find strong deviations from scaling at small scales which can be explained by the existence of a linear network structure. At intermediate scales, we find slow drifts in exponent values, indicating that scaling is only approximately obeyed and that universality remains indeterminate. At large scales, we observe a breakdown in scaling due to decreasing sample space and correlations with overall basin shape. The extent of approximate scaling is significantly restricted by these deviations, and will not be improved by increases in network resolution

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)

Patterns and singular features of extreme fluctuational paths of a periodically driven system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zhen; Liu, Xianbin

2016-01-01

Large fluctuations of an overdamped periodically driven oscillating system are investigated theoretically and numerically in the limit of weak noise. Optimal paths fluctuating to certain point are given by statistical analysis using the concept of prehistory probability distribution. The validity of statistical results is verified by solutions of boundary value problem. Optimal paths are found to change topologically when terminating points lie at opposite side of a switching line. Patterns of extreme paths are plotted through a proper parameterization of Lagrangian manifold having complicated structures. Several extreme paths to the same point are obtained by multiple solutions of boundary value solutions. Actions along various extreme paths are calculated and associated analysis is performed in relation to the singular features of the patterns. - Highlights: • Both extreme and optimal paths are obtained by various methods. • Boundary value problems are solved to ensure the validity of statistical results. • Topological structure of Lagrangian manifold is considered. • Singularities of the pattern of extreme paths are studied.

Cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cirila Peklaj

2007-01-01

Full Text Available A learning situation can be structured in different ways, as an individual, competitive, or cooperative activity. Each of these structures can be used for different purposes and can lead to different learning outcomes. This paper focuses on cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education. After defining cooperative activity (or, in a broader sense, learning in interaction and introducing the CAMS theoretical framework to analyse cooperative activity, the main discussion focuses on the theoretical reasons for the usefulness of group learning and on the research of effects of cooperative learning on cognitive (metacognitive, affective-motivational and social processes in university students. The key elements that should be established for successful cooperation are also discussed. At the end, a new direction in using cooperative activity in learning—computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL, which emerged with rapid technology development in the last two decades—is presented and discussed.

How to resolve microsecond current fluctuations in single ion channels: The power of beta distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Indra

2015-01-01

Abstract A main ingredient for the understanding of structure/function correlates of ion channels is the quantitative description of single-channel gating and conductance. However, a wealth of information provided from fast current fluctuations beyond the temporal resolution of the recording system is often ignored, even though it is close to the time window accessible to molecular dynamics simulations. This kind of current fluctuations provide a special technical challenge, because individual opening/closing or blocking/unblocking events cannot be resolved, and the resulting averaging over undetected events decreases the single-channel current. Here, I briefly summarize the history of fast-current fluctuation analysis and focus on the so-called “beta distributions.” This tool exploits characteristics of current fluctuation-induced excess noise on the current amplitude histograms to reconstruct the true single-channel current and kinetic parameters. A guideline for the analysis and recent applications demonstrate that a construction of theoretical beta distributions by Markov Model simulations offers maximum flexibility as compared to analytical solutions. PMID:26368656

Time-dependent shape fluctuations and the giant dipole resonance in hot nuclei: Realistic calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alhassid, Y.; Bush, B.; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT

1990-01-01

The effects of time-dependent shape fluctuations on the giant dipole resonance (GDR) in hot rotating nuclei are investigated. Using the framework of the Landau theory of shape transitions we develop a realistic macroscopic stochastic model to describe the quadrupole time-dependent shape fluctuations and their coupling to the dipole degrees of freedom. In the adiabatic limit the theory reduces to a previous adiabatic theory of static fluctuations in which the GDR cross section is calculated by averaging over the equilibrium distribution with the unitary invariant metric. Nonadiabatic effects are investigated in this model and found to cause structural changes in the resonance cross section and motional narrowing. Comparisons with experimental data are made and deviations from the adiabatic calculations can be explained. In these cases it is possible to determine from the data the damping of the quadrupole motion at finite temperature. (orig.)

Novikov Engine with Fluctuating Heat Bath Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalbe, Karsten; Hoffmann, Karl Heinz

2018-04-01

The Novikov engine is a model for heat engines that takes the irreversible character of heat fluxes into account. Using this model, the maximum power output as well as the corresponding efficiency of the heat engine can be deduced, leading to the well-known Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency. The classical model assumes constant heat bath temperatures, which is not a reasonable assumption in the case of fluctuating heat sources. Therefore, in this article the influence of stochastic fluctuations of the hot heat bath's temperature on the optimal performance measures is investigated. For this purpose, a Novikov engine with fluctuating heat bath temperature is considered. Doing so, a generalization of the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency is found. The results can help to quantify how the distribution of fluctuating quantities affects the performance measures of power plants.

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

Itinerant ferromagnetism in actinide 5 f -electron systems: Phenomenological analysis with spin fluctuation theory

Science.gov (United States)

Tateiwa, Naoyuki; Pospíšil, Jiří; Haga, Yoshinori; Sakai, Hironori; Matsuda, Tatsuma D.; Yamamoto, Etsuji

2017-07-01

We have carried out an analysis of magnetic data in 69 uranium, 7 neptunium, and 4 plutonium ferromagnets with the spin fluctuation theory developed by Takahashi [Y. Takahashi, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 55, 3553 (1986), 10.1143/JPSJ.55.3553]. The basic and spin fluctuation parameters of the actinide ferromagnets are determined and the applicability of the spin fluctuation theory to actinide 5 f system has been discussed. Itinerant ferromagnets of the 3 d transition metals and their intermetallics follow a generalized Rhodes-Wohlfarth relation between peff/ps and TC/T0 , viz., peff/ps∝(TC/T0) -3 /2 . Here, ps, peff, TC, and T0 are the spontaneous and effective magnetic moments, the Curie temperature, and the width of spin fluctuation spectrum in energy space, respectively. The same relation is satisfied for TC/T0uranium and neptunium ferromagnets below (TC/T0)kink=0.32 ±0.02 , where a kink structure appears in relation between the two quantities. ps increases more weakly above (TC/T0)kink. A possible interpretation with the TC/T0 dependence of ps is given.

QUANTIFYING THE ANISOTROPY AND SOLAR CYCLE DEPENDENCE OF '1/f' SOLAR WIND FLUCTUATIONS OBSERVED BY ADVANCED COMPOSITION EXPLORER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicol, R. M.; Chapman, S. C.; Dendy, R. O.

2009-01-01

The power spectrum of the evolving solar wind shows evidence of a spectral break between an inertial range (IR) of turbulent fluctuations at higher frequencies and a '1/f' like region at lower frequencies. In the ecliptic plane at ∼1 AU, this break occurs approximately at timescales of a few hours and is observed in the power spectra of components of velocity and magnetic field. The '1/f' energy range is of more direct coronal origin than the IR, and carries signatures of the complex magnetic field structure of the solar corona, and of footpoint stirring in the solar photosphere. To quantify the scaling properties we use generic statistical methods such as generalized structure functions and probability density functions (PDFs), focusing on solar cycle dependence and on anisotropy with respect to the background magnetic field. We present structure function analysis of magnetic and velocity field fluctuations, using a novel technique to decompose the fluctuations into directions parallel and perpendicular to the mean local background magnetic field. Whilst the magnetic field is close to '1/f', we show that the velocity field is '1/f α ' with α ≠ 1. For the velocity, the value of α varies between parallel and perpendicular fluctuations and with the solar cycle. There is also variation in α with solar wind speed. We have examined the PDFs in the fast, quiet solar wind and intriguingly, whilst parallel and perpendicular are distinct, both the B field and velocity show the same PDF of their perpendicular fluctuations, which is close to gamma or inverse Gumbel. These results point to distinct physical processes in the corona and to their mapping out into the solar wind. The scaling exponents obtained constrain the models for these processes.

Joint probability distributions and fluctuation theorems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

García-García, Reinaldo; Kolton, Alejandro B; Domínguez, Daniel; Lecomte, Vivien

2012-01-01

We derive various exact results for Markovian systems that spontaneously relax to a non-equilibrium steady state by using joint probability distribution symmetries of different entropy production decompositions. The analytical approach is applied to diverse problems such as the description of the fluctuations induced by experimental errors, for unveiling symmetries of correlation functions appearing in fluctuation–dissipation relations recently generalized to non-equilibrium steady states, and also for mapping averages between different trajectory-based dynamical ensembles. Many known fluctuation theorems arise as special instances of our approach for particular twofold decompositions of the total entropy production. As a complement, we also briefly review and synthesize the variety of fluctuation theorems applying to stochastic dynamics of both continuous systems described by a Langevin dynamics and discrete systems obeying a Markov dynamics, emphasizing how these results emerge from distinct symmetries of the dynamical entropy of the trajectory followed by the system. For Langevin dynamics, we embed the 'dual dynamics' with a physical meaning, and for Markov systems we show how the fluctuation theorems translate into symmetries of modified evolution operators

Recruitment Of International Students Into Cameroon Tertiary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recruitment Of International Students Into Cameroon Tertiary Institutions In The Absence Of International Offices. ... The present system of recruiting international students is haphazardly been handled by ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Influence of fluctuating strain on exciton reflection spectra

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skettrup, Torben

1982-01-01

The influence of an internal distribution of strain on the exciton reflection spectra is investigated. The resulting fluctuating optical constants give rise to a fluctuating phase of reflectivity. The standard deviation σ of these phase fluctuations is the quantity which can be observed...... to derive the dependence of the phase of reflectivity on the direction of the fluctuating optical axis. The results obtained for σ are compared with the experimental depolarization spectra of ZnO. The only fitting parameter is the common standard deviation of the strain components. It is found......, for example, between crossed polarizers or from ellipsometric measurements. Assuming the phase fluctuations to obey a Gaussian distribution, σ can be expressed in a simple way in terms of the degree of polarization or the depolarization of the reflected light. σ is then derived in terms of the standard...

Nonequilibrium fluctuations in micro-MHD effects on electrodeposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aogaki, Ryoichi; Morimoto, Ryoichi; Asanuma, Miki

2010-01-01

In copper electrodeposition under a magnetic field parallel to electrode surface, different roles of two kinds of nonequilibrium fluctuations for micro-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects are discussed; symmetrical fluctuations are accompanied by the suppression of three dimensional (3D) nucleation by micro-MHD flows (the 1st micro-MHD effect), whereas asymmetrical fluctuations controlling 2D nucleation yield secondary nodules by larger micro-MHD flows (the 2nd micro-MHD effect). Though the 3D nucleation with symmetrical fluctuations is always suppressed by the micro-MHD flows, due to the change in the rate-determining step from electron transfer to mass transfer, the 2D nucleation with asymmetrical fluctuations newly turns unstable, generating larger micro-MHD flows. As a result, round semi-spherical deposits, i.e., secondary nodules are yielded. Using computer simulation, the mechanism of the 2nd micro-MHD effect is validated.

EMRS Spring Meeting 2014 Symposium D: Phonons and fluctuations in low dimensional structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The E-MRS 2014 Spring meeting, held from 26-30th May 2014 in Lille included the Symposium D entitled ''Phonons and Fluctuations in Low Dimensional Structures'', the first edition of its kind. The symposium was organised in response to the increasing interest in the study of phonons in the context of advances in condensed matter physics, electronics, experimental methods and theory and, in particular, the transfer of energy across atomic interfaces and the propagation of energy in the nm-scale. Steering heat by light or vice versa and examining nano-scale energy conversion (as in thermoelectricity and harvesting e.g. in biological systems) are two aspects that share the underlying science of energy processes across atomic interfaces and energy propagation in the nanoscale and or in confined systems. The nanometer scale defies several of the bulk relationships as confinement of electrons and phonons, locality and non-equilibrium become increasingly important. The propagation of phonons as energy carriers impacts not only heat transfer, but also the very concept and handling of temperature in non-equilibrium and highly localised conditions. Much of the needed progress depends on the materials studied and this symposium targeted the interface material aspects as well as the emerging concepts to advance in this field. The symposium had its origins in a series of meetings and seminars including: (1) the first Phonon Engineering Workshop, funded by Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), the then MICINN, the CNRS, VTT, and several EU projects, held in Saint Feliu de Guixols (Girona, Spain) from 24th to 27th of May 2010 with 65 participants from Europe, the USA and Japan; (2) the first Phonons and Fluctuations workshop, held in Paris on 8th and 9th November 2010, supported by French, Spanish and Finnish national projects and EU projects, attended by about 50 researchers; (3) the second Phonon and Fluctuations workshop, held in Paris

EMRS Spring Meeting 2014 Symposium D: Phonons and fluctuations in low dimensional structures

Science.gov (United States)

2014-11-01

The E-MRS 2014 Spring meeting, held from 26-30th May 2014 in Lille included the Symposium D entitled ''Phonons and Fluctuations in Low Dimensional Structures'', the first edition of its kind. The symposium was organised in response to the increasing interest in the study of phonons in the context of advances in condensed matter physics, electronics, experimental methods and theory and, in particular, the transfer of energy across atomic interfaces and the propagation of energy in the nm-scale. Steering heat by light or vice versa and examining nano-scale energy conversion (as in thermoelectricity and harvesting e.g. in biological systems) are two aspects that share the underlying science of energy processes across atomic interfaces and energy propagation in the nanoscale and or in confined systems. The nanometer scale defies several of the bulk relationships as confinement of electrons and phonons, locality and non-equilibrium become increasingly important. The propagation of phonons as energy carriers impacts not only heat transfer, but also the very concept and handling of temperature in non-equilibrium and highly localised conditions. Much of the needed progress depends on the materials studied and this symposium targeted the interface material aspects as well as the emerging concepts to advance in this field. The symposium had its origins in a series of meetings and seminars including: (1) the first Phonon Engineering Workshop, funded by Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), the then MICINN, the CNRS, VTT, and several EU projects, held in Saint Feliu de Guixols (Girona, Spain) from 24th to 27th of May 2010 with 65 participants from Europe, the USA and Japan; (2) the first Phonons and Fluctuations workshop, held in Paris on 8th and 9th November 2010, supported by French, Spanish and Finnish national projects and EU projects, attended by about 50 researchers; (3) the second Phonon and Fluctuations workshop, held in Paris on 8th and 9th

A retrospective review of snake bite victims admitted in a tertiary ...